OK, oldtimers... Do you recognize the tools in this picture (aside from the Professional Measuring Glass )



Yep! I still have my Official Weiss Distribution Tool that John W. (Rapidcoffee) sent out to a bunch of us back in 2006, and my original cut off yogurt container dosing funnel! I use them every day!

I may upgrade to an OE dosing funnel when I upgrade my machine. Maybe...

Dissection needle! The original WDT tool.

I use OE dosing funnels, but I'm right there with you with the dissection needle (see center panel in montage below). Great grooming and distribution tool.

I''m using a pair of micro surgical tweezers, twice the fun...

I use the same brand of yogurt container!

Marcelnl wrote:I''m using a pair of micro surgical tweezers, twice the fun...

I endorse a Bowman lacrimal probe because it's sterling silver so it won't crud up with oxidation like a dissecting needle, and it's blunt so it won't scratch the basket with reasonable contact. To be honest, I don't know if you have to be a doctor to buy one (I am) - it might be considered a surgical instrument, and you buy them from medical supply houses. Of course, if you know someone who works in an operating room, surgical center or other facility that uses them, you can probably get an old one. They're used for probing and protecting tear ducts, so we bend them to suit each case. They have to be replaced periodically because they don't stay straight (like the new one pictured below) beyond one case. They come in sets of multiple sizes, but any one will do for WDT.

sweaner wrote:I use the same brand of yogurt container!

Now that's funny!

bluesman wrote:I endorse a Bowman lacrimal probe because it's sterling silver so it won't crud up with oxidation like a dissecting needle, and it's blunt so it won't scratch the basket with reasonable contact. To be honest, I don't know if you have to be a doctor to buy one (I am) - it might be considered a surgical instrument, and you buy them from medical supply houses. Of course, if you know someone who works in an operating room, surgical center or other facility that uses them, you can probably get an old one. They're used for probing and protecting tear ducts, so we bend them to suit each case. They have to be replaced periodically because they don't stay straight (like the new one pictured below) beyond one case. They come in sets of multiple sizes, but any one will do for WDT.

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Interesting! I can imagine the web pages that Google will be suggesting for me once I start searching for lacrimal probe

My daughter is a dental hygienist. I wonder if they have anything that would work?

To be honest, I don't know if you have to be a doctor to buy one (I am) - it might be considered a surgical instrument, and you buy them from medical supply houses.

Amazon.com!

Ron_L wrote:My daughter is a dental hygienist. I wonder if they have anything that would work?

There are several great dental tools suitable for "distribution optimization". Ask her to bring you a periodontal probe or a small cement spatula. If she can find one in the obsolete instruments drawer, there are several kinds of burnishers from the days of gold and silver-amalgam restorations that are small and smooth at the tip (e.g. a ball burnisher). They're all SS and any would be great for WDT.

A simple explorer would also be great, except that they're quite sharp at the tip. I was amazed to find so many people putting sharp needles into their baskets anyway. Without a depth stop or indicator on the shank, it seems too easy to scrape the tip against the inside bottom of the basket and create scratches or other tiny defects (which I personally don't think is a good idea).

Nunas wrote:Amazon.com!

Well I'll be d@mned - they have them, starting at $5.79!