Source for teensy drill bits?

[CA-68]

Hello all. I need to get some tiny (as in .5 mm and .7 mm) drill bits to use in my pin vise, to drill holes for rigging 1/1200 napoleonic ships. But i dont want to buy a set of 20 bits to get one or two sizes. Anyone know of a source where these can be bought? I dont mind buying them in quantity (dozen, 20, whatever) i just dont wanna buy a bunch of drills ill never use to get the one or two i need. Thanks!

[dougeagle]

Have you checked any hardware/ diy stores...such as Home Depot. Usually in the tools section you can find some small drill bits sold in packs of 2. Another area might be a hobby shop or a place that sells RC type toys.

I myself have the luxury of being a tradesman so I need the large drill bit sets and just use the small ones when I need.

[Gort]

Try a hobby shop that sells model RR stuff. Failing that, go online to Walthers.
http://www.walthers.com/exec/search?man ... ts&start=0

regards

Steve

[tstockton]

Micro-Mark sells drill bits in sizes 61 - 80 in packs of six each -- cost is less than $10 USD for six bits in a single size. I don't know what the numbers "translate" in to in either inches or millimeters -- but I do know a #80 is pretty darned small!

You can go to Micro-Mark's home page by clicking HERE -- follow the menu on the left to the drill bits section.

If you have access to a well-stocked hobby shop, they might have individual drill bits as well -- especially a shop that caters to the model railroading folks, as they often use small drill bits to drill holes to attach relatively tiny parts.

Hope this helps!

Regards,
Tom Stockton

[CA-68]

Thanks guys, got some on the way. .025, .035 should be about the right sizes for what i need. Thanks again!

[Mk 1]

Two words:

Radio Shack

Always local. Always cheap. Got every kind of teensy tool you can think of.

[CA-68]

Nice 74 there Cama! For what its worth, there are some really great photoetched ratlines/shrouds available from Langton minis (i love ghq, they just dont make these yet!) i think the shrouds are the absolute worst part of a rigging project. The PE ones look great and are only 12000 or so times easier to use.

In case anyone else besides me and Cama likes to torture ourselves by rigging these things, the thread sold for fly-tying (check your local Gander Mountain or Cabelas) is available in a wonderful array of sizes and colors, and has just a bit of "stretch" to it.

I never even thought about radio shack

[Mk 1]

I never even thought about radio shack

Yeah. Neither did I. Until ...

I bought a hand-held power micro-drill at my local hobby shop for about $27. Came with about 5 bits, but I could buy a set of a dozen more for only $8 or so.

It was the lowest end product in the shop, but I was not terribly interested in spending $50 more for a brand-name Dremmel. It turned out to be very awkward to use -- power cord too short to reach the plug but long enough to get in the way, spinning too fast without adequate control given that I was trying to drill out insertion points for aircraft bases, or barrel holes and TC's hatches on my tanks.

Then wandering aimlessly through a Radio Shack a few weeks later I came upon a thumb drill for, I don't know, something like $3. Just what I needed. Even came with about 30 bits of every imaginable size.

Anyone want a power micro drill?

Its amazing the places I find stuff for my micro armor.

[dnichols]

Here is a suggestion that a friend has for your question.

"Go to a jewelry supply store,
one that sells jeweler's tools (tiny needle-nosed
pliers, fine wire, tiny drill bits, etc.)

They'll have just what you'll need and will be happy
to sell you just one of an item. Also, the prices will
be cheaper than in hobby shops or hardware stores.
These are small operations with little overhead.

Once you become a regular customer, you'll be
surprised how helpful the proprietor can be."

I never thought of this option. A jeweler supply would have all manner of tools that could be useful for micro armor building.

---Daryl