Safety when drilling cabochon in water

When drilling a hole in a cabochon or glass or what-have-you, an
operation usually performed with the object standing in water, how
does one avoid being electrocuted? I have purchased a used Foredome
flex shaft, but haven’t tried this yet due to caution. And yet I know
that drilling in shallow, standing water is a standard practice.

  1. The handpiece on my flex shaft has no electricity, it is a
    mechanical device only. So no shock from that.

  2. I put my dremel 300 in their workstation and use it as a drill
    press to do this drilling. As long as I only put the bit in the
    water, no electricity.

Still is smart to not sit in water, not to have your hand touching
another tool/metal object, etc. And as in working with any live
current item, NEVER use two hands.

John

When drilling a hole in a cabochon or glass or what-have-you, an
operation usually performed with the object standing in water, how
does one avoid being electrocuted? I have purchased a used
Foredome flex shaft, but haven't tried this yet due to caution. And
yet I know that drilling in shallow, standing water is a standard
practice. 

with flex shaft tools in general, the handpiece is not in any way
part of any electric circuit. Only the motor and foot pedal control
are. Getting the handpiece wet has no impact on this, and offers no
risk of electric shock. The situation might be different with some
types of powered handpieces where the motor is part of the handpiece
itself, such as Dremel tools or some of the micromotor types of
tools. But even there, it’s likely safe, since these tools are
carefully designed to isolate electric circuits from the user,
whether or not there is water involved. After all, you’re holding the
tool in your hand, even if dry, so if there were any possibility of
shock when wet, there’d also be some risk while dry, so these tools
are double insulated, with exposed parts electrically isolated, and
usually non-conductive. And with the micro motor types of tools, many
of them operate the handpiece itself on low voltage (safe) even if
the control plugs into household wall current.

By the way, the insulation issues are not confined to jewelers
tools. Normal power tools, drills, saws, etc, are expected to be safe
to use in all sorts of conditions, including outdoor construction,
where rain can be occasionally a factor. Again, the tools are
designed to remain safe even if water is involved. This is part of
what is involved when tool manufacturers obtain UL certification for
their tools.

And finally, you should keep in mind that water, by itself, is not
actually all that good an electrical conductor. Salt water, or water
with other current carrying ions dissolved in it, is another matter.
But when you’re drilling “under water”, no doubt you’re just using
tap water, which starts out clean enough, so isn’t very conductive.
And, it’s also confined to a small container, so it is isolated from
the environs. The real danger of shock with water is when it’s in
contact with “ground”, and can then make the electrical path from a
voltage source back to ground, more likely. Thus, don’t stand in a
puddle and handle live wires, since your wet feet are not well
insulated from ground. But this type of situation is unlikely with
properly designed and undamaged electrical tools, even those with a
motor in your hand and plugged into the wall (like an electric
drill), because of the multiple layer insulation built in.

But as I said, your flex shaft tool is not even in this catagory.
There’s no electric voltage or possible voltage at the handpiece. Run
the thing with the handpiece under water if you want. I don’t
recommend it, as this likely will allow corrosion of the handpiece,
but you’d not be risking shock to do it.

In drilling, set it up so the drill end itself is running under
water, while the chuck and handpiece stays above water and thus,
mostly dry. You’re not taking any risks to do this.

Peter Rowe

The electricity doesn’t reach the drill end. The flex shaft is run
via gears that are attached to the motor, but the electrical wires
stop at the motor. Keep the motor away from the water and you’ll be
fine.

Kathy Johnson

The answer lies in the type of drill and as you have one with a
flexible shaft the electrical parts are well away from the water.
Use a shallow receptacle and only just cover the stone to prevent
excessive spray/splashing.

Nick Royall

And, don’t forget about the GFCI Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters
that protect against such problems. If you don’t have them, you
should have them installed in bathrooms, kitchens, garages, on
outdoor circuits and so on.

But everything that has been said about safely drilling cabs in water
is what I also have found to be true.

Sandra