Miller Manufacturing ACC1 Wire Cage Clips, 1-Pound Bag (2-(Pack))

For making bird cage

Works great for me but I am using them to firmly clip to 2.5mm fencing wire by using a pieces of cable tie as a liner. works great and so easy to use.

There is a way to make this work with 1/2" mesh. Read on... (Skip to the last paragraph if you don't want to read the story.)I use 1/2" hardware cloth in gardening applications, both as critter fencing and as a barrier at the bottom of my planting beds for the digging critters. For 15 years, I have been joining hardware cloth in the most tedious manner imaginable--"sewing" it with wire. Well, I recently had a big project to do in a short amount of time--a 100' x 5' garden terrace. I was ready to explode after only getting a few feet along with wire ties in an afternoon.Then a lightbulb went on in my head as I remembered that the last time I bought hardware cloth, Amazon recommended these cage clips plus the "Wire Clip Pliers" from the same manufacturer. I researched it and saw all the negative reviews about it not working with 1/2" hardware cloth. Discouraged by the reviews, I looked into all of the other types of fencing tools, including hog rings. I kept coming back to this because everything else seemed to be designed for large, chain-link fencing.I was desperate, so decided to bite the bullet. It was late on a Friday night. I placed my order for the pliers plus the clips, with a two-day delivery option. Amazon said it would be delivered Sunday, but I have a mail service that is closed on Sunday. I figured I'd get it Monday. I had hoped to make progress over the weekend. Much to my delight, everything arrived the very next day!!Now here's the important part: first, the pliers are NOT flimsy like some reviews say. The various joints are loose, allowing the tool to adjust to the rings so they curl into a perfect little cylinder every time. Second, the pliers do not need to be very strong for their purpose, which is to curl these little J-shaped metal clip blanks into cylindrical loops. It accomplishes the feat with very little effort. Third, although the wider side of the tool does not fit through 1/2" mesh, it is very easy to complete the cylinder of the clip with needle-nosed pliers. After a few frustrated trial-and-error attempts, I came up with this surefire method. First, I curl a clip blank with the pliers until the loop is almost closed, leaving about a 1/16" opening. Then, I hook the opening around the two wires of the hardware cloth I am joining. I hold the flat, still-open end of the blank with the thumb and forefinger of one hand while getting a good grip across the open end of the blank with my needle-nosed pliers, then close the loop and complete the cylinder.

Heads up, your crimper needs space to close and operate. I bought these and wanted to tie up some hardware cloth but the cloth is the 1/4" square stuff and these clips coupled with the crimper make it not the right combo. I am not sure they make a crimper that small? Maybe it is operator error? Yet if you open the tool, set the clip the jaws do not have the clearance needed to crimp. I even cut the wire above the square to make it 1/2" clearance for the tool, but I think these might be better for chicken wire with the larger holes. I will use them for crimping Sausage and Salami sticks.

We like these clips because they hold really well and non of them are bent to be unusable. We make our wire cages for our Rabbits using them to fasten the cage wire.