not really OT: does anybody have experience with mini drill presses?

Hi all,

I've been thinking about double-drilling Royal Poinciana seeds for a year now and still not done so. I hope to make spacer bars out of them. Obviously, for that the two holes have to be the same distance apart in all of them. So I'm thinking about getting a mini drill press. I read bad things about the Dremel one on-line, that it's just about impossible to get the holes in the right place.

So, does anybody have one, and what brand, and is it any good?

I could try drilling without drill press, but I don't think I'm going to be any good at that.

Mahalo (thanks) and Aloha, Maren HiloBeads

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Maren at google
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Maren:

You may want to post your question on rec.crafts.jewelry. Also, there are a number of bead groups at groups.yahoo.com

Some of the posters are professionals and may have excellent suggestions. I am not sure what you are doing and I am not familiar with this seed, so my suggestions may not be valid

You may want to look at the table top presses and see if they may help you. * Try to find one that has a crank to raise the table top * Make sure the chuck will hold the smallest drill bit you will use. * Make sure the drill head, spindle and chuck to not have excessive side movement. I have noticed some really cheap presses have excessive lateral chuck movement. This could be important when you need to drill through both sides and want the hole to meet in the middle. This method prevents tearout of fibrous material.

I would be interested to hear what you end up with and why.

Henry

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Henry

[...]

Thanks for the tips and will do (at some point, I'm trying to do too many things at the same time again, but don't we all?) For the time being I'm going to try drilling free hand (mark the spots first) with my husband's Dremel drill and see how that goes.

The seeds are kind of woody outside, but I think I should be able to drill through from one side.

Thanks, Maren HiloBeads

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Hi Maren,

Funny you should ask about drill presses cause I finally got one for Xmas this year. I've been wanting one for a while now so I can drill my own holes but I didn't want one of those industrial type huge presses. I only wanted a mini or bench drill press and they are very hard to find unless you want to pay an arm/leg for one.

For Xmas, I got a brand new Dremel tool with the flex shaft attachment and the Dremel drill press. Its way cool - the Dremel tool fits right in the drill press all snug and tight and works like a charm. I like the fact that I can use the Dremel tool in the ordinary way or fit the flex shaft to it or put the Dremel in the drill press and use it that way. Very versatile. Now, I just have to buy some tips/bits/burrs at Widget Supply (

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) and I can finally get those holes drilled into the several hundred shells I picked up at Naggs Head several years ago. FYI - if you do go with a Dremel tool and Dremel drill press, you will have to order the collet that will handle the smallest drill bit: 1/32 or 1/64 if you can find it. I haven't placed my order yet at Widget, but I've been all over that site and puttin stuff in my cart. Their prices are great!

Sterling

"Maren at google" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@1g2000hsl.googlegroups.com... : Hi all, : : I've been thinking about double-drilling Royal Poinciana seeds for a : year now and still : not done so. I hope to make spacer bars out of them. Obviously, for : that the two holes : have to be the same distance apart in all of them. So I'm thinking : about getting a mini : drill press. I read bad things about the Dremel one on-line, that it's : just about impossible : to get the holes in the right place. : : So, does anybody have one, and what brand, and is it any good? : : I could try drilling without drill press, but I don't think I'm going : to be any good : at that. : : Mahalo (thanks) and Aloha, : Maren : HiloBeads :

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Sterling

I have the dremel and drill press attachment and love it--I use it to drill lentil shaped beads after baking.

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Sarajane Helm

both of your responses before deciding to buy something else on the basis of those rather old reviews. - We have a Dremel drill and flex shaft already because DH uses them in scale model building sometimes. And DH says the flex shaft need molybdenum grease, so I'll probably get that tomorrow, and I'll try drilling free hand first. DH, who knows me better than anybody else on the planet got me this mini vise grip for Christmas, saying when I unpacked it that he thought it might come in handy in jewelry making some day, and I think the day will be when I first start drilling free hand :-) .

I have another question to ask, but that's going to be a new thread and I have to reboot this notebook first.

Thanks, Maren HiloBeads

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Maren at google

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