fret slot cleaning

[nkforster]

Anyone know a source of dremel/dental bits suitable for cleaning out fret slots? Other than the one Stew Mac sells which is a bit wide.

[mooshalah]

Hi Nigel.

You've not stated the particular method whereby you'd clean out a fret slots with a drill bit, or your particular application.

Frets tend to be cut to a width of 0.46 mm - 0.58 mm.

StewMac sells a Fret Slot Cleaning Tool that is around 0.44mm wide, and a Japanese Fret Slot Cleaning Saw that is around 0.51 mm wide. I couldn't see on their website a "dremel/dental bit" suitable for this purpose.

The smallest CNC micro drill bits that I've found that will fit into a Dremel (that I use for inlay work) have a cutter diameter of 0.8 mm.

For example https://www.ebay.com.au/p/1749165050?iid=252072281339. I think you can get cheaper.

These are pretty small; they break easily if too much lateral force is applied to them. I think I might have seen ones that are 0.7 mm diameter, but I don't have any.

I have a supply of real dentists' bits - actually diamond-coated burrs (used, and then given to me by a dentist friend!) - but the smallest of these is around 0.8 mm diameter; they're on a 1.5 mm diameter shaft, which I think might just fit into the smallest Dremel collet. I don't think that a dental equipment supply company is going to have a bit or burr much smaller than this, and if they do, it'll be expensive!.

If you think that either of the two above might be useful to you, send me a PM, and I'll send you one via mail.

Frank.

[mooshalah]

Whoops!

Just started idly looking on eBay, and saw these - 0.5 mm router bits.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/35264226633 ... Swu8dgWnoe

They appear also to have available such bits in 0.6 mm diameter.

Maybe these can work for you!

Frank

[kiwigeo]

I use a Japanese fret cleaning saw.....simple but it does the job.