Drilling Sea Glass for Jewelry

Drilling glass is something I thought I would never do. Never wanted to do, never thought I could do. But after collecting a sizable amount of sea glass I decided it was probably in my best interest to learn.

I looked online and found some articles. There is a  lot of information on the Internet. However, it never hurts to get a new perspective. So, this is my take on it. I've been asked many times about drilling glass and how to go about it.

For my work, I use a drill press. I have it set up in the garage. There are other ways to drill and I wont talk about them here because I have no experience with any other way.

Please note this is not so much a tutorial but rather a brief pictorial with explanation of my experience and helpful hints for those who want to give it go or just have some curiosity of how it's done. 

Diamond Twist Drill Bits from Rio Grande

What you'll need:

Drill Press (or other means to drill)

Diamond Drill Bits

Safety Glasses

Pencil

Sea Glass

Shallow Bowl with Water

Rubber Puck

Towel

Good Lighting

I have a variety of diamond drill bits to use for my glass. The kind I use, and have had the best luck with are these diamond twist drill bits from Rio Grande. They can be purchased online through their website or catalog. Nice, high quality bits manufactured in Switzerland. I use a variety of sizes from 1.3 to 2mm.

I use a pencil to mark the glass where I am going to drill. Once the glass is underwater, your perspective will be distorted. You will need that dot to guide you. Once under water the pencil dot will be silvery shiny and easy to spot.

Safety glasses are a MUST. 

This is my set up. Messy, yeah, I know. It is a garage! 

And I share this space, so I will blame the mess on him. (evil grin)

In this photo you will see my FireStorm Drill Press by Black & Decker, a fire extinguisher (for other stuff) a small box of sea glass, some drill bit packs, a lamp, a plastic tray for water, a black rubber puck inside the tray, my glasses and a cup for filling the tray with water.

 Glass must be drilled under water to keep things cool.

The puck is great for holding the glass steady. And it's not going to hurt anything if you drill into it. I bought this years ago from http://www.metalliferous.com/ I am unsure if they are still for sale there. I've seen others use a block of wood.

 

 I position my bit so that it will come all the way to the puck. 

Place the glass and make sure it's completely submerged.

Before turning the drill press on, I will lower the shank to make sure the bit will hit my mark. If not, rearrange and move the glass till your pencil mark is directly centered with the bit.

 Every piece of glass is going to be different and you'll want to figure out the best way to hold yours. I find this method works best for me in most cases. I am able to hold the piece down and keep my figures out of harms way.

You only want to drill half way through the glass. This is a tricky part, not going too far. And it's really a matter of practice. Learning to ease off the pressure, and knowing when to stop. I have even found with a new drill bit and going super slow, I have been able to drill all the way through without having any blowout or breakage. I do no recommend it!

..........................

For best results, 

drill very slow, 

under water 

and only go half way through the glass.

Turn over.

..........

Dry your hands and glass off and hold your glass up to the light.

 

 I have a great set up here in the garage because of the large window, I get lots of natural light. I turn the glass over and hold it up to the window. I can see the hole as a black mark in the glass. Here I can mark the other side. I have found it best to find the hole this way so that your perceptive is not distorted. Mark the other side where you see the black dot with your pencil.

Again, position your glass and drill bit so they meet before turning on the machine. Once you find the pencil mark, hold the glass and turn on the machine. Again, carefully and very slowly pressing down. You'll feel it give way once it meets the hole on the other side. 

And finally holding it up to the window again I can see the hole is clean and has gone all the way through. Yeah! Success! 

I recommend beginning your practice on pieces that you don't so much care about. Maybe you'll get it on the first try and be a natural pro. Maybe not. Best to work on some ugly pieces first! 

Good luck and have fun! Let me know if you have any questions. I will answer as best I can. 

(as with all the earrings here on the EE blog, these are examples and all designs are copyright the original artists. Thank you!)  Here are some of my success stories... 

Sold

Sea Glass + Fine Silver Available@ Art and Soul Jewelry

Star Burst Ceramic Earrings

Floppy hat, 

long dress, 

wind in your hair...

earrings.

 Red Creek Jasper, Found Sea Glass, Hill Tribe Silver, Handmade Ceramic 

..............

Available at Art & Soul Jewelry

Rocky Coast

We took a quick trip to the coast last week to hunt for beach finds for my jewelry. I was so lucky to have the most gorgeous day possible. The sun was low in the sky and I was in heaven. 

Miss Molly helping me find shells and rocks.

My earrings and jewelry reflect my love for nature. I am especially drawn to coastal and woodland finds since that is sort of my home-base here in WA. 

These earrings feature handcrafted ceramic beads by Cindy's Art & Soul, along with found sea glass, and rustic little Czech class beads from Art-Bella Surplus on Etsy. Wrapped in fine silver wire with handcrafted sterling silver ear wires and headpins.

You can see more of my most recent trip to the coast on my personal blog here: 
http://www.cindypack.blogspot.com 

You can find these earrings and more jewelry with natural found objects at www.ArtAndSoulJewelry.com

The New Bohemian

The new bohemian.

She is wild but not reckless.

She is strong and still vulnerable.

She is grounded and still lifts others up. 

She is PEACE.

Peace Earrings #3
Moonstone, Swarovski, Found Sea Glass, Amazonite, and handmade silver charms.

