Shopping Basket: 0 itemsHow To Drill Small Beach Stones
Want to learn how to drill holes in beach stones? Well, I’ve got good news for you: it’s pretty easy and I’d love to tell you how it’s done!
I’ve been making this Natural Stone Jewelry for several months with pre-drilled pebbles that I purchased from fellow Etsy artisans. It took a little bit of internet research and guessing to figure out the best way to go about drilling my own, indigenous Wisconsin stones. Some sites said one thing, some said another. I took the best advice from several different sources and did some experimenting and found that drilling my own, small river rocks is not only possible, but pretty easy! I’ve gotten a lot of questions from people asking how to drill their own stones and I’d be more than happy to share with all of you :)
Choosing the Right Stone for Drilling
Almost any stone that you find CAN be drilled, but I really recommend starting with softer sedimentary rocks (sandstone, mudstone, limestone, etc). If a pebble you find on the beach isn’t rounded like the other ones around it, that’s a good clue that it’s a harder igneous or metamorphic rock and would take a long long time to drill. Other ways to tell if a rock is too hard to drill is by checking whether you can see crystals in the stone or whether the stone is shiny or glossy like quartz (ah, those magical wishing stones of my childhood!) Sedimentary rocks will be much easier to drill, so start with those. But, don’t worry if you can’t tell what kind of rock it is. If it takes significantly longer to drill than the other pebbles, it’s probably igneous or metamorphic. ;)
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| Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks – Not easy to drill! |
Equipment You Need to Drill Your Own Beach Stones
- High speed rotary tool - (ie. a Dremel. I got the Dremel 4000, high performance, I figure that since drilling stone is heavy duty work, it’s a good idea to have a heavy duty tool!)
- Hollow, diamond-tipped coring bits - These are much faster and effective for drilling holes in pebbles than a solid drill bit. There’s also less chance that you’ll break the stone when drilling and it’s much much faster! Not only do solid drill bits drill more slowly, you’d need to drill a small hole and then change to an ever larger bit until you widened the hole to the diameter that you wanted. Ridiculous! For drilling holes in small beach pebbles to use in jewelry, a 2.5mm diameter hollow coring bit works well. The bits they sell that are officially for Dremels are way too expensive, I highly recommend getting your bits from Rio Grande Jewelry Supply. They have nice packs of 5 for $14 as opposed to one official Dremel bit for more than $20! You’ll be using all 5 of those bits eventually as they do wear out relatively quickly.
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| 2.5mm, Diamond Tipped Hollow Coring Bit! |
- Dremel Collet Nut - The Dremel rotary tool comes with a Collet Nut (that’s the thing that holds the drill bit in place) but the 2.5mm coring bit is a different size, so you’ll need a Collet Nut that’s the right diameter. I bought the set of Collet Nuts they had right there at the hardware store and used the one that the coring bit fit into! (The other ones in the set will come in handy for all the other projects I dream up to use this Dremel for. It can do so many things, my next experiment will be engraving poems on stones!!)
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| Collet Nut |
- Small plastic container - This is to hold a little water so you can drill your beach stone under water. Drilling underwater cools off the bit and lubricates everything which will make the drilling go faster, keep your stone from heating up and keep those little diamond crumbs from getting ground off of the drill bit too quickly. I like to use the little plastic container that my lunch meat came in (cleaned out and sans lunch meat, of course!)
- Little Piece of Wood - Like a shim or whatever, to have under your pebble so that you don’t drill through the bottom of your water container!
- Goggles - Please always wear goggles when drilling! I always wear them even though I’ve got glasses. Real danger is minimal, it’s not like there are shards of rock shooting out all over the place, but it’d be a shame to lose your eyesight over some natural beach stone jewelry! Better safe than sorry!!
- Rocks - Yes, don’t forget your beach stones, river rocks or what have you! Small (~1″) pebbles are ideal. It’s easier to make necklaces like my Rock Collection Necklaces when the stones are small and thin (~1/4″ thick). That way they lay next to each other better.
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| Nice sedimentary rocks, good sizes and shapes, awesome for drilling holes in! |
Let’s Start Drilling!
