Drill holes in glass blocks or wine bottle with diamond drill bits with a hand held drill motor.

Before you start to drill the hole you should use some Silly Putty to form a donut. Place the donut over the spot where you want to drill the hole. On a glass block I find a place just off the center line where the two halves of the block are joined. Fill the donut hole with water... During the cutting process the bit will begin to heat up. Make sure the hole in the donut is full of water. Have a little cup of water nearby in case you need to add a little water. Place your wine bottle or glass block on old towel and position between your feet on a hard cement floor. See if you can start drilling by tipping the drill bit a little on its edge you will have to apply a little pressure to get your drill bit to starting cutting. Once it start to cut you can than bring it straight up Remember; Diamond coated drill bits can heat up very quickly. Pump your drill up and down every few seconds. Drilling the hole will take a few minutes because it is difficult to drill through thick glass. Glass blocks are manufactured with a slight vacuum inside. You will often hear a slight hiss when the drill bit breaks through. Wash the glass block inside and out to get the glass dust out of the block. Let it dry before you start to decorate. Remember you don’t need a lot of downward pressure. Set your drill motor at low speed. To learn more about drilling glass block or wine bottle go to google search.

lightedwinebottlemaking.com

 

directions for making a bottle lamp

 

Directions for making your Bottle Lamp

 

 Drill hole in bottle using 3/8” Diamond drill bit. (for Deco Teeny,teeny bulbs)

 Rinse bottle and dry thoroughly

 Place plastic snap-in grommet on lamp cord.

 Feed lamp cord through drilled hole towards bottle neck. Push plastic grommet in drilled hole.

 Pull cord approx. 15” past top of bottle and tie a knot in cord. Pull cord back            through bottle until knot is about 1 inch from grommet inside bottle. You should have approx. 2” of wire at top of bottle.

Insert Deco Teeny,Teeny bulbs through top of bottle. Terminal end down. Cut end should extend about 2” from top of bottle.

Carefully feed lamp cord wires and Deco lights wires through threaded nipple/adapter.

Carefully insert nipple/rubber adapter into bottle .Bottle adapter should be flush with top of bottle. Check to see if rubber adapter fits firmly in neck of bottle.  If too lose you will have to compress the adaptor to enlarge it. Hold the bottom nut with a wrench and tighten down top nut. It should not fit supper tight as you may have to take it out if it is not a good fit.

Again, Feed lamp cord and light wires through nipple/adapter and now insert into bottle. If a little tight add a few drops of soap. If using a harp  place it  on top of brass check  ring, add hex nut and  Tighten.

Run lamp cord and light wires through socket base and screw on to nipple.

Wiring the 3 terminal socket.  The ribbed wire from the lamp cord is connected to the Brass screw, the other lamp cord wire and one Deco  light wire are connected to the silver  screw, and the other Deco  light wire is connected to the black screw. (Make   sure all wires are secured). Carefully slide socket shell over socket base and  click into place.

Use a 15 watt max. Bulb. (Insert socket reducer if using a candelabra type bulb).

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Note: we do not assume or imply any responsibility for the proper assembly or use of this product.

www.makeawinebottlelamp.com

$125.00 dollar whiskey bottle lamps

 

$125.00 whiskey bottle lamp

 

$125.00 was the lowest price I seen for a BayRum whiskey bottle lamp. The top price was $149.00 for a similar bottle lamp. Where was this?

 

Several weeks ago I attended a Tampa Bay area outdoor Art show. This was not an Arts & Craft Show that we are all familiar with. This was a rather high end juried Art show with lots of jewelry, Paintings, etc.. I would guess that there were about a 100 or more artist displaying their art work. The one booth that caught my eye was an artist displaying Lighted Whiskey Bottle Lamps. I could not believe the price she was asking for her Whiskey Bottle Lamps. Most often lighted wine or whiskey bottle lamps sell between $25.00 and $40.00. Keep in mind that this was a juried show with small rental space at $450.00 for the two day weekend show.

I spoke briefly with the artist. She was pleased with the show and said that she had sold eight whiskey bottle lamps. She sold only whiskey bottle lamp and did not show any wine lighted wine bottles.

