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:
My esty store:
jpdiamonddrillbits
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