Some of the most invaluable tools I have on the workbench are various and sundry dental picks. They can be used to apply super glue, adjust alignment of freshly glued pieces, scrape paint, etc, etc. I also have ground down a couple of picks to needle like points and use those as center punches prior to drilling holes. Dentists also use a variety of excellent tweezers. Make friends with your dentist, I know that’s easier said than done, and they just might part with some of their broken or well worn tools. Fortunately, I have a cousin who is a dentist and I don’t have to endure the chair that often in order to acquire his cast off tools.
My dentist, who lives right around the corner from me, and his father, another dentist, are both modelers and keep all their old dental picks in a cigar box so anybody who should ask can pick through them and take what they wish. Some very nice guys. Another point about dentists, it’s amazing how many of them are modelers compared to other professions. I personally know at least four dentists that are modelers yet only one fireman and no brain surgeons.
It’s good to have a wife that is a dental hygienest and who has three or four boxes of dental tools from when she went to school 
And is that why you started dating her? Just to get at her tools?
I’m a dental technician and have access to tons of great tools. Not just all sorts of pics and sharp impliments, but scrapers, mixers and the like. The best ones though are my variable speed hanpiece and the hundreds of bits for it. Whenever I need something dremeled, I just take it to work and work on it after hours.
madda
LOL…uh…nope Just a fringe benefit!
That will pay off the money i gave for dental treatment and fillings
My step-dad is a dentist and I get a bunch of neat tools and pics from him. One neat dental tool I got from him was a really cool looking heat lamp. I figured I would use it to help paint and future dry faster. I put a He-111 under it and went to get a sandwich and watch a little tv. An hour later I had a puddle of warped and melted plastic. OOOPS[:p]
I know what happens when heat meets, plastic thats why I keep my modlels in a cool, dry place, and I always keep them away from heat. But in my head I didn’ t relate “heat lamp” with heat. I just thought my step-dad uses it to make stuff dry/cure faster, so can I. DUUUUUUH[B)]
My dentist handed me about 25 old picks when I asked him. I also bought some alginate from him used for making impressions. Great for casting one or a few parts.
Anybody else try this stuff?
Sounds neat but you are opening the door to serious “Orange Peel” problems with accelerated paint and Future drying.
I have never asked my dentist for any old tools. Maybe I should since I have been in his chair more than 90% of the people on this planet. [:D]
I did buy this set on Ebay however for $6.50 plus $3.50 shipping.
They arrived yesterday and look to be pretty good quality.
Mike
My dentist displays some of his models in his office. The quality of his models and miniature figures is tremendous. He sort of specializes in “dentist-phobic” patients, and the stuff he has on display is sort of reassuring. You know, if he can do that, he must have good hands. He’s part of the reason I got back into the hobby after so many years.
Hey, what’s a dentist?