What made here whiskey bottle lamps so attractive was that they were mounted on top of wooden cigar boxes. The cigar boxes made an eye catching solid base for here lamps. The lamp shade often would complement the color on the cigar box label. The lamp socket was a push threw 3-way light socket. A white lamp cord went up from the cigar box to the socket. Her lamps had not additional decorations on them.

I enjoyed visiting for a short time with the whiskey bottle lamp artist and was impressed with here work.

 

 

 

 

 

www.lightedwinebottlemaking.com

Mini diamond drill bits for sea glass

 

Mini Diamond TWIST drill bits vs Mini diamond SOLID core  bits

 

Over the last several years that I have been selling mini diamond drill bits to Creative Jewelry designers I have found that the diamond twist bits are just a tad more popular than the solid core bits. Your favorite type would more likely depend upon the kind of material you are drilling. The thickness and the hardness of the material you are drilling would influence the type of diamond drill bits that would work best for you. It’s a good idea to try both types to see which ones last longer and gives you a nice clean hole. Sea glass is often much harder than beach stones or pottery shards to drill.

Mini diamond TWIST drill bits work much like an auger. This type of drill bit will lift the fine silicon dust out of the hole as you drill. You should still lift the mini bit out of the hole just a tad as you drill. A touch n’ go technique is recommended. The thicker the piece of material you are working with the more I would suggest using the twist diamond drill bits.

The mini diamond solid core bits have very fine diamond segmentations at the very tip of the drill bit. This gives you a little less diamond cutting surface. When using  solid core diamond bits you need to lift the drill bit out of the hole every few seconds to clear out the glass dust and to keep water in the hole. Solid core mini diamond drill bits will usually have a longer shank with just the tip doing the work. The shank size is usually the same size as the diamond drill bits. I always insert the shank as far up into the collet that I can.  You want just enough of the tip to penetrate the thickness of the material you are working with. These needle thin mini drill bits can bend or break very easy.   I just cut away the bent shank and continue to use.

As a general rule the thicker the material the slower speed you would want to use.. I find that the middle setting on my Dremel rotary drill motor works just fine.

lightedwinebottlemaking.com

 

 

 

 

 

www.lightedwinebottlemaking.com

Lighted wine bottles Deco Teeny,teeny bulbs

Lighted wine bottle & Deco Bulbs

Designing lighted wine or whiskey bottles is a great and enjoyable craft and very often can generate a little extra money.  Very often an eye-catching attraction to a lighted wine bottle is the warm glow of the lights that come from the bottle.  At one time I would use a string of 35 multi-colored incandescent standards Christmas type light bulbs placed inside a regular size wine bottle. They had an attractive effect.  However, I soon found out the in a very short time the lighted wine bottles became too hot to touch. A major concern to those selling lighted wine bottle at their local craft show was some child or adult would be startled when touching the bottle which could cause an injure of some kind. I often through that there would be some liability on my part when selling bottles that got too hot to touch.

I am now much more comfortable using Darice’s Deco Teey,teeny bright bulbs.

 

To find out more about using Darice Deco light bulbs  try google search.

 

www.makeawinebottlelamp.com

Drilling sea glass for jewelry

Drilling Holes in sea Glass & Beach Stones

Beading and designing jewelry has become one of the most popular and profitable craft. Many artistic folks find designing jewelry on outlet for their creativity. It is an enjoyable craft and it is a money maker for many jewelry artists. The next time you visit a craft show notice the number of booths displaying handmade jewelry. All of them have a rather large group of women looking over their creations and paying good money for that special set of earrings or bracelet that they fell in love with. Many jewelry creations are made from sea glass , semi-precious stone, beach stone and pottery shards.They are unusual because sea glass and beach stones are found with a wide variety of shapes and colors  that offer the artist a wide range of design possibilities. You  may want to try your hand at designing jewelry made   from sea glass or beach stones.

I offer the following suggestions and tips that will help you be successful in drilling sea glass and other semi-precious stones. As you gain experience you will really get involved and enjoy designing your own jewelry.

 

Whenever you use electrical motors with high speed RPM you need to be extra careful. Wear eye protection for sure. You will be drilling with a little water around your work.Be careful with your electrical cords and drill motor.

For best results use good quality diamond drill bits . The mini diamond drill bits that I have available are popular and hold up very well.

