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I desperately need to start drilling small (tiny) holes in my finished dichroic pieces (jewelry). I understand that the hole has to be kept cool when drilling. I don't know where or what kind of drill or bit to buy or where to get it! Can someone give me a few tips on the drilling and place to get these tools? What is the best way to keep the piece cool under water if you don't have a special piece of equipment? Would a grinder work if you held the piece close enough to where the water is coming out? Thanks for any info!

Nia

I use a dremel tool in a drill press with a water drip system that keeps the spot I am drilling constantly covered with water. I know some people drill with the piece submerged in water which I'm sure works as well. I use Triple Ripple diamond drill bits from Kingsley North http://www.kingsleynorth.com/about.html Make sure you just tap with very little pressure each time--you don't want to push down hard and you need to lift a lot so the water gets into the hole. Tap and lift again and again and the piece and/or the bit won't break. Have you considered putting the piece back in the kiln after the hole is drilled so the edges will round instead of being sharp?
Amy

Hey Nia:
I am doing the same thing as you right now and have found the following works for me: I have a drill press that I bought from Home Depot and am using diamond drill bits that I bought from a rock and gem store. I put a small plastic bowl on the plate on the press, fill it with water and then submerged a kiln post in the water (cuz it has a hole in the middle), put a piece of float glass on top of the kiln post (all submerged in water) and then put my dicro piece on top of that. Then slowly (very slowly) drilled the piece using an up and down movement. It takes a lot of patience, but is better than cracking your piece in half. The piece of float seems to help with the back of the dichro piece shattering when the drill bit passes through. Hope this helps.

Well I hate to admit it, but I use a plastic basin filled with enough water to cover a 1" X 2" piece of board. I then use my handy dremel with a standard diamond tip bought from the local home depot, works for me.
Just buy a few extra they do dull in a short time, or maybe its me?
Anyway I have not had any problems, no shocks yet !!!!!!! Or maybe I have and don't know it. lol.
Good luck
have fun
camaro

I do more or less the same as those in the previous posts, as far as setup and equipment are concerned. I use diamond twist drill bits (from Rio Grande--3 pack for 13.50, I think) which seem to work the best for me and last longer than the plain (non-twist) bits. If you're using a dremel or similar tool without a drill press attachment, it might take some practice to get a straight hole that doesn't veer off at a weird angle and come out in the wrong spot on the back side of the piece. This can be a problem when you're drilling a very small jewelry piece that has a surface that's all curve. The way that works best for me is to mark a dot on the piece (with a sharpie or paint marker) where I want the hole to be. Then I submerge the piece in a shallow pan of water with a piece of 1/4" luan(sp?) board lining the bottom. To start the drill hole, I place the bit perpendicular to the curve of the piece long enough to create a divot, then shift the bit to an upright position (i.e. perpendicular to the table). This method lets me drill through a curved spot without having the bit skip or slide.

Another bit of advice: don't push! If you force the bit through, you will definitely end up with a big "exit wound" and maybe even break your glass. Also, I seem to have better luck if I run the dremel a little slower. Speed #5 wreaks havoc, but #1 takes forever. My happy medium is between 2 and 3 to get clean results with reasonable speed.

Good luck, and try the archives, too. Lots of relevant information there on this topic.

[quote="Amy on Salt Spring"]I use a dremel tool in a drill press with a water drip system that keeps the spot I am drilling constantly covered with water. I know some people drill with the piece submerged in water which I'm sure works as well. I use Triple Ripple diamond drill bits from Kingsley North http://www.kingsleynorth.com/about.html Make sure you just tap with very little pressure each time--you don't want to push down hard and you need to lift a lot so the water gets into the hole. Tap and lift again and again and the piece and/or the bit won't break. Have you considered putting the piece back in the kiln after the hole is drilled so the edges will round instead of being sharp?
Amy

Thanks so much for the info. I think that it will help me out a great deal!
Nia

Thanks so much! I think I have all the answers I need to proceed forward in the drilling. I will post my lucky results, lol, when I finish the very 1st piece, hehee.

Thanks again,
Nia

Check out HarborFreight.com. I bought a small table top drill press from them for $40.

For Friday night entertainment either answer Brock's friday ngiht question.. or else put in triple ripple in a search engine...

Stuart Clayman wrote:For Friday night entertainment either answer Brock's friday ngiht question.. or else put in triple ripple in a search engine...

LOLOLOL!!!! I was like "what???" so I typed it in. OH MY!
Amy

While we are on the topic my sister sent me this for a laugh (hope its not in violation of any of Brad's rules to post it!!) :
http://www.blowfish.com/catalog/toys/glass_dildos.html

I'd have to have some serious assurances that these were annealed properly!!
Amy

Amy on Salt Spring wrote:

Stuart Clayman wrote:For Friday night entertainment either answer Brock's friday ngiht question.. or else put in triple ripple in a search engine...

LOLOLOL!!!! I was like "what???" so I typed it in. OH MY!
Amy

Get outta here! How's that thing gonna put a hole in glass? Rosanne

Brock wrote: Get outta here! How's that thing gonna put a hole in glass?

I think you have it backwards, Brock.

Darrin Strosnider wrote:

Brock wrote: Get outta here! How's that thing gonna put a hole in glass?

I think you have it backwards, Brock.

Oh! Never mind. Simpering grin . . .

I know you probably have all the info you need to create holes, but I thought I might add my 5cents (inflation and all).

I use a spring gauge (a caliper type tool) to mark piece both front and back using a sharpie. Then I wax the sharpie mark (candle or chapstick works) so it won't come off in water. Drilling both front and back has really a) speeded up the drilling process and b) I don't get the "exit wounds".

Happy hole making,

Melissa

Melissa that is brilliant! Did you come up with it yourself!!!!??
Amy

I use the Dremel drill press attachment to assure that the drill is at a right angle to the glass throughout the drilling operation. I place the glass on a 3" square piece of 1/4" plywood that is in an aluminum (non rusting) cake pan about 8" dia. I adjust the distance the drill extends from the Dremel chuck to position the handle of the drill press to be slightly below horizontal when the hole is finished. I find it less tiring to work with the handle in this position instead of higher or lower. I adjust the stop on the drill press attachment so that the point of the drill is either even with the top of the plywood square or just barely below its surface to avoid chpping on the back side of the glass when the drill comes through. I add water to cover the glass on the plywood by only 1/16", enough to flood the hole but not enough to make it hard to see where the drill will hit the glass. I drill with a touch and raise motion using light pressure. I judge the pressure by the cloudy flow of cuttings coming from the hole, more pressure until the cloud shows the right volume.

For drills I have found the 20 pc diamond point assortment from Harbor Freight Tools to provide several sizes of drills plus other useful shapes for only $6.95. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/D ... mber=40547
I like the rigid 1/8" shanks on these points for keeping the hole straight when starting on a curved surface.

Best wishes,
Tom in Texas

Great info! Thanks so much.

Nia

Melissa that is brilliant! Did you come up with it yourself!!!!??

Thank you Amy. I would love to take credit for being brilliant, instead I will have to say that I am an astute student. I've taken all I've learned here on this fantastic board, plus all I've learned from my metals teachers mixed with all I learn from trial and error. Drilling holes is easier than bezel setting and I drill A LOT of holes.

Note: Using the spring gauge helps you find the weighted center.

Warm regards,

Melissa