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-   -   How do you drill (clean) long beads? (http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=320153)

eFiFlame 2023-01-12 3:35am

How do you drill (clean) long beads?
 
Hello,
How do you clean long beads (3-4-5 cm) from the bead release?
Where do you buy good quality LONG Diamond Drill Bits? (would be better in the UK)

Thank you so much and all the best !!

kansassky 2023-01-13 10:54am

I use a mandrel and carbide grit to clean bead release from all beads.
I do not use a diamond drill bit.
I find that a diamond drill bit can chip the glass around the bead hole.
My long beads are focals that can take a couple hours to make.
I do not want to risk chipping anything.

Using silicon carbide grit (100-200 grit) is an especially effective cleaning method on long beads.


Do this over a pan or bowl of water. Not over the sink!

-Use the same size mandrel that the bead was originally made with.
-Immerse the bead in the bowl of water and lift it out. It needs to be wet.
-Dip the mandrel tip in water and then into the silicone carbide grit. This will gather some grit on the mandrel.
-Plunge the gritty mandrel in and out of the bead hole several times.

The grit and friction of the mandrel easily scrub away the bead release.
You will see the bead release turn to a grey slurry that can be rinsed away.

-Dip (rinse) the bead in the bowl of water and check the bead hole.

Repeat the grit cleaning process two or three times if needed.

-When finished, wait 10 minutes and allow the grit to settle in the bottom of the bowl of water.
-Carefully pour the clear water from the top surface and then pour/dispose the grit into a paper cup filled with paper towels or some other place. DO NOT POUR THE GRIT DOWN THE SINK DRAIN!!!!!

Lapidary shops carry the silicon carbide grit.
Here is a source I have used in the US where I can order and have it shipped.
There are lapidary shops all over the world.

https://www.rockshed.com/rock-shop/r...-carbide-grit/

Holly 2023-01-14 11:06am

Dix has very good advice. I always hand-ream my long beads. The tapered long diamond bits will widen the holes at each end and the untapered ones will build up pressure from within and can break the bead. I've broken a few long beads using a straight diamond reamer in my Dremel. The chips the diamond reamer creates at the bead hole are very unsightly and hard to smooth down.

Edited to say: It gets much easier and faster with practice. I can now clean my long beads faster by hand than I could with the Dremel :)

dsglass 2023-01-15 3:19pm

I can never get them clean enough by hand... I use a Beadreamer for most of my beads; it's not long enough for the *really* long ones, so I still have to finish them by hand, but they work really well; and as long as the bit isn't bent[0] and it's centered I've never had issues with breaking beads.


[0] when the bit does bend/break, I'll cut it down and then use the still-straight smaller end on smaller beads

Lorraine Chandler 2023-01-17 1:01pm

Beadreamer here too. \\:D/

queenofsheba52 2023-01-19 4:29pm

I use a BeaDreamer also, but i will try Dix's method.


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