As mentioned earlier most stores with fabric departments sell quilting needles. They come on a card with a plastic 2.5" diameter dial type dispenser that has compartments containing needle sizes 4-12 but for some reason excludes #11.
Hobby/craft stores sell the above packs too, but for even smaller needles you need to look in the craft section for beading needles. Hobby Lobby (another national chain - closed on Sundays) sell Beadsmith cards of 4 needles. One card contains sizes 10-13. Their smallest needle is size 15 which measures .0085" at the point. The shaft is .0095". At our store and I guess nationally these needles are not with the "seed beads" but in the next isle with the beading accessories as thread and wire. I use a jewelers (machinests) pin vise to drill with needles and the small drills that Guillermo discussed. My pin vise is appx 4" long and slightly larger than the diameter of a pencil. At either end is a one inch long threaded collett which tightens or loosens the oriface. The range of the smaller end is appx 1/16" to zero. The larger end 1/16" to 1/8". Warning these needles and drills are extremely fragile!!! Chuch them up so that only 1mm appx is exposed! Twist the pin vise with your thumb and index finger to drill. I place the metal on top of a white art eraser as a backing to drill into. Mike Atwell ____________________________________________________________ Get advanced SPAM filtering on Webmail or POP Mail ... Get Lycos Mail! http://login.mail.lycos.com/r/referral?aid=27005
