Enlarging holes in Rubies

I have some rubies that have tiny tiny holes in them. Anyone have a
suggestion on how to enlarge the holes? Can I send them somewhere- I
have tons of them. I do have a flexshaft and am willing to do some
at home.

I looked in the archives and couldn’t find anything except enlarging
holes in pearls.

Thanks in advance for all your advice,

Amery
Amery Carriere Designs
Romantic Jewelry with an Edge
www.amerycarriere.com

Is the issue that the holes are too small or that your wire is too
big? Why not find some fine silver wire that fits the holes and use a
torch to ball the ends. Has to be quicker than grinding the rubies.

Chas Hofmeister
Lasso the Moon Studio

Amery,

You can use a diamond bit in your flexshaft to enlarge the holes.
You don’t say what size the rubies are or how big you want the holes
to be, but you can get the diamond bits in a wide variety of sizes.
There are diamond drills, diamond-encrusted cylinders (what I’d
recommend for your purpose), and diamond core bits (great for larger
holes, in particular).

Keep the rubies and bit in water as you drill them and don’t keep
the drill moving too fast.

Hope this helps!
Karen Goeller
No Limitations Designs
Hand-made, one-of-a-kind jewelry
www.nolimitations.com

Chas,

Is the issue that the holes are too small or that your wire is too
big? Why not find some fine silver wire that fits the holes and
use a torch to ball the ends. Has to be quicker than grinding the
rubies. 

For what I need to do with them, the holes are too small. I can’t
even get them to fit on a 26g wire. For bracelets or long necklaces
I’m not comfortable going any smaller in size as it will weaken the
piece. I actually prefer to use 24g on bracelets.

As my line is a production line, the stones were bought for a
specific purpose. If drilling them is going to be big pain, I guess
i’ll try and find another use for them, and then buy more stones for
my line.

This is another sign from the Gods that I need to stop using beads
in my line!

Amery Carriere Designs
Romantic Jewelry with an Edge
www.amerycarriere.com

In my experience of stringing rubies on silk (size 00 or 0), the
holes are always tiny. Ruby - and other precious beads - are sold by
weight. Larger drill holes = less money for the producer.

I enlarge drill holes by using a tapered bead reamer (dental
quality). I also use the tapered bead reamer to smooth out the drill
holes so the beads will not shred the silk.

As you are looking at these beads for production work, I cannot see
this method as being efficient. That said, there are some lovely ruby
beads that have passed through my hands.

Mary Stachura
Joseph P. Stachura Co., Inc.
www.StachuraWholesale.com

Hi Amery,

This is another sign from the Gods that I need to stop using beads
in my line! 

Or it could be a sign that you need to be more critical when you
purchase raw materials & consider the requirements of their final
use.

Dave

Or it could be a sign that you need to be more critical when you
purchase raw materials & consider the requirements of their final
use. 

yeah, there is that! There is a reason why some stones are much
cheaper than others!

Amery Carriere Designs
Romantic Jewelry with an Edge
www.amerycarriere.com