January 24 Through February 4—TUCSON, ARIZONA: Annual show
Welcome to the GemologyOnline.com Forum
A non-profit Forum for the exchange of gemological ideas
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 4:59 am

All times are UTC - 4 hours




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 9 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: Drilling stones with diamond tipped bits
PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2015 7:36 pm 
Offline
Established Member

Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2015 10:17 am
Posts: 20
Hi,
I'm thinking of drilling polished stones to hang them on chains.
I know I need diamond tipped bits, but I would like some advice on how much I should spend on them and how many stones I should be able to drill with each bit.
Thanks


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Drilling stones with diamond tipped bits
PostPosted: Fri Jan 23, 2015 3:35 am 
Offline
Gold Member

Joined: Tue Jul 02, 2013 9:00 am
Posts: 1322
Location: Wylie Texas but in Alaska for a while
A lot of variables.
- how hard is the sone
- do you have a good setup for keeping it cool and flushed
- do you have a rigid tooling setup

depending on the material, and size hole needed:
you can drill some with carbide tipped masonry drills.... but not sure you =need a hole that big. they do make them in 1/8 inch size.

so need a little more information....


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Drilling stones with diamond tipped bits
PostPosted: Fri Jan 23, 2015 10:00 am 
Offline
Established Member

Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2015 10:17 am
Posts: 20
Hard stones such as Quartz.

Set ups... Will be trying 2 options.
1- Standard drill press with a water drip directed onto the bit.
2- Using a bowl of water with stone placed in the water and drilling through the water to the stone. The bit will keep cool as its in the water.

Hole size approx, 2 mm.

Hope this helps.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Drilling stones with diamond tipped bits
PostPosted: Fri Jan 23, 2015 1:43 pm 
Offline
Gemology Online Veteran
User avatar

Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2011 11:48 am
Posts: 584
Location: Odenton, Maryland
I don't drill that often, but tend to go with option #2--immerse the stone (or enamel, same process) in water. If you get a shallow bowl, you can actually clamp the stone down with some wood in the bowl with a clamp.

_________________
--Eric//upcyclist
Silversmith, faceter, tinker, geek
Select Gem LLP
Patuxent Lapidary Guild


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Drilling stones with diamond tipped bits
PostPosted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 2:13 pm 
Offline
Established Member

Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2015 10:17 am
Posts: 20
Thanks for the information.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Drilling stones with diamond tipped bits
PostPosted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 4:11 pm 
Offline
Valued Contributor

Joined: Fri Nov 07, 2014 5:21 pm
Posts: 418
Location: Morden, MB, Canada
if you need to drill a lot on regular basics, than you better buy an ultrasonic drilling machine....

_________________
Premium wedding gold rings&bands https://www.etsy.com/shop/energyosjewelry


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Drilling stones with diamond tipped bits
PostPosted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 4:21 pm 
Offline
Established Member

Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2015 10:17 am
Posts: 20
No, not regular. Just a hobby.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Drilling stones with diamond tipped bits
PostPosted: Tue Feb 10, 2015 5:18 am 
Offline
Established Member

Joined: Sun Jul 20, 2014 2:33 pm
Posts: 36
I bought a package of twenty assorted diamond rotary point tips for $7.99 from Harbor Freight and, after a little driving around, found that packages containing twenty and thirty tips each are readily available and comparably priced. You can buy packages containing Dremel® rotary diamond tips from many different stores but they cost up to $6.25 plus tax for two diamond tips and are no better or worse than any of the 10-, 20-, and 30-tip packages readily available. You can pay $6.25 for a package of two diamond rotary points chosen by them or $10.00 for a box of twenty diamond rotary points with about eight that meet your needs.

While wandering through a Swap Meet I came across a stall selling, amongst about a thousand other small tools and pieces of equipment, one package containing a set of five small diamond cutting wheels and another package containing one larger cutting wheel. Each package cost $3.00. Not only are they great for cutting, but the flat area on the side of each wheel can double as a flat grinder.

By using different size collets, the diamond tool points, diamond cutting wheel, and buffing brush will fit any rotary tool. Although any rotary tool will do the job, I do highly recommend you get one that has more than one speed setting so you’ll be able to select the speed that’s best for you.

Bob Nolan


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Drilling stones with diamond tipped bits
PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 8:05 am 
Offline
Gemology Online Veteran

Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2015 9:55 am
Posts: 543
I bought a gem drilling set from a German company, a set of hollow drills with a pin running through. When the drill is applied to the stone the pin is lifted and allows water to flow through, sweeping away debris and keeping everything cool. Perfect if you have a lot of stones to drill.
If I only have one or two I stick the stone to the drill table with bluetak, make a circle of bluetak to stick on top of the stone around where I want to drill and put a little water in it. Apply the drill slowly and lift it often to allow the water to reach the cutting face and the job is soon done. Diamond drills are so cheap these days that even if they only last 3 or 4 jobs the marginal cost is miniscule.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 9 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 4 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 17 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group
Gemology Style ported to phpBB3 by Christian Bullock