Drilling

[dmiller1536]

Does anyone have any tips for marking round opaque pendants for drilling? I drill halfway on one side and then flip and drill the other side to avoid chips. I have made it work to some extent but have also ruined some great pieces when the drill points do not match up.

[Barry Kaiser]

I have a tutorial on my site (see below) on drilling holes in pendants. They are easy to place and easy to drill.
I have drilled probably over 1000 pendants and do not have a problem with chipping on exit of the drill bit. There may be a very minor chip on the back, but I use pinch bails and they cover up any such minor chip. Also, key word here is minor. Never had anyone notice.

[dmiller1536]

Thanks Barry. I had actually looked at you list of tutorials before I posted this and didn't see it. Is it included in the bail tutorial? I use your tutorials often!

[dmiller1536]

Thanks Barry. I had actually looked at your list of tutorials before I posted this and didn't see it. Is it included in the bail tutorial? I use your tutorials often!

[dmiller1536]

Found it! I'm going to give this a try however, I wire wrap so the chips are a concern for me.

[dmiller1536]

Worked beautifully. Thanks again!

[Aaron Solt]

I tried looking at the bail tutorial but was prompted for a user name and password. I don't want to create more for more sites since memorize too many.


I want to drill a conical shallow hole into soda lime glass, about 1/8th inch wide and 1/8th inch deep. The piece I'd drill into is 1/2" wide, and I'm drilling inti through end of it. I want to sit the cone on another slightly smaller male cone so the piece I drilled into stays put but is easy to remove.


Do I just need a diamond bit, water, and 60 rpm, or is there more I should do to avoid chipping the glass? How much force should I use, and how long should I expect it to take?

Thanks.