transcendental
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2014
Posts: 459
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Post by transcendental on Jul 14, 2014 17:06:24 GMT -5
Ok so my drill press isn't home made but wasn't sure what category this fit in. I bought a tabletop drill press and diamond bits to drill holes thru stones. Got thru 3 and all of them had a little blow out on the backside. Glad these were practice stones!
Anyone have advice in how to avoid this? From all my research, using a soft wood under the stones and applying even light pressure minimizes the chances of blow out but doesn't prevent it completely. Thanks for reading, appreciate any help
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jul 14, 2014 17:38:23 GMT -5
I read somewhere that you could put a small nail through a board and use that to line up a second hole from the backside. You would line the drill bit up with the nail with no stone there, then stick the nail (or old drill bit) into a hole drilled halfway through the rock. Then you could drill from the other side and be sure to hit the hole. I have absolutely no idea if this would work because I've never tried it.
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Post by jakesrocks on Jul 14, 2014 18:12:35 GMT -5
Epoxy your cab to a scrap of 1/8" Masonite. When you're nearing the end of your drill hole, ease up on the pressure and finish the hole slowly. After drilling, soak the cab & Masonite in acetone.
Try drilling before grinding & polishing your cab. You may remove enough material in the cabbing process to remove the blowout.
Spend the money on a good bead drilling jig. You should be able to drill half way through and turn the jig over to finish the hole.
Use a cone shaped diamond bit to create a bevel on both sides of the hole. Finish by polishing in a vibe tumbler.
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transcendental
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2014
Posts: 459
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Post by transcendental on Jul 14, 2014 18:26:27 GMT -5
Thanks guys I'll Def try out these tips. Running out of daylight so unfortunately not tonight
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Post by Peruano on Jul 14, 2014 18:35:02 GMT -5
Rio Grande supply has a neat tutorial on drilling holes on their website. They advocate using a substance called Thermoplastic (I think), and its neat in forming a putty that you can mold around your rock (support underneath and a basin to hold just the right amount of water above (mold when warmed by hot water; turns stiff / hard when cool). To release stone just place in hot water and the putty becomes soft again and can be reused countless times. I'm speaking theoretically here, but have my package of the raw putty beads in hand and ready to try. I know it sounds like it solves a couple of problems that I had when I was last drilling holes. Good luck and I'll try to post when I do my first run. The stuff is not cheap, but neither are diamond bits or almost finished cabs. I think it was something like $25 for a 1 lb package. Tom
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Post by phil on Jul 14, 2014 18:58:05 GMT -5
Drill a small (like 1 mm) hole first, then finish with your larger bit, coming in from both sides. Another way is to freeze your stone in an ice cube, then drill under water.. Keeps the bit cold and the hole supported to prevent blowout. Oh... go slow!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jul 14, 2014 19:05:12 GMT -5
Don, what is a bead drilling jig?
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Post by jakesrocks on Jul 14, 2014 19:45:00 GMT -5
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jul 14, 2014 20:30:28 GMT -5
I'm still confused, Don. Those first few hits are devices for drilling a hole for a bead on a shotgun. I'm not sure how that would help for drilling in a cab. If you get time later, could you show how yours works?
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 3,815
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Post by gemfeller on Jul 14, 2014 20:37:27 GMT -5
Great solution Phil! I like it! There are lots of good ideas here.
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Post by jakesrocks on Jul 14, 2014 21:13:25 GMT -5
Here ya go Rob. Mine is no longer being made, but it wouldn't be hard to make one in any size needed. (That's a 1/4" bead ready for drilling in the last pic).
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jul 14, 2014 21:26:43 GMT -5
Thanks Don. Now I understand. It looks sort of like a door hinge.
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Post by Pat on Jul 14, 2014 21:45:17 GMT -5
I use the drill press with stones to make rings a la @wampidy In an old ice cream plastic bucket, I set a block of wood then my stone.
