jcarlyle wrote:
I did some research on this subject. Turns out that the proprietary
term is "elastrator ring", ......
...... Apparently there are two materials that they are
made from, with latex "expanding 170% more and gripping tighter" than
whatever the normal material is. I found no information about size;
It's a long time since I've seen them, but IIRC the hole is about 4.5mm
(3/16") and the ring is about 3mm (1/8") thick.

They all stretch a lot. As Todd says, they are also used to remove
lamb's tails and so must stretch far enough to be easily slipped over
the tail + wool in it. At a guess that means they will stretch to an ID
of at least 25mm (1"), so even the non-latex variety should do as the
tubing clamp.

In the USA you can find them at at veterinary and farm supply firms,
see ( http://shop.store.yahoo.com/animalme...re/cassup.html ). One
potential problem is that they are so cheap ($1.20 for 100) you might
run into a minimum order size problem if you mail order them.

If the applicator is not too expensive, you buy that to bulk up your
order. The ones I've seen have four wires coming out the business end
and bent at right angles to the plane of the grips. The wires are
normally all touching and a ring slides snugly over them. Squeezing the
grips separates the wires to expand the ring into a stretched square so
you could use it to place rings onto the tube.

You'll need something to stretch a ring so you can push the tube through it.


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martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. |
org | Zappa fan & glider pilot