- Put on your goggles.
- Firmly hold your beach stone on top of the piece of wood and just under the water.
- Turn on the Rotary Tool with your other hand and hold it perpendicular to the pebble. – Please be careful when working with the Rotary Tool around water! Don’t get any part of the tool wet that’s not absolutely necessary and don’t grasp the tool with wet hands.
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| Here’s how I hold my rotary tool, my rotary tool, my rotary tool. Here’s how I hold my rotary tool so early in the morning! |
- Begin Drilling. – Let the weight of the tool do the drilling for you. Be sure to keep lifting the drill up and down. (This lets cooling water get into the hole and lets the sediment from the stone to flow out.) The water will get cloudy, that’s ok, just keep drilling.
- You’ll feel when it breaks through to the other side. You’re done! - With these small beach stones, I’ve found that drilling one takes about 2-3 minutes. (I’m sure it’ll be faster when I’m not so new at it!)
The only way that I alter these unique stones other than drilling a hole in them is to rub them with my hands after I’ve just put on some unscented Eucerin lotion (after the stones are dry, of course!). That helps to condition the stones so that the natural oils from your skin won’t leave uneven dark spots and enriches the natural color of the stone so they aren’t all dusty looking. After the lotion gets a chance to be absorbed by the stone, any excess should be wiped off with a clean, dry towel so you don’t have to worry about whether it will mark your clothing with an oil spot!
Now get out there and start making some fabulous beach stone creations! Good luck everyone, and until next time, Happy Crafting!!
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| Rock Collection Necklace, Bittersweet Greys |
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| Beach Stone Earrings |
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| Rock Collection Necklace, Beach Stripes |
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Cool! Thanks for sharing. My dog brings me these gorgeous rocks from the back yard and I've been saving them in a bowl…
Your dog is a rock collector? How cool!
Ha — my dog is a rock collector too. It’ so cute I had to write about it:
http://thejoyvictory.com/2007/07/17/photos-my-dog-and-a-rock-a-love-story/
too cute! Love your blog, Joy :D
Thats so funny and cute how your dog collects pretty stones for you. Nice article, thx for sharing!
These are gorgeous! I love your jewelry–so beautiful, and the colors are perfectly selected!
Thanks so much for posting this. These pieces are beautiful, and I can't wait to try them. Might be a while, though, 'cause I'm new to this world of jewelry-making.
Bev
Thanks everyone! You're all very welcome :D
I'm really looking forward to experimenting with engraving next :) I'll post a tutorial for that, too, if I figure it out!! (WHEN I figure it out!!)
How do you stop the pebble from moving around. Would I be able to use a pice of Blu-Tac type stuff to position it on the wood.
Thanks
This is a great idea. I can see bead curtains being constructed with different elements to keep out those pesky flies etc.
I have always wondered about this, especially since we moved into a complex that uses beautiful river stones in the landscaping (shhh!). Thanks for sharing a tutorial – now to gather the cash to splurge on a Dremel.
hairofthehare.etsy.com
Great tutorial. I once experimented trying to drill a hole in some jasper. 4 diamond chips later, I decided this wasn't a very good idea.
Thanks for the info.
Ack…
Should read "4 diamond drill tips later…"
Sigh…
I have been collecting river stones for ages. They are a beautiful shape and feel. I love them. My kids think I am embarrassingly 'special' or something but now I know I am not alone. I always knew there had to be a way to make something lovely from my lovelies. I am off to print your fabulous instructions and make a shopping list.
PS- my dog often takes a stone from my collecting bucket to suck on (or something), I'll have to put a stop to that now!
ScattyShirley – I hold the pebble between two fingers of my left hand and drill with my right hand. If the stone is very small, I'll press it down hard with one finger. :) Bead curtains sounds like a super fun idea!
rosewendy – Believe me, you are SO not the only one! Hubs is always trying to get me to give up piles of interesting rocks that pop up all over the house!! I swear I don't know how they get there, they come in on their own, I think! PS – Your dog is so weird! (in a good way!!) My bunny used to steal seeds out of my beading box and eat them so I had to be extra careful not to leave it unlatched on the floor where I used to work :D I know from whence you speak!
