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Post by MrP on Dec 12, 2007 21:33:17 GMT -5
Randy, how did those new drill bits work out?.....MrP
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Post by Bikerrandy on Dec 12, 2007 21:40:38 GMT -5
Funny, I was going to try one after I got home from work but I was so darn sore from digging up sewer lines today that I forgot all about it. lol
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Post by Bikerrandy on Dec 13, 2007 21:52:34 GMT -5
Well, I drilled a hole, but honestly, the bit didn't seem any better than the cheap ebay drill bits. I guess the biggest problem for me is the amount of time that it takes to drill a hole. If I were to do another craft show, I'm not sure that it would be worth the time that it takes to drill a hole since the pendants aren't exactly "high dollar" items. I'd have to at least drill 8-10 holes per hour to make money. I think that this hole took about 12 minutes. The pendant that I drilled was a piece of black agate, it's as hard as a Brazilian agate.
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Post by MrP on Dec 15, 2007 14:04:20 GMT -5
Randy, Sorry to hear that. I was hoping you had found a magic bit. I had used my bits with lube cool 4800. The mix got nasty with all the drilling so I dumped it out. A couple of weeks later I did some more drilling and had just put water in the container. Very slow drilling and bits wouldn't last. The next day I used the lube cool and what a difference. Not saying it is the answer but it does seem to make drilling better. Agate is still a bear but what do you do. Need an ultrasonic drill$$$......MrP
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
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Post by Sabre52 on Dec 15, 2007 14:40:49 GMT -5
Very interesting to hear your thoughts on stone drilling. I had a thought to do a bunch of custom centerpiece beads and dangles using fine drilled agate slabs, cabs etc.. Got a bunch of fairly expensive diamond drills and burs etc and went to work with my Foredom tool. Well, after trying a few I quickly came to my senses. Like Randy has said, it friggin took forever to drill the holes in the hard agate and, to me at least, it seemed the bits did not last that long. I only used water as coolant though. Anyway, it didn't take me long to see I could not make any money at it and it was far more trouble than it was worth....Mel
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Post by cpdad on Dec 15, 2007 16:06:38 GMT -5
randy i found out the same thing about agates when i first started drilling by hand....the first ones i tried were almost a 1/4" thick...took forever like you and mel said....hell i thought this is BS...i aint gonna do this by hand. so i backed down the thicknes to 1/8"...maybe even slightly thinner 3/32"....i did have to increase the size of the pendant somewhat...to make up for lost weight....so the pendant would hang o.k. on a chord....not so much if it were going on a sterling chain....i can now drill brazillians in about 3...4 minutes. i also found out that the thinner agate pendants had a lot more color to them...specially the brazillians....light flows thru them much better ;D these thin pendants with a sterling bail....and a black leather chord with sterling clasps.....or $3 sterling bead chain from michaels...sold real well at $19.99 in my boss ladies tanning salon before she sold it. they for the most part looked like these....yes the pics suck...clickable if ya wanna try some thin ones just for kicks....i have some bails...clasps....and leather left over from the pendants i made for the holiday thingy....i will be glad to send them to you for you to try...i dont need em...im not doing anything for a while anyway...i have to finish my grinder...thats been in progress for damn near a year ;D...kev.
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