enlarging drillholes without breaking the pearls

[GemGeek]

I bought the drill bits from Otto Frei, but I haven't had time to use them yet. I'm still looking for all the parts to my flex shaft drill, which was packed up for a while.

 

[Katbran]

Thanks GemGeek (I kept typing GemBeak lol ... now I have this weird image in my head ) I'm off to search Otto F. site

 

[GemGeek]

Searching Japanese pearl drills should get you there. Item numbers are 128.516 through 128.525.

 

[Pam]

Hello all,

I'm attempting to try my hand at drilling pearls. My question is about the best type of drill bit to use on freshwater, Tahitians, South Seas etc. I've tried bits on some unused freshwater pearls from past projects, purchased from Ottofrei, that ended up being very fragile and probably not the right type for the tough job of drilling through a hard pearl and the whatever was used to nucleate them. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Pam

 

[pearlescence]

You have to expect to use a new bit every few pearls. They go blunt very very quickly. I reckon that I will have to use a new bit every five pearls max for a 0.7mm or 1mm bit. With some it will be every pearl. Nacre isn't that hard. I suspect blunt bits.
If the bit is snapping..are you using a pearl drill or something hand held? If the latter then the bit was bent which was why it snapped.

 

[Zoe Celeste]

NOt at all, I understood you perfectly. Enlarging drill holes from 0.7mm to 1mm or occassionally to as large as 2.5mm for leather is something we do every day

Hi Pearlescence,

Thank you for all of your informative posts! Forgive me if you have already answered this somewhere, but do you have a specific recommendation for a less expensive pearl drill that will increase the holes of freshwater pearls? Ideally, it would be used to increase the holes to a variety of sizes, all the way up to holes that would accommodate leather.

Thanks!
Zoe (Caitlin's daughter)

PS- this is my first post here... What a great resource!

 

[CLICLASP]

Hello
I drill till 3,4 mm wide , my favourite to enlarge any hole is a diamond covered drilling bit and don't forget to refresh the drilling point with water all the process long

 

[Zoe Celeste]

Thank you for the response! That is very useful info. I am new to this and want to make an investment in a pearl drill, but I'm not ready to go all out with an expensive Japanese one. I am looking for a relatively inexpensive (so most likely Chinese from what I've read here) drill that will work for mostly enlarging hole sizes... We won't be don't any new hole drilling for quite a while so I don't know if that would mean less wear and tear on the drill? I have quite a few ideas and the pearls to make them, just not the drill to accommodate our needs. We just don't want to break the bank before we even get started.