Disclaimer. Using rotary tools near water has never been, to the best of our knowledge, endorsed by any of the rotary tool manufacturers. If you do choose to drill near water or with attachments under water connected to your drill then you do so at your own risk. Please be aware that mixing electricity and water can be very dangerous.
What You Will Need
Step 1
Mark your gemstone with your entrance and exit hole (personal preference). Set up your water dish, either an ice cream tub, sandwich box or some form of solid tray with a piece of wood or blu-tac to hold the stone on whilst drilling. It will need to be deep enough to immerse your stone in. Select your drill bit, say 1mm and attach to your flex shaft/drill press.
Step 2
Whilst keeping your gemstone immersed in water and holding your stone, start your drilling. Go slow to begin with to prevent the drill bit skittering across the surface. Once your initial starter hole has been created begin to move the drill bit up and down to allow water to flush in and out of the hole to remove the drilling debris and to keep the area and the drill bit cool. Overheating can cause the diamonds to come off the drill bit and the material you are drilling to shatter.
Step 3
Once you have drilled about halfway you may like to flip the gemstone over and begin drilling again from the other side where you have marked. If you were to drill straight through there may be a possibility of chipping your exit hole.
Step 4
If you discover the hole needs opening up further use one of our
twist drills to do so. Or if you find you would like a smooth, professional beveled hole trying using one of our
small diamond files.
Scratches on gemstones can be removed by using a small amount of
diamond polishing paste on a
felt bob, working through the grades of the paste until the desired finish is acheived. We would recommend trying a 3 micron then a 1 micron. For further help, you might also like to read our articles:
12 Things you Should Know about Diamond Drill Bits.
