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You can use weedwacker string from the hardware store or go on ebay and search plastruct, that's what i use. It comes in all colors and sizes. I use 2 mm most the time.

I've heard that nylon "weed-eater" line will work

I'll have to look, but from what I can see, weedeaters in Taiwan doesn't use a continuous spool of plastic wire, but instead they take those plastic wire with an end cap crimped over it so that it fits into a special socket, and as a result that's all they sell.

But I guess I can see if they have plastic chicken wire or something...

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I really like the idea about the weed trimmer line. They make some of it that is kind of toothed that would look really cool in a dark epoxy...kind of gear shaped. I'm going to have to try that.

one word.

toothpick

dl

plastic cocktail spear(like for spearing olives...some have a round shaft, the sword-shaped ones=rectilinear)

or....you could always drill the holes, and fill them in with any old paste, as long as you coat it. you could buy colored hobby sand, the fine stuff, and make your own pastes. fender used clay back in the day for their bigger markers

How about sharpening a coloured pencil and push it into the dot hole with a bit of polyurethane glue to hold it in? You can get a pack of Crayolas for $5 and have 24 different colours!

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

Great ideas!
I think I like the toothpick one the most.

You can also get 2mm mother or pearl dots really inexpensively in white, gold, black,green or paua online from Taiwan or Vietnam....

I looked at inlaidartist/tsaimlu but they don't have any 2mm dots, all they have are odd sized dots. Do you know of any other supplier who offers more variety or does inlaidartist have more dots in stock that they don't put on ebay?

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I bought 2 mm Green Abalone from tsaimlu, 8 available today at http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Green-Abalone-Inlay-Material-100-pieces-Dots-2mm-VG-02-/360348661911?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item53e6743897 or white (6) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Green-Abalone-Inlay-Material-100-pieces-Dots-2mm-VG-02-/360348661911?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item53e6743897

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Hi Tai,
Some ivories are illegal to buy and sell (Asian elephant) , some are illegal to import/export (African elephant) and some are unrestricted (Mammoth, Warthog). For dots I use old piano key tops and don't export the instruments.

I know fossil ivories are legal because CITES doesn't deal with extinct species... but I've never seen ivory used on piano key tops, all I've seen are plastic. You must have access to some very old piano.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

You can take a larger dot and glue it to the end of your drill bit (the non pointy end) with some CA. Then sand it down to fit the bit.