When my core drill is lowered to the thick slab, it is in water. Keeps stone and drill cool. No break- offs. Don't know if the water prevents that or not.
One more thing: I take small slow stabs at the stone, so water can enter the area for each cut.
Good luck!
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transcendental
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2014
Posts: 459
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Post by transcendental on Jul 16, 2014 9:49:19 GMT -5
One more question..... the press is a 5 speed 750-3050 I think it was. What is your recommended speed setting. I have it on the slowest thinking it would prevent heat build up but maybe that's part of why I'm having blow outs. I went at it for quite a while yesterday and had much greater success going in from both sides.... need to work on my lining up but there's a tool for that I'll pick up over the weekend. I'm drilling thru my feldspar that I've been working on for over a month now, it's hit or miss and after taking a close look at the blow outs I think the stones cleavage might be a factor here. Really appreciate all the advice so far, it's good to have options for different materials and I'm definitely getting my practice in on these hand picked stones before I go out and purchase stones to drill thru and potentially waste money
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jul 16, 2014 11:27:10 GMT -5
Let us know how the alignment tool works. I'd love to see pictures of what you end up using.
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Post by phil on Jul 16, 2014 13:00:37 GMT -5
What kind of drill bit are you using? Lo and slow if the correct way to drill rock.
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unclestu
Cave Dweller
WINNER OF THE FIRST RTH KILLER CAB CONTEST UNCLESTU'S AGUA NUEVA AGATE
Member since April 2011
Posts: 2,298
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Post by unclestu on Jul 16, 2014 17:02:17 GMT -5
I just purchased the Froedom DP30 drill press and #30 sr handpiece which has forward and reverse (good for frilling holes). I had saved this tutorial in my favorites a while back. I never actually attemped this method but I will now that I got my drill press. It claims to eliminate "blow outs" I hope it helps you. Stu www.brightstargemstones.blogspot.com/
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transcendental
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2014
Posts: 459
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Post by transcendental on Jul 16, 2014 17:10:39 GMT -5
I work at harbor Frieght so all my stuff comes from there.... employee discount doubled up with coupons.... can't beat that! I got the diamond rotary bits and they work great in the press. When I go in on Sunday I'm going to pick up this set m.harborfreight.com/6-piece-technical-measuring-set-94447.htmlThey don't sell that one tool in the center on its own but I'm sure I can find uses for the rest of the stuff
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stephent
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2014
Posts: 213
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Post by stephent on Jul 17, 2014 0:49:53 GMT -5
When I drill holes through a stone for mounting/split rings...or wires. I use a really sharp pointed long taper diamond bit on the slowest setting in a Dremel with a very light pressure/touch. Under water in a shallow dish. When the fine tip just breaks through (very small hole when it just goes thru...maybe 1/4mm or less) I quit drilling from that side and flip the stone and drill from the other side until the hole is even-ish. What little breakout I have is ground away quickly when I drill from the second side. Problem with a drill press is that you can actually be exerting quite a bit of pressure on the drill stem with *very* little pressure on the operating arm/lever through the rack and pinion raising/lowering gears.
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transcendental
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2014
Posts: 459
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Post by transcendental on Jul 17, 2014 8:40:12 GMT -5
When I drill holes through a stone for mounting/split rings...or wires. I use a really sharp pointed long taper diamond bit on the slowest setting in a Dremel with a very light pressure/touch. Under water in a shallow dish. When the fine tip just breaks through (very small hole when it just goes thru...maybe 1/4mm or less) I quit drilling from that side and flip the stone and drill from the other side until the hole is even-ish. What little breakout I have is ground away quickly when I drill from the second side. Problem with a drill press is that you can actually be exerting quite a bit of pressure on the drill stem with *very* little pressure on the operating arm/lever through the rack and pinion raising/lowering gears. Yeah I had a feeling my pressure was too much that first day. Now I go by sound, you can hear when the bit is scratching stone and when it's free spinning in a hole.
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