How to Drill Holes in Rocks

My tip of the day..... I totally volunteer to give a home to any lapidary jewelry you make and then realize you made too many...😂
Such beautiful creations! Thank you for the "how-to"!

Rob, as I always jokingly say, while circling my head with my hand, "Not just an ornament". 😂 In other words, you're a pretty smart cookie! Love your videos!

Maybe you could press the broken bit out with the blunt end of a worn-out bit, using something like an arbor press. Or... maybe the steel shrinks more from cold than the rock, in which case, cold soak then try to press it through. Maybe something like WD-40 or Molybdenum disulfide might loosen it making the arbor press idea more workable?

Are you sure you were a math teacher? You think like an Engineer. I like the alignment hole method. I'll have to use that. Thank you. Do you get the same amount of blow out if you glue the stone to a piece of wood. obviously you would want to use water soluble glue.

Nice jig for drilling the back side of a piece! I use my Dremel drill press to make holes in obsidian flakes I’m going to make into a wind chime. The bit I use is about a 1.5 mm corer.

Great tip on drilling through holes. I’ve messed up too many rocks blowing out the back side. My tip for you , instead of using wood which try’s to float when you let it go is to use scrap pieces of vinyl plank flooring. It doesn’t damage your drill and it won’t float.

Rob. You have a very nice setup going on.

Take your board with the pin in it and chuck the pin in your drill press. Lower the drill press quill to the table and glue or clamp the board in position. Open the chuck and raise the quill. Now your drill and pin are in perfect alignment.
This video was completely “boring” pun intended !

Good to know. Especially with pendants I made one for the wife she wears it a lot😊

indexing on the existing hole is really smart

You seem to enjoy sharing your work. The how to’s as you have figured out what works best for you.

Excellent information. Love the craftsmanship. Have you tried an ultrasonic cleaner for clearing trash out of the holes? You can get small units and you just drop the piece in the bath. No spray back in the eyes.

Thanks! the tip about using a use drill bit to center the hole when drilling from the other sided was very useful. I don't have a lot of problems with breakout but when drilling harder stones it gets harder to drill the deeper you go. being able to turn it over and drill from the other side should be useful.

This was an excellent how-to video!
Thanks for this!

You have talent sir

Hi Rob,
Great video! Could you share what the name of the high pressure water wand is?
Thank you! ☺️

I have a recommendation for the snapped drill bits; just use a 1mm or smaller punch to knock them out! Even better, a watch band pin removal tool would be perfect. It’s basically a mini press with .60mm, .80mm and 1mm tips that you can use to press the snapped bits out! I have a feeling it would work like a charm!

Go Ducks!

Liquid nitrogen on Qtip for the bit.

Diamonds bits are electroplated with Nickel to secure the bond, and of course, Nickel is very corrosion resistant, though Nickel dissolves slowly in dilute sulfuric acid, but unless it's a really exceptional piece, probably not worth the risks....

Ok...Using a drill bit in the board to match up your holes is brilliant. Thanks

Hi Rob you might try white vinegar and salt. I know this works on copper penny's you probably will need to put a sprinkle of salt on the area where the drill bit is. Anyway good luck

Hay Rob you might check with a company called white reaming tools router bits you might go to there website or even calling them. Anyway it's just an idea only.

Thanks for all the great info Rob. You may think you are retired, but you are still wearing that teacher’s hat. It’s to our benefit 👍.

I think the drills are made from carbide... Or high speed steel... Maybe even cobalt..🤔🧐

I'm grateful you posted this video, you had some clever tips I plan on trying out. Recently ive gotten into making jewelry with Lake Superior Agates. I've been searching for the exact bits you said not to use.

Do you know the best way to drill a small hole through a Laker??

I have hard agate I want to drill, if these bits won’t work what can I use??

Rob! Thanks for the genius ideas to address blowouts! Always easy to understand and apply! The sign of a great educator!