I buy my sea glass from a collector who spend the winter in Florida. I am not sure if it is authentic and genuine. I do however, enjoy walking along the shore of Lake Huron looking for any unusual beach stones  .Beach stones  and pottery shards have become a very popular medium for jewelry artist.

I pre-sort my pieces of sea glass and beach stone. I look for the smaller pieces that lend themselves to a pair of earring or a bracelet. The longer pieces would make a nice pendant.

 

 

You have to use your imagination to create a piece of jewelry in your mind. You need to decide where to drill the hole. You may want to drill in the center on top  or at each end. Sea Glass is often so irregular that you will need to study each piece very carefully before you drill you holes. Many jewelry artist use diamond files or diamond burrs to touch up and reshape their sea glass.

You need a Dremel drill motor. Be sure you have a collet that will accommodate the shank size of your drill bit.

Your best bet is to use a Dremel chuck Model 4486. This is an adjustable chuck that will accommodate most mini size diamond bits. This chuck will accept a 3/32” bit. I usually use the middle setting for my drilling speed. The larger the drill bit the more you need to slow your drilling speed down a bit. Recommended speed is 5000-25000 rpm. Insert the shank of the drill bit far up into the collet. Leave just enough of the tip of the bit to drill through the thickness of the glass or stone. These are very fine bits that can heat up very quickly and wear out the diamond segmentation on the tip of your bit.  

 

Lubricants. All diamond drill bits require water to keep the tip of the drill bit and glass cool.

You will need a shallow pan about two or three inches deep. I use a piece of ¾ inch wood to place my sea glass or beach stone on. Add enough water to just cover the glass when you press it to the  bottom of your pan. If you use to much water it will splash all over the place and you will have trouble seeing your work. Change the water often as it will get cloudy from the fine glass dust. If your sea glass is not to thick you can usually drill straight through your piece of sea  glass or stone. Use a very light touch when you sense you are about to break through.  Sometimes I will put a small dot on both sides of the glass with a permanent maker. I will drill my hole from both sides in order to help prevent a chip out when the bit breaks through. Very often jewelry artist will drill the hole with a under size  bit and than re-drill with the final size. You can also use a round head diamond burr to touch up the hole.

 

You could hold your piece of glass or beach stone cause the glass to crack or chip. I usually set my bit at a 45 degree angle to the glass to get the hole started. Once the bit starts to bite you can bring it straight up and continue drilling. When you sense that you are about to break through you need to let up on the down ward pressure. Some sea glass is very hard and you need to be patience, take your time. Sand stone and pottery shard are much easier to drill. I hope that these tips and suggestions will help you get the feel for drilling sea glass or beach stones or pottery shards. I find this craft fascinating and I am sure you will enjoy it once you try it. You will soon develop your own technique as you gain some experience.

You may want to Google search lapidary products for additional accessories and information. Give it a try and let me know if I can be of more help. You can contact me at:

Starkey25@live.com

My web sit: www.lightedwinebottlemaking.com

My esty store: jpdiamonddrillbits

 

 

www.lightedwinebottlemaking.com

Drilling glass blocks

Drill holes in glass blocks or wine bottle with diamond drill bits with a hand held drill motor.

Before you start to drill the hole you should use some Silly Putty to form a donut. Place the donut over the spot where you want to drill the hole. On a glass block I find a place just off the center line where the two halves of the block are joined. Fill the donut hole with water... During the cutting process the bit will begin to heat up. Make sure the hole in the donut is full of water. Have a little cup of water nearby in case you need to add a little water. Place your wine bottle or glass block on old towel and position between your feet on a hard cement floor. See if you can start drilling by tipping the drill bit a little on its edge you will have to apply a little pressure to get your drill bit to starting cutting. Once it start to cut you can than bring it straight up Remember; Diamond coated drill bits can heat up very quickly. Pump your drill up and down every few seconds. Drilling the hole will take a few minutes because it is difficult to drill through thick glass. Glass blocks are manufactured with a slight vacuum inside. You will often hear a slight hiss when the drill bit breaks through. Wash the glass block inside and out to get the glass dust out of the block. Let it dry before you start to decorate. Remember you don’t need a lot of downward pressure. Set your drill motor at low speed. To learn more about drilling glass block or wine bottle go to google search.

www.makeawinebottlelamp.cm