Essential (and obscure) 3D printing tools and spares

What tools and spares do you need to run your 3D printer? Here is my selection.

The links below are affiliate Amazon links. You do not have to use them if you don't want to. I have linked to either products I own, budget products or Amazon's choice.

Timestamps with Amazon product links:
0:00 Introduction
0:50 General tools for assembly and disassembly

6:12 Tuning and maintenance

8:21 Spares and consumables

12:17 Wiring

14:46 Post processing

17:24 Design and modelling

18:22 Obscure tools

20:50 Conclusion

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[BigBlack]

THIS is the sort of content that we need just as much as others.

[MakersMuse]

I've had a wiha ball head allen key screwdriver since 2008 and it's outlasted every single one supplied with printers. Sometimes a little more $ really is worth it on ... daily drivers lol

[paulr]

Hey, Micheal. Pretty much all covered there, but I will add that I have a infrared thermometer gun just to keep check on motor temps etc and to confirm thermistors are accurate. Cheers.

[iantaylor]

Digital kitchen scales are handy to use to weigh how much filament you have left on the spool. Weigh an empty spool and subtract. Good to know after slicing if you have to swap out filament or not (especially for overnight prints)

[Bob_Dub]

@ 20:43 I've always found credit cards good for removing skirts, too, and the fancier the card (ie gold, platinum, black titanium) and the higher the credit limit, the more easily it removes the skirts.

I have friends who met their current GF's that way.

:P

[UtubeUsername]

A good set of wire brushes? Nylon, brass, and SS ... great for cleaning nozzles or finishing parts.

[AndreasA.S.]

acupuncture needles. and possibly a plastic blade scraping tool (uses plastic instead of metal)

[briguy]

I would also recommend a pair or two of tweezers in your tool kit. They help pull wisps of filament off your print when you are starting, or pull some of the oozing filament out of the nozzle when you're starting or doing a filament layer change. They are also necessary for soldering, and I use mine instead of a pick to pop out wires from JST connectors.

[vandit]

This is exactly what happened to me. I bought an Ender 3 to give me something to do during lockdown. Now I have three shelves crammed with filaments and I'm tripping over all the new tools, cables, and boxes of spares and upgrades!

[NorMAL]

You forgot to include a "magic smoke" re-filler. You know, when you overvolt the stepper motors that the magic smoke gets released, and only way to fix them is to refill them ;P

[GrandpasPlace]

On the topic of sanding and finishing.
I've found that emery boards (also called nail files) come in 80/100/180/240 grit. They are great for sanding small parts and sanding tight spaces. Plus they are cheap costing around $9 for 50. I keep a 100/180 near the printer for removing those minor imperfections that occasionally show up in a print.

[bernardcatt]

The one tool I use, at least almost every second print, is a bamboo skewer. It is great removing any filament 'dags' that may attach themselves to the print nozzle, especially on first layers when you can't easliy reach in.

[Numenor]

A guitar string is great for cleaning out the nozzle

[MrNlce]

You forgot the kettle and your favourite mug. Tea, coffee or booze is optional.
Great video. Keep up the good work.

[Know-Way]

Another great video!
Some other tools I'd recommend...
Forceps/Hemostats - works as small needle-nose pliers, tiny vice-grips, tweezers. Strait and curved are great. very useful for holding wires/parts when soldering, either for placement or because the parts get too hot to hold. Easily one of my most used tools. Edit: Just thought of another... Drop something down a deep hole or slot? Consider Alligator Forceps.
Phillips screw holder/starter - Indispensable when you need to start a stainless-steel (non-magnetic) or any screw in a place your fingers can't reach.
A telescopic magnetic pick-up/retrieving tool. The flexible ones can be useful too, but sometimes they flex too much allowing the magnet to swing and grab things you don't want it too.
Acid brushes - A thousand and one uses. Trim the bristles short with scissors and you have a long handle mini scrub-brush. Use to paint on acetone to solvent weld PLA.
I like the brushes used for gun cleaning. Like an upgraded toothbrush stiffer bristles on one end of the handle and a single row of short stiff bristles on the other.
I also like nut-driver over socket/ratchet most of the time.
Thanks for the great content. Going to get a deburing tool. Don't have one yet.

[vasiliynkudryavtsev]

I use sharpened obsolete credit card as a scrapper. I print on glass (ultrabase) and don't want to damage it.

[snelinternet]

Great video!
Extra tips: fuses (for mainboard and socket) and nozzles 😉

[artiem]

Wire -- with Teflon insulation! Particularly for the heavier wire, such as runs to bed heaters or internally between the psu and the controller board -- insulation on "normal" wire deforms or melts at fairly low temperatures, where Teflon insulation keeps going. A little more expensive, but a lot more safe!

[sealightube]

For sound level meter you can use your mobile phone with a dedicated app, it not that accurate, but it can be good for comparative measurements.

[BeepDog]

I really appreciate the parts list, because finding decent quality tools has been a crapshoot without reviews. Thanks!