Where can I get drill bits for fiber optics?

I have a fiber optic / LED kit I ordered from MIM and need to find the tiny bits needed to drill into the cockpit to place the FI. Anyone know a good place to get the tiny bits, and will these bits fit into a Dremel with the proper chuck?

Thanks for any help.

Dave

Betamin said:

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I have a fiber optic / LED kit I ordered from MIM and need to find the tiny bits needed to drill into the cockpit to place the FI. Anyone know a good place to get the tiny bits, and will these bits fit into a Dremel with the proper chuck?

Thanks for any help.

Dave

Any good hobby shop carries them.

GFollano

McMaster Carr

Try Micromark

GF said:

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Any good hobby shop carries them.

GFollano

I wish I had good hobby shops around where I live. There's a Hobbytown USA, but their kits and whatnot are a bit sparse in Sci-fi stuff, and I checked and didn't see anything there.

Kit wise, they do have the new Cylon Raider and also that prepainted "quick build" Millenium Falcon. Might have to grab those kits next time I'm there.

I'll second micromark.com. I get all of my micro drillbit kits from there. Order at least doubles of the tiny bits as they break really easily.

-Fred

Check out this set from Harbor Freight.

Mini Drill set

This is a great set that I use all the time, sometimes in my Dremel.

if good stores are thin on the ground where you live then maybe try ebay?

or some of the mail order online modelshops


z

zorg said:

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if good stores are thin on the ground where you live then maybe try ebay?

or some of the mail order online modelshops


z

I decided to go with Micromark. I needed #80 bits for the fiber optics, according to the instructions included with the kit, and Micromark had a good price. Thanks for the help, everyone.

Which set did you get?

I just ordered a couple packs of the #80 size bit. I figured I'd probably bust a few. I'm going to be drilling holes in the cockpit of the Viper kit.

Unless you ordered a lot of #80 bits, you may want to consider using a pin vise instead of your Dremel tool and drilling your holes by hand. The Dremel is so heavy that you'll snap a #80 bit with just the slightest sideways pressure.

www.widgetsupply.com is another good resource for bits and such. They have a 15 piece metric set (item # BDM101) that goes down to 0.3mm - just a little smaller than a #80 bit that gives a nice tight fit for .25mm fibers. I've found them to be a little cheaper on many items as well.

SGluedMyFingers said:

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www.widgetsupply.com is another good resource for bits and such. They have a 15 piece metric set (item # BDM101) that goes down to 0.3mm - just a little smaller than a #80 bit that gives a nice tight fit for .25mm fibers. I've found them to be a little cheaper on many items as well.

Thanks for the recommendation! I found tons of hard-to-find Dremel bits dirt cheap! I even had shipping notification 2 hours after I placed my order! Woo hoo!

Just for future reference, I got this set off of Amazon. It has a #80 bit. Also, I'm currently in Balad, Iraq and I received it in 6 days, pretty quick considering where I am at and that I only paid $1 for shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VNPRNQ

Joe

Fireball Joe said:

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Unless you ordered a lot of #80 bits, you may want to consider using a pin vise instead of your Dremel tool and drilling your holes by hand. The Dremel is so heavy that you'll snap a #80 bit with just the slightest sideways pressure.

Not a bad idea. I ordered a couple dozen just in case I snapped a few. I went to my hobby shop and found a display they had with assorted mini bits (all out of #80s though) and saw they did sell pin vises but were out. Know of any place to get a good one?

Betamin said:

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Not a bad idea. I ordered a couple dozen just in case I snapped a few. I went to my hobby shop and found a display they had with assorted mini bits (all out of #80s though) and saw they did sell pin vises but were out. Know of any place to get a good one?

I've had one of these from Micro-Mark for years:
http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares...oduct&ID=21105

Works very well for my purposes, and I use it mainly for drilling tiny holes with tiny bits.