some handy tools for cleaning the hot end

[jdacal]

Thank Jim, ordered these they should arrive tomorrow.

[markb]

broke that little bit in under 1 minute...

I broke it in under 30 seconds.

[jimc]

haha GENTLE guys lol. its not like a piece of wire. it is a carbide bit so its rock hard and brittle. any sideways force and you'll snap it. its so fine and has no flex at all very lightly spin between your fingers.

[Levi8than]

I don't have the finesse for tiny drill bits. I break them.
I always try to clear my clocks by overheating the hot end and hand-forcing the filament through. And the one time that didn't work, I dismantled and took a propane torch to the nozzle. Which worked perfectly.

[Lateralg]

I read somewhere about using a guitar string as a nozzle probe. Does anyone recall what the correct string is?

[Levi8than]

I read somewhere about using a guitar string as a nozzle probe. Does anyone recall what the correct string is?

It depends entirely on what gauge strings you have wired up on your guitar. They sell different tensions of strings.
the 0.35 mm nozzle is 0.0138 inches. And guitar strings are rated in thousands of inches, so you're looking for a 13.

So if you've got a set of Ernie Ball Regular Slinky, you'd use your B string.
Earnie Ball 2221 - Regular Slinky 10, 13, 17, 26, 36, 46

Generally, the 4 bigger strings are wound, so steer clear of those.

[jimc]

guitar strings work great. i use them for cleaning my airbrushes and spray guns. they will work equally as well for the nozzle. i dont know the size though. walk into your local music shop with a pair of calipers and see what they say lol.

[Lateralg]

guitar strings work great. i use them for cleaning my airbrushes and spray guns. they will work equally as well for the nozzle. i dont know the size though. walk into your local music shop with a pair of calipers and see what they say lol.

Good plan. I will execute soonest.

I like guitar string over drill bit. I had a perfect drill bit that broke off inside nozzle during cleaning adding to my woes.

[Levi8than]

Tinkered with some strings I had laying around. The .013 I had (B string in my case) did fit through the .35mm nozzle, but not easily.
The .011 I had (E string) fit through easily and seemed to do the job pretty well. I just had to cut it on an angle with my cutters.
And I've got a .014 (Bronze Acoustic B string) that does not fit through the opening at all.

So I think that answers the question.

[Lateralg]

Tinkered with some strings I had laying around. The .013 I had (B string in my case) did fit through the .35mm nozzle, but not easily.
The .011 I had (E string) fit through easily and seemed to do the job pretty well. I just had to cut it on an angle with my cutters.
And I've got a .014 (Bronze Acoustic B string) that does not fit through the opening at all.

So I think that answers the question.

It certainly does. Thank you.