Post by 1dave on Apr 7, 2021 6:21:58 GMT -5
BUMP! 
Feb 3, 2010 at 7:42pm mohs, RocksForBrains, and 7 more like this
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Post by 150FromFundy on Feb 3, 2010 at 7:42pm
Why Bother Drilling?
My first pendants were made with the typical glue on bell caps and leaf bails. I had to endure the humiliation of some of them failing at the most inopportune time. I noticed a few RTH members were using drilled findings and tried my hand at it. After a little more input from RTH members, I came up with an approach that works for me. Now I drill all my pendants and no longer endure humiliation, at least when it comes to my pendants.
This is my attempt at a comprehensive tutorial that will hopefully encourage a few more RTH members to give drilling a try. None of these ideas are original. If it sounds familiar, I probably stole it from you!
The Finding You Need To Find
The finding that we will be attaching to the pendant is called an “eye-up”. This finding has an eye ready for a jump ring and a knurled pin that will penetrate into the pendant about 3mm. The combination of the knurled pin, the roughed out drill hole and the right glue will give you the most secure finding mount available. These particular gold plated eye-up findings are available from the Rock Shed at 12 for $2.00. That’s about $0.17 each.
The Diamond Drill Strings and Burring Tool
These are the drill strings and a burring tool. The burring tool is the shorter bit that is essentially a diamond-encrusted ball. The burring tool is used to start the drill hole by forming a small dimple in the pendant. The small dimple will ensure that the diamond drill string does not “skate” across the pendant and inadvertently engrave the surface. These are 1.5mm drill strings and are forgiving to start out with. I would like to reduce the diameter to a 1.0mm drill string as I get a little better. These particular drill strings are available from the Rock Shed at 5 for $14 plus the burring tool. That’s about $2.80 each.
Feb 3, 2010 at 7:42pm mohs, RocksForBrains, and 7 more like this
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Post by 150FromFundy on Feb 3, 2010 at 7:42pm
Why Bother Drilling?
My first pendants were made with the typical glue on bell caps and leaf bails. I had to endure the humiliation of some of them failing at the most inopportune time. I noticed a few RTH members were using drilled findings and tried my hand at it. After a little more input from RTH members, I came up with an approach that works for me. Now I drill all my pendants and no longer endure humiliation, at least when it comes to my pendants.
This is my attempt at a comprehensive tutorial that will hopefully encourage a few more RTH members to give drilling a try. None of these ideas are original. If it sounds familiar, I probably stole it from you!
The Finding You Need To Find
The finding that we will be attaching to the pendant is called an “eye-up”. This finding has an eye ready for a jump ring and a knurled pin that will penetrate into the pendant about 3mm. The combination of the knurled pin, the roughed out drill hole and the right glue will give you the most secure finding mount available. These particular gold plated eye-up findings are available from the Rock Shed at 12 for $2.00. That’s about $0.17 each.
The Diamond Drill Strings and Burring Tool
These are the drill strings and a burring tool. The burring tool is the shorter bit that is essentially a diamond-encrusted ball. The burring tool is used to start the drill hole by forming a small dimple in the pendant. The small dimple will ensure that the diamond drill string does not “skate” across the pendant and inadvertently engrave the surface. These are 1.5mm drill strings and are forgiving to start out with. I would like to reduce the diameter to a 1.0mm drill string as I get a little better. These particular drill strings are available from the Rock Shed at 5 for $14 plus the burring tool. That’s about $2.80 each.