You can find these and more peace earrings at:

http://www.artandsouljewelry.com/
http://cindypack.blogspot.com/

Happiness and Peace to all!
Cindy

PS
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Delicious Autumn

 “Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love - that makes life and nature harmonise. The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground, that one's very footsteps may not disturb the repose of earth and air, while they give us a scent that is a perfect anodyne to the restless spirit. Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."

[Letter to Miss Eliot, Oct. 1, 1841]” ― George Eliot

Photo By Cindy Pack - free for personal use.

.................................................................

It doesn't get any better than this.

The beauty of Autumn melts my heart. 

Motivating me to get out everyday, to the lake.

To walk. To breathe. To see. 

And I will take it all in.

Until it is no more. 

And then I will love Winter...

 Handmade ear wires, 

Czech glass from ArtBellaSurplus on Etsy, 

Handmade Fine Silver Rings, 

and Found Sea Glass. 

Available at Art & Soul Jewelry online

http://www.artandsouljewelry.com/

Happy Fall! 

Cindy 

 

At The Beach Earrings

I named these At The Beach because I am (as this is being posted) at the beach! Probably the last of our 90 degree weather here in WA and we decided to go to the ocean where it's in the mid 60's. That's fine with me! I love the beach and I love camping. 

We are headed to a spot that is also near the Hoh Rainforest. I am hoping to re-charge my creative batteries and gain inspiration. I have never come home from a trip to the forest or to the ocean feeling uninspired. So, I am really looking forward to it! 

My inspiration for these? The beach of course! See my Washington State Pinterest board for more of where my inspiration comes from. 

However, I actually collected these beach glass (or sea-glass) pieces while visiting California. I have very fond memories of that vacation and still draw inspiration from it. 

The bright and shimmering Kyanite seem to fit very comfortably with the frosty white glass. Our Pacific Ocean  (like I own it?) *usually does not look *that blue. But it still reminds me of water and of the ocean, non the less. 

I've gathered my components around hand-forged, fine silver hoops and hammered dangle charms. Hand stamped with little star-fishes. Oxidized and hand polished on the high spots to show off their character. 

Available at ArtAndSoulJewelry.com 
☮ Cindy

Love for Green

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; 

but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
― Ernest Hemingway

 The reason I use so much green and brown in my work... Earth. I just came to realize it. I always go back to the green. It doesn't sell well, it's not popular, but it's what I love. 

I stopped in a bead shop in Portland the other day. Not intending to SHOP but I did, shop. Found so many beautiful dirty, matte, rustic strands of really old looking new beads. I don't think these will last long for me- I have ideas for all of them already. 

My first set, a pair of earrings with African glass, Tibet agate and some California beach glass I picked up earlier this year while on vacation. 

I don't know if it's PC to like your own work, but I love how these turned out. Really love the GREEN and *Earthy brown agate together. 

 Just listed these today on my new website at www.ArtandSoulJewelry.COM 

What's your favorite color for jewelry? 

Do you pick out the outfit first or the earrings? 

☮ Cindy

Come on Summer!

I am so exited for summer to get here! I live in WA state and we've had such a wet cold winter. The weather forecast says we are in for a treat with high temps all week! I'm treating myself to a few days off at Long Beach.

Instead of sharing a pretty outfit to match my earrings I am sharing some beach pictures. Not the sunny white sand beach with the blue ocean. But OUR beach. Our beach is windy and cold (mostly) and sunny warms days are a rarity. This week promises to be amazing. I cannot wait. 

These pictures were taking a few years ago. I went to this spot with my daughter looking for something special to convert to a bead or bauble. Unfortunately we just found a lot of driftwood. However it was a beautiful site- the ocean rolling in, the waves were huge. Kind of scary but a rush at the same time.

My beach inspired earrings~

Peruvian Opal with Frosty White Beach Glass 

Wrapped in Fine Silver wire

Finished with Hand Crafted Ear Wires.

Available on Etsy from Cindy's Art & Soul 

Peace & Blessings

Cindy

Bohemian?

Bohemian See Glass Earrings with Copper


"To take the world as one finds it, the bad with the good, making the best of the present moment—to laugh at Fortune alike whether she be generous or unkind—to spend freely when one has money, and to hope gaily when one has none—to fleet the time carelessly, living for love and art—this is the temper and spirit of the modern Bohemian in his outward and visible aspect. It is a light and graceful philosophy, but it is the Gospel of the Moment, this exoteric phase of the Bohemian religion; and if, in some noble natures, it rises to a bold simplicity and naturalness, it may also lend its butterfly precepts to some very pretty vices and lovable faults, for in Bohemia one may find almost every sin save that of Hypocrisy. ..."

"His faults are more commonly those of self-indulgence, thoughtlessness, vanity and procrastination, and these usually go hand-in-hand with generosity, love and charity; for it is not enough to be one’s self in Bohemia, one must allow others to be themselves, as well. ...
What, then, is it that makes this mystical empire of Bohemia unique, and what is the charm of its mental fairyland? It is this: there are no roads in all Bohemia! One must choose and find one’s own path, be one’s own self, live one’s own life."

Gelette Burgess

Bohemian - are you a little, a lot,or not at all?





Copper clay arrowhead components by Kristi Bowman.

To see more of my Bohemian earrings, click here or here.