Cleaning pin / drill Hakko FR-300 alternatives?

[guy232]

I have purchased a used fr-300 that did not include cleaning pin/drill for the tip. I have been given the chance to test it and see if it functions well due to the seller not being sure of it's condition. Is my only viable option to order these tools and wait for them to arrive?

At first glance my uneducated guess is that the cleaning tools appear to be a specific diameter pin/drill that may be able to be sourced at a hardware store. Am i incorrect about this? Haven't been able to find any info via searching the forums or google.

Thanks for your time!

[Fludo]

The nozzles come in sizes like 0.8mm, 1mm, 1.3mm, etc.  I use them for the FM2024.
Digikey sells Hakko wire cleaners https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/B1087/1691-1029-ND/6228785

If you got to home depot or a hardware store they sell acetylene torch nozzle cleaners which might work for the fr-300.  They look like the ones in the link below.
https://www.amazon.com/Hot-Max-22034-Standard-Cleaner/dp/B005TGLDVU/ref=sr_1_3?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1523443578&sr=1-3&keywords=nozzle+cleaner

[DimitriP]

...and lets not forget using a guitar string ...the music store is closer than next day shipping

[CustomEngineerer]

The pins and drill bits are nothing special. Any similar sized pokers will work. The drill bits aren't needed as much, they are just for when the crap builds up in the nozzle to heavy for the pins to be able to easily get out, though with enough work the pins will still be able to get the crap out. So the drill bits aren't absolutely necessary. Its up to you if you want to order the official ones or not. I did because I wasn't sure when I first got my FR-300, but since I've been using other similar sized drill bits for the few occasions I've needed them.

I have 3 of the original pins, 0.8mm, 1.0mm and 1.6mm. They measure 0.72mm, 0.91mm and 1.40mm respectively. Though absolute size isn't really that important, as long as the pin is slightly narrower than the nozzle you want to clean with it, thats all that really matters.

For the original drill bits, I had gotten the 1.0mm and 1.6mm bits. They measure 1.0mm and 1.5mm respectively. For replacements I've been using a 0.95mm and 1.45mm drill bits that I had laying around (not sure what the label on them is, probably supposed to be 1.0 and 1.5, but not readable) with no issues. Again, as long as they fit through the hole, they should work fine and aren't really worth worrying about.