Tuesday Tips and Right Sizes

I did a little online shopping, and got some things I'd been needing, couldn't find locally and just had been putting up with not having.


To drill holes, small holes for jump rings, into fused glass you use diamond tipped bits. I ordered a six-pack of small drill bits, planning to use them in my cordless dremel tool.

I found out right away that the collets I had for the dremel weren't small enough to hold the small drill bits.


The cordless dremel was a gift from my daughter, I've had it quite a while and use it a lot. So I went online to find other sizes of collets, and ordered a package of 4 sizes, with a collet nut included. They weren't expensive at all, and now I can use my tiny drill bits in the dremel.

While I was looking around, I found a great sale at DelphiGlass.com on their flex shaft engraving tool, so I ordered that too! It plugs into regular electricity, so I can save my cordless dremel for times when I really need the mobility.


So here are a few tips on taking care of diamond drill bits and drilling glass, in case you are interested.

1. Always drill glass with water on the drill bit, to keep it cool. Otherwise the friction will heat up the glass and it may crack.

2. Be patient while drilling glass. Don't apply pressure to the drill bit, it's the rotation of the bit, not any pressure you apply, that makes the hole. If you press down, you may crack the glass.

3. Take frequent breaks, don't always try to get through the glass in one pass. Let the glass and the drill bit cool off, take a break and rinse things off and you won't risk damaging your drill bit or cracking the glass.

4. Be sure to wear your safety glasses to protect your eyes, sometimes small bits of glass or shards and dust can fly up into your face - you don't want them to get into your precious eyes and harm your vision.


Now I'll be able to make small holes in the fused glass, for hanging with jump rings! I'm waiting for the rotary engraving tool to arrive, to see if the new collets will fit that tool too. Don't you just love tools?