Drilling Egyptian Scarab?

Hi everyone ~ A co-worker at my day job asked me to 'do something’
with an Egyptian scarab that had been sitting in a drawer for the
last 20 years that another friend of hers picked up on a trip to
Egypt.

It is oval. 1.5 inches long, 1 inch wide, and 0.5 inches thick and
apears to be ceramic or faience (white inside the holes with a
turquoise glaze outside). The makers started a hole at each end (the
long way), but their holes did not meet in the middle.

My initial thought is to make the hole go all the way through to
leave design options open, but this little thing is harder than
anything I’ve ever drilled before. I’ve tried a diamond reamer drill
bit and have worn off the diamonds at the tip with very little
progress.

I’m not sure if I should keep working on this and if it’s just a
matter of time before I make better progress. And if I start making
progress if I’m going to find a drill bit long enough to make it all
the way through.

Does anyone have any tips as to what to use to get a hole through
this thing, or how long it should take and how many drill bits?

(I’m also open to design options. She wants a necklace, but she’s
about 4’11" at most, and this thing is really pretty huge and her
clothes are strictly casual. I want to balance the size of the thing
with how it’s strung, but without it overpowering her size and her
casual clothes.)

Thanks for any advice and help!
Donna in Madison (Wisconsin)

You will want to use a diamond core drill for this. Measure the hole
and order a core drill from somewhere like Rio Grande. Use it wet,
moving in & out to flush the mud.

M’lou

Donna,

Your scarab is likely made from Egyptian paste and high fired
(usually cone 8-10). In order to drill it you would need something
that would drill through any other stoneware ceramics. Google
Egyptian Paste to learn more.

wayne
Lodi, WI