[WasabiPearl]

Hello all, I am planning on drilling 6mm-7mm cultured akoya pearls at what I would assume to be some sort of volume. Lets say an average of maybe 50 pearls per day. My question is whether or not the YDK drill could handle this volume of pearls on a daily basis. If not, can anyone recommend a better suited drill? Also, I understand that chisel type drill bits are the best choice for drilling purposes, but can anyone recommend a drill bit? How long can I expect a drill bit to last at that volume? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[jshepherd]

Actually, if only 50 pearls a day, and drilling Akoya, that drill should be fine. If you were drilling Tahitians, I would say go with a better drill. If you think you may start drilling in high volume, you may want a better one as well.

Most Akoya factories use the two-sided drill. The bits meet in the middle. The single side drills are used mainly for earrings. We use it for Tahitians as well (but a higher quality version), as each pearl is drilled very precisely, and it is hard to hit your mark with the two-sided machine.

[WasabiPearl]

Thanks very much for your reply. The majority of the drilling will only be on one side, but If I should need to drill both sides I came up with a little trick to help with accuracy. After one side is drilled and the pearl turned I place a long piece of pencil lead (Anything long and straight will work) into the side that I have already drilled and then level it. It's a some what primative technique, but it works extemely well for me. Can you tell me how long I can expect a single drill bit to last? Maybe recommend a longer lasting bit? Thanks again!

[knotty panda]

Most interesting! Would a Tahitian accomodate an 0.82MM drill hole and would that be easy to do? I also think it's interesting that England and France managed to meet the Chunnel in the middle (I've always wondered how they did that).

[jshepherd]

You should not have to do that with a pearl drill... An actual pearl drill, even if single sided, will have a device to rotate the cups 180 degrees.