Orchidians are such a font of knowledge! I’m hoping someone here can
assist me with a dilemma. sI just purchased some foil lined glass
beads for a project, and will need to drill out the hole to some
degree. I suspectthat enlarging the hole to meet my needs will
remove some or all of the foil lining, and am wondering if there
might be a method to restore the appearance of the foil, if not the
actual foil itself?
Perhaps over drilling the diameter of the hole slightly, and
painting the hole with some substance that would mimic the
appearance of this foil? But what substance?
having worked at Beadco in the 80’s and having seen and worked with
thousands of different beads including the foil lined type, reaming
out glass beads is rarely successful. It is also very dangerous.
The easiest solution is to re-do your design parameters or get beads
with a hole size you can use.
reaming out glass beads is rarely successful. It is also very
dangerous. The easiest solution is to re-do your design parameters
or get beads with a hole size you can use.
Thank you, Richard, for your thoughts on my dilemma. However, I
assure you that I have already drilled (rather than merely reamed)
glass beads with much success. I’ll admit it didn’t start out that
way, as I chipped or split a number of beads, including a lovely
antique trade bead, before perfecting the technique. I make a lot of
braided horsehair jewelry, embellished with sterling, glass and
semi-precious beads. These organic pieces are traditionally used by
horse owners to memorialize a departed equine, but can also be used
to honor a still living companion. Finding nice beads with
sufficient inside diameters to accommodate the braid without having
to drill them out myself would severely limit the beads I’m able to
offer my clients.
linda, I’m a glass artist who does beads as well as pendants. while
the beads aren’t on my main website, i do beads with a 2mm hole and
pendants have a 3mm hole. if you need something custom, please
contact me and i can probably do something to help you accomodate
your clients.