Hi, I am drilling small, flat river rocks,...should I be drilling them in water with a diamond core or solid bit or go with a dry bit.... The holes are small 2-4mm.....the rocks are thin, small ? slate river rocks I got on line, will be making some mobiles. I am also trying to find a good bit- not sure what kind will give me the best hole.....the rock is pretty soft...been experimenting with different bits, haven't found one I really like, some seem to cause blow out in back of stone....(light pressure with a drill press)..all the drilling has been using water. I work with glass and know the drilling process with glass, rocks are new to me, any suggestions? Thanks!

Compl complicated!!!buy hook and and eye like on bras!! You could use an old bra

❤sorry l was assuming ....

❓💡❓What about using painters tape on the backside to avoid blow outs❓❓

What do you suggest for drill bits for drilling rocks and where to get them?

What if the rock is large and isnt flat or tumbled? Im wanting to have a fountain pass through the rock.

Try using a magnet to remove broken drill bit.

Any tips for drilling REALLY small rocks? Too small to hold by hand? I'm drilling Lake Superior basalt rocks.

A dremel press? What the...... why didn't I think of that? Thanks for the new tool to buy! Wife loves buying tools😢

The peg idea is pretty great. That works great if it's a relatively thick (more than an eighth of an inch) piece, but I had to do earring pairs and they are just so thin, but I might try that anyway. Strapping them down to a piece of wood or using those clamping slots to clamp it to a piece of wood worked relatively well, but was still prone to snapping the piece.

The other idea I like is drilling the whole in the preform before finishing the cab. That way you can do something else with a piece that breaks or clean up the blow-out during the grinding process.

I know this is probably a stupid question for the bit breaking off in the hole, but can you use your peg method and just drill from the other side and push it out when you reach what's left of the first bit?

This is the best explanation of how to drill holes, especially the two sided method. Thanks.

Excellente !!!! Rob, You can tell you were a Teacher!!! Explained Awesome!!!! Thank You!!!! 🤗☃️❤️👍🙋🏻‍♀️

Are the drill bits for the larger drill press all diamond tipped?

Hot water in the Waterpik, well played! I definitely like the board/old drill bit gig. Thanks for sharing, Rob! Keep it up bud!

Romovin broken bits :Had some success with a strong magnet and a little tapping of the piece on a surface

Thank you for the video! Very practical to use drill bits to transfer (?) the place where you want to drill through the back side so that the holes line up. Take care. 😊

I was making a bunch of stuff with deer antler and got a little too comfortable with my skills, drilling with a Dremel by hand. I decided to try a piece of Apache Tear in my bathroom and when the 1" stone exploded I was lucky it didn't break the mirrors and glass shower door and my hands and face... it was ugly.

Try heating the rock and chilling the drillbit. The metal bit should conduct temp pretty fast, so id place the rock on a heating pad or something, and a heavy pair of pliers that makes good contact with the drillbit in the freezer. Then once the rock is heated grab the bit with the cold pliers, they should cool the bit down and the stone should stay hot. The thermal expansion difference may be enough to loosen in up

Wonderful solutions! I think this video will help a lot of folks. Somehow, seeing the wax pop out of those beads when you boiled them struck me as very funny!

Gotta use hot water and a really concentrated mix of Alum in it. Then get it to a boil. Throw it in for an hour or so making sure it stays hot. Don't let it evaporate. Check on it now and then and make sure it keeps to a rich alum mix. Best way is to leave simmer overnight. It may take more than one attempt.
Couple problems: it ONLY works on steel and steel only. Carbide, Titanium, Cobalt, nickel plated, the diamond coated tip...anything other than steel and it will not work.
The other hang up is that is a tiny drill. You need something smaller than the drill/hole to pick the remaining bits of the drill out of the blind hole. My only suggestion would be to sharpen down the other end(non diamond side) of an identical scrapped drill bit, along with compressed air and maybe it'll work. Or a needle.
I'm a hobbyist watchmaker, retired toolmaker and they've been using this method way longer than I've been around(older than dirt!). It was taught to me and it does work. Done it quite a few times. Give it a shot and let us know.

Wow thank you for all your knowledge! I was curious, can a core bit be used to make a long cylindrical bead?