Circlips are a pain for a DIYer. In my case, I found that leaving the ends angled works well enough with my circlip pliers. The pliers seem to fit right into the angles. So I found the original Singer circlips easier to deal with using the pliers I have. This is, I think a case of YMMV. I'm waiting for the day that someone is able to explain Singer's logic in using these things. I can't fathom why they felt the need for the world's strongest clips to clip together a Bakelite light housing.
Getting a 15 running is a fun and indeed joyful experience.