Panel line tools...

I was browsing around online, and managed to find a set of dental probes, and I have heard of them being used as scribers, I found a set of 3 for about 7 bucks. Here's the link:

http://www.toolsgs.com/cart/detail.asp?product_id=H303

I'll keep looking, but I was just wondering if this is true, I think the hook-looking one would be the most useful but IDK.

Thanks! :smile:

I also found this:

http://www.toolsgs.com/cart/detail.asp?cat=2&subcat=112&product_id=H300

weird looking, but not sure if it would work or not.

or, maybe this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2594&item=5903854947&rd=1

is a possiblity? don't know if you'd need that many, but...

The ones on the E-Bay is the best deal. I wish I could find that many for that price.

13 is a little much. I would try and find a couple good quality ones.

That's what i was thinkin too, but if one breaks, you have the others......

But would they work for deepening panel lines?

A dental pick doesn't really make a good scriber. It can, but the cutting point has to be reshaped and sharpened. This is something you can do at home, but only if you know what the shape is, and words kinda fail me on how to describe it. Simply put, you want the tool to cut the plastic, and not just scratch it. A proper cutting edge will remove tha plastic and leave an even groove, like this:
http://www.micromark.com/prodimgs/60728.jpg
The curl of plastic following the cutter is the key. This scriber can be ordered at http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=60728

Squadron and Bare Matal Foil also make similar scribers.

is that what you use? it looks like it's exactly the same....

oh, whatever happened to their 32 exacto knive set? (it wasn't a brand name, but it was nice, and I wanted to order it!)

Yeah, I have a dental pick that I ground off the point and then ground a scribing point/edge onto. It looks identical to any other dental pick, exept for the tip. I also have one of the squadron scribers, works the same.

maybe you could post a tutorial on here or something, with what to do with a dental pick to make it a scriber. what tools would I need to do it? dremel? grinder?

Nothing fancy- you can do the grinding and polishing with a couple of sheets of sandpaper, laid flat on a small paine of glass. This is actually the best way to do it, as it gives you much better control of the shape of the tip than doing it with power tools. Say some 320 grit for rough shaping, 400, 600, and something fine like 1500 to take all the scratches out and polish the cutting edges.

I might be convinced to do a tutorial at some point, but it will take drawing some diagrams- I'll have to rifle through some piles of CD's, to see if I do still actually have a drawing program.

Meanwhile, one place I know that covers this is in this book:
http://store5.yimg.com/I/kalmbachcatalog_1794_10784945
from http://store.yahoo.net/kalmbachcatalog/12058.html, among other places.

It is frequently availible in the books/magazines/propaganda sections of decent hobby shops. It's a great guide if you have interest in scratchbuilding, but flipping to the page with the diagrams in the hobby shop will certainly tell you what you need to know.

Or, you could get one of the pre-made ones, and copy the shape from it. Even if you do, it's usefull to sharpen the premade ones on glass & 1500 grit, as they work much better whith a polished cutting edge!

sweet! I'm gonna have to pick that book up! Thanks for the tip!