I'm using a 12 V at 500 mA wall wort with the end cut off, attaching the bare wires to alligator clips.
I'm getting some tiny sparks. Is there a safer way of doing this?
Connect the bares wires to an adapter that mates with the circuit being powered.
What is the 12V being connected to? Barrel jack on an Arduino board? Something else?
These are handy for that
Add a mating cable for the other end, couple leads you can solder in place
A wort is either a small flower, or a precursor to beer.
Maybe you meant "wart"?
Cut one lead shorter than the other so that they cannot touch each other.
Connect the 'gator clips correctly and securely THEN plug it in.
Don't worry about "tiny sparks". The voltage you are using is not a shock hazard and with the current available you are not likely to cause a fire, at least as long as you are standing there looking at it. Just don't use it in an explosive atmosphere.
That's got to be the worst reply one can give to this question.
Sparks from such power supplies are a bad sign and need to be prevented.
Fire hazard might not be immediate, but it is still there.
You could be overloading the supply and destroy it after this has been going on for a while.
That supply wasn't designed to create sparks (i'm fairly sure of that) so who knows what will happen (but it can't be good).
I assume the sparks are caused by shorting of the leads when connecting. This is not dangerous except in explosive atmosphere. It should be avoided if possible to prevent possible overload of the supply and damaging it.
If it is happening continually inside the supply, it should be thrown away or repaired by a competent technician.
Weedpharma
I interpreted the "tiny sparks" as occurring when the connection is made. I have no doubt this has happened to all of us, usually without attracting attention and is certainly not a safety hazard. If the leads are shorted there is the risk of damaging the power supply but that's about all. So I wouldn't worry about it.
About the only danger from a low voltage supply is if there is a lot of current available. I knew one fellow many years ago who let the two leads of a locomotive battery touch his gold ring. It melted the ring and left quite a burn on his finger.
This is very helpful, thank you all!