View Tips & Techniques

For drilling small pieces of stained glass, ceramic or gemstone (say, to make a hole for a jump ring), we recommend using with a Grobet hanging motor or a Dremel high-speed rotary tool mounted vertically in the Dremel Workstation or small drill press for easy steady drilling action. The work piece must be taped to a small piece of wood that is sized to fit in a hard plastic or metal container, which holds the water for cooling the bit and flushing particles in between the diamond grit.

Use a diamond core drill or diamond coated twist drill bit (diamond core drills are less likely than diamond twist drills to cause break-through chipping.) The container holding the water, the piece of wood, and the glass is held stably horizontal in a vice which is bolted to the base of the drill press.

Mark the hole location on the glass piece and adjust the height of the rotary tool so the bit can be lowered vertically just enough to bore through the glass. Then adjust horizontally. Next, push the piece of wood with glass to the bottom of the water container so the tip of the lowered bit will be below the water line; with the other hand, slowly lower the tool and bit onto the surface of the glass and verify that the bit is situated at the right spot.

If the alignment is correct, hold the wood with glass in place, switch on the tool, Begin very slowly and gradually increase the drill speed up to a recommended speed of 5,000–30,000rpm for small holes. Please Note: The larger your drill bit is, the slower the speed should be as you begin. Increase only by 700– 800rpm ), lower it slowly back onto the surface of the glass, and press down lightly, repeat this a few times to allow the water to flush debris out from in-between the diamond grit. With that bit, at that speed, and light pressure, you can bore a neat hole through the piece in a few minutes.

Diamond Circular saws 8 piece set supplied with mandrel

Thin single diamond circular saw with holes - Mandrel not supplied

Saw Diamond 24 x 020mm thickness

Diamond Burs Set 2.34mm shank size, 20 Assorted Burs in plastic box. Various shapes for texturing, engraving, cutting, drilling etc.

0.60, 0.70 ,0.80, 1.00 ,1.20, 1.5, 2.0mm

Perfect for drilling hole into glass, ceramic, plastic or metal like silver, gold & mild steel.

The Dremel Glass Drilling Bit #663 is ideal for cutting holes in glass. With the included cooling fluid you can drill perfect 6.4mm diameter holes.

Shank diameter 3,2 mm; Working length 10 mm

Why not try these unique one of a kind porcelain ceramic round design discs made by John Bauer.

We sell these loose discs @R25 each you can make a wax setting, shape or design around the ceramic disc and have it cast (this porcelain can withstand heat of up to 1100 degrees Celsius) Or hand make a silver bezel or setting to encase the beautiful pieces. Here are some idea’s. Take a look at John’s pieces and ranges

NOTE our new WINTER office hours:

As from 1^st June - 31^st August

09h00 - 17h00

Our next Saturday open dates:

30^th May

27^th June

09h00 - 12h30