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Has anyone tried this method?
http://barbarasfernald.com/2010/02/0...y-pearl-holes/
I need to string around 50 pearls onto 1mm griffin silk cord and the thought of drilling them individually fills me with horror, not due to laziness but more because my hands are currently really hurting and even if they weren't I'm pretty sure I'd end up breaking pearls.
That said, I don't want to end up with a bunch of wrecked pearls which might shatter.
What do you guys think?
I've never tried it but it does sound like a really good idea. Let us know how it goes.
Hi. Why are you stringing on 1mm silk? That is very big silk. far bigger than we use for even the biggest pearls. We use size 4 for everything and for really big pearls we use a synthetic silk to avoid stretching.
If you really have to use 1mm silk then use a 1mm drill bit to enlarge the pearl holes. faffing around with a reamer or a saw blade will take forever and not do the job properly either.
It's because I'm stringing with larger beads with a 1mm hole. I used to use some of the semi-precious small beads but was asked to use pearls for this one instead. I'll have a go with the drill though I guess I'll need to get a vise to hold it with as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by pearlescence
I might give the saw blade a quick go just to compare, but will bow to your superior experience for the actual job :)
You'll struggle to hold pearls in a vice without scratching them. finger and thumb I'm afraid (and you'll get the hang after you've drilled your thumb a few times!)
I think I would try for big knots to hold the 1mm hole beads rather than make the pearls bigger.
How clever!
I tried expanding them with a hot needle, but this seems better.
Gonna try it out definitely!
Old thread but handy to know a possible solution -
A bead reamer is what you need. They come in different diameters, manual ones that you twist or battery operated ones. A "bead reamer" search will bring up many results.
No you don't. They take hours, you will get RSA and the tip will snap in the hole.
As I said above. New drill bit and ordinary drill on full power and fastest speed possible.
I spend my days drilling pearls for a living
It all depends on the ratio of difference between the original pearl hole and the desired size of hole, obviously if it is a great difference, a bead reamer will not be adequate or a quick fix. Bead reamers are for smallish adjustments or unblocking poorly drilled holes or for pearl dust build up left over from the original drilling process that can block the hole.Quote:
Originally Posted by pearlescence
Anyway, I hope you found the correct answer for your specific problem.
Nope. Reamers are never the answer
A few drills in 0.1mm increments are.
I do this all the time as I put pearls on 0.8 or 1.00mm wires. I use an old ice cream box with a little piece of wood at the bottom and shallow water, and my flex shaft with a pearl drill bit in it. I hold them firmly in my fingers and go slow - don't do too many at a time as that is when you get tired and miss and scratch your finger. If you really don't want to do this you can thread them onto an old saw blade and then onto your jewellers saw and rub the pearls against the blade - it might be enough. Watch out for the pearl dust though -that is why it is useful to keep them under water.Quote:
Originally Posted by medusa
We just hold them between finger and thumb and drill using a normal house type mini battery drill from Aldi (replacement for reallly old one).
I query the going slowly - you are much more likely to overhead the pearl and the drill tip that way. The big professional bench pearl drills drill really really fast and no water
If you are enlarging from 0.7 (standard size) to 0.8 or 1mm there isn't much to remove and the drill should just go through easily - but drill from both ends to the middle because if you go through one direction the exit hole is liable to splinter layers of nacre
'Go slow' as in take your time and concentrate so you don't hurt yourself.
Drill fast but concentrate. Drilling your thumb a few times helps!
videos here of drilling with a pearl drill and drilling with a hand held (and other pearl related stuff)
http://www.pearlescence.co.uk/extra_...uakptjks1ne9o0
I bought some pearl drills in various sizes from Cookies, I use them in a hand held vice, holding the pearl in one hand and slowly drilling until the peg fits. I have also tried it with shank drill bits because the variety of sizes is greater. Doesn't take long.
We don't use any special bits - just cheap ones from the web which we can throw away as soon as they get blunt, after a couple of pearls
Interesting tool, but I prefer pearl drills.Quote:
Originally Posted by medusa