enlarging drillholes without breaking the pearls

B

bluelotus777

Guest
OK, first of all, sorry if this is the wrong forum I wasn't sure where to post this. The issue is, I have some pearls (Persian Gulf, naturals) that I want to string on a particular silver chain for which their drill hole is too small. I think their hole is about 0.5mm at the moment, and I need to get them to about 0.8mm. Well I bought a manual beading reamer, from the company Beadsmith with a 1mm drill (it is smaller on the beginning and gets bigger further up), and started to enlarge the holes, quite gently, but both pearls on which I tried broke :(. Do I maybe need another drill, or is there anything that can be done to prevent them from breaking?
If I am unable to do this myself, are there places that enlarge drillholes? I don't want to destroy all my precious pearls...

Thanks...
 
I think your problem is that you are trying to drill with a reamer. You need to drill the pearls not ream them. Put the drill bit into a drill and use that (but use a new bit as the one you have already used will be blunt) Use a fast speed.
I need to make a video of this - on the to-do list it goes
 
You might be misunderstanding me, Pearlescence, they are already drilled, I just want to get them larger. Also, I don't have a drill. I am thinking about buying very fine jeweler saw blades and just sawing the hole bigger, in a circular motion. That way the risk of breaking should be smaller than with a ream. Gosh I didn't know making these holes larger would be such an ordeal :rolleyes:
 
NOt at all, I understood you perfectly. Enlarging drill holes from 0.7mm to 1mm or occassionally to as large as 2.5mm for leather is something we do every day
 
bluelotus777 said:
You might be misunderstanding me, Pearlescence, they are already drilled, I just want to get them larger. Also, I don't have a drill. I am thinking about buying very fine jeweler saw blades and just sawing the hole bigger, in a circular motion. That way the risk of breaking should be smaller than with a ream. Gosh I didn't know making these holes larger would be such an ordeal :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Hello blue lotus - in my opinion you where\ are on the right track. But if the tool you used is what I think it is - it can and will bind quite easily and then your in trouble as you found out.

Get yourself a set of "cutting broaches" from a jewellers supply (not the smooth ones which are for a different task) cutting broaches are five sided and let you ease open the existing hole - staying centred along the way :)

I would not suggest using a saw blade - at the least - you won't get a smooth inner surface on the hole, and at worst you could get a very wonky shaped hole uneven on each side of the pearl.
 
Some people drill with Dremels and other forms of drills, I have a pearl drill and even then things can go wrong. Unless I was very experienced, I wouldn't drill pearls I cared about with anything except a pearl drill bit no matter what kind of drill I was using.
 
Would be wonderful if I had a pearl drill but unfortunately I don't...if everything fails, maybe I could send them to Pearlescence and they could do it professionally, I saw on their website that they do pearl drilling so maybe they do hole enlargements as well.
But first I will try the "cutting broaches" as mentioned by Bernadette, and I'll see if I can finally get it right or if I will destroy more of my treasures...
 
Hi Bernadette,
when you say cutting broaches, do you mean this ?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-Assorted-Cutting-Broaches-Drilling-Vise-/231017623346

besides I am drilling all kind of pearls from very thin to bery large holes, and natural pearls are so precious, I would not recommend doing it with rudimentary tools.
I recommend slow electric speed + lot of water + diamond drilling bits OR very thin and sharp pearl japanase type drilling bit +start experiment with low price pearls
good luck
 
Another way is to give up enlarging the holes, and taking a thinner thread, so you would not spoil your pearls
Natural pearls MUSt keep narrow holes IMO
the thinner on the market is 0,10 mm 19 strands beadalon which is american wire so easy to find
 
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You could also use a very fine silver or gold wire gauge, like say 26G, in half hard to wire wrap the pearl onto the chain such as this:
 

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I understand what you are saying about using a finer wire, and I have plenty of fine enough wire at home, but the problem is, I am obsessed with using this particular chain and no other :rolleyes:... reason being, it is an absolutely gorgeous, smooth sterling silver chain I bought in Germany, haven't ever seen quite anything like it. A few of my natural pearls even fit on this chain (they don't have all the same size of holes, I guess it's because they were handdrilled), and it isn't a big difference that needs to be made, so I am quite determined to get them on there SOMEHOW...(hopefully not at the cost of too many broken pearls).
Out of interest, madsciencechick, how were the beads added to this chain? I don't see exactly how this would work...
 
Hello
Can you show your chain? because I am wondering if it would rub the hole by inside, especially if you intend to have your pearls moving along the chain.
So you have 2 choices : drilling by yourself with little equipment and taking risk breaking more or have it done properly with professional tools.
 
Using wire..I think everyone is thinking tin cup/station style which would involve cutting the chain and attaching a pearl at whatever interval you want..like these necklaces http://www.pearlescence.co.uk/index.php/cPath/192_24_123
But it sounds as if what you have in mind is actually threading the pearls onto the chain (which does sound special) . Presumably then they will be able slide around on the chain. Unless you are going to fill the chain and then the chain won't be visible......
Didnt Mikimoto have a chain and pearls thing where the pearls slid around on a chain and had some sort of slidey stopper thing inside them so they stayed where they were put on the chain? was that some sort of silicone washer or something?
If you can get some pearls onto the chain now would that not look pretty good as is and make a feature of those pearls rather than risk more of them?
 
Yup, I was suggesting tin cup station style. I think threading on a chain would be interesting, but I would echo the concern over the pearls being worn away on the inside from all the movement on the chain. Even if it is a smooth chain wear will happen over time.
 
Hi Anna, yes those are broaches, you would have to use a pin vice to hold them. The ones I use are the A F brand and they have handles.

They would be very safe to use on natural pearls as you have full control, they actively cut, not like the diamond coated reamers that "grind" and take forever to use. The issue with the diamond coated reamers is that they can bind in the hole, and that becomes ugly very quickly. The cutting broaches have a very different "feel" when in use and it's much easier to gauge what's happening inside the hole.
 
Hello Bluelotus, I think you're best bet would be to order three sided steel PEARL DRILL BITS and use those in a small drill, using a small vice to hold the pearl steady. (as it seems buying a pearl drill machine is out of the question for just one project). I recommend using these drill bits instead of the spiral drill bits found at almost any hardware or hobby shop because they allow the pearl dust to escape (instead of getting stuck, which in turn heats up the inside of the pearl and is usually what causes damage and breakage). Using a fast drill helps, but do not leave the bit in the pearl for very long because the heat is what causes the damage.
All of this said... I use these three sided drill bits up to as big as I can get them (1.5mm might be the largest you can order them)... and then I usually do the final enlarging with a spiral drill bit to get a 2mm hole. I believe you can order these three sided drill bits from Otto Frei, although others might have better suggestions about where to get the from. I get mine in Japan when I am there. (they are between $3-5 each and they are double sided so when the drill bit starts to turn brown you can turn it around and use the other side).
I understand FULLY having ones heart set on a specific design.. but I must agree with ClicClasp and others that wire wrapping these very special pearls is probably the best for them in the long run.
Having pearls slide on a chain is a look I really favor too.. but with natural pearls on a sterling silver chain ... the oxidation over years of time will most likely ruin the look of them.
Best of luck with this... I personally despise drilling pearls with huge holes.. no matter how much practice you have , there is always some loss.
Cheers, Sarah
 
Love it! Antiquity might be a stretch in the description... pretty sure that's how they still drill tiny little keshi pearls in India! A true meditation!
 
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