I have one little tip to add here. When I drill holes in glass, I gently touch the drill bit to the glass at a 45 degree angle where I want my hole to be. This creates a little nick in the glass so that when I begin drilling straight down, the drill does not "skip" around and make marks outside of where I want my hole to be. It's kind of like using an awl to make a mark before drilling a hole in metal.
Ooh, thanks for the tip, StudioMarjo!! I know this skipping around of whence you speak!
Hi,
I posted a question earlier and it isn't showing up so I thought I would try again. Do the hollow drill bits work with glass as well? I am having trouble drilling glass (I have been using your above technique as well). The drill bits are so fine that they bend, or the glass shatters as it goes through the glass. Both are a disaster as I loose some pretty beach glass.
Very nice! Thank you for advises!
Where from you buy bits?
http://www.etsy.com/shop/sisyen
Great info! I've been collecting ocean stones for a few years now, and didn't want to wrap them. Now I have some great ideas for them(other than backgrounds for photos…)
I am anxious to buy my dremel and experiment. My grandfather was a collector of gold (he & my father would pan for gold) and what he calls "Whitmore" diamonds, being from Whitmore, CA. I have always wanted to make something with these stones and now I at least know how to start. Thank you for the instructions and good luck on the engraving.
Hi Summer Breeze! I got the message you sent me, too, but I'll answer here for everyone else:
I haven't tried it on glass, but someone posted that the method was the same with glass. I have heard with stone that shattering will happen if a solid bit is too big. You have to start small and use bigger and bigger ones, but with hollow bits, you don't have to.
Are you drilling with it submerged in water? That's really important!
To Pen Avatar: This is where I buy bits http://www.riogrande.com/MemberArea/ProductPage.aspx?assetName=349045&page=GRID&free_text=diamond+core+drill
CAGranny05 – I think your whitmore diamonds are probably quartz which will be hard to drill. It can be done but will take a lot of time and patience :) Best of luck! I bet they're gorgeous!!
They are quartz and various sizes. If I can't drill them, I will find another way to work them into jewelry. I can polish them up so they will really sparkle.
What a nice post. Thanks so much. I have read many but this is really the best. I can't wait to get started.
This is exactly the information I’ve been wanting to know for quite some time, and you explained it so well! I live on the other side of the Lake in Michigan, and I share your enthusiasm for beachcombing and shore life. Now I’m jazzed to start my mobiles :)
Ooh! Mobiles sounds like a fun project :D Glad I could help!!
This is awesome information! I have been looking for eons for this information. I believe there is a dremel bit advertised for at least ceramic and possibly glass, I am not sure. I have not looked closely at this part, but I was wondering if the dremel work station with the plunge capability might work well for this. That way you are not fully holding the dremel tool, rather guiding it up and down. Just an idea to try out. Thank-you again for posting this and having such awesome, clearly written directions.
You’re welcome Sharon! I was thinking of trying out that work station :) Also, when people are drilling stones at a production rate they get a fancy schmancy “lapidary drill press” Oooooh :D
Those are GORGEOUS! I’ve wanted a dremel for so long and seeing these just makes me want them more.
Thanks Kristina :)
I’d suggest not holding the stone with your fingers under water! Too easy for things to slip, and I am sure it would not be pleasant to have one of those bits drilling through your finger! Get a small flat-head C-clamp and use it upside down to attach the stone to the board. If you attach at an angle, it can stay out of the way when you drill. I started drilling my stones very recently, and couldn’t figure out why my diamond-tip drilling rasps made for stones, glass, ceramics, etc., were snapping off, or melting, or just not cutting well, and when they did cut well, the rock shattered. (Part of that was drilling at one end on rock with a “grain” and part was not realizing I needed to do it under water! That’s how I ended up here, looking for something about how to drill stones! (I have a mini-rotary tool, a regular-size variable-speed rotary tool, and a full-size reversible variable-speed 3/8″ drill, and tried all of them. I ended up using some of the longer flattened stones (more like small rocks) in “wind chimes” by notching the top all around to hold nylon fishing line wrapped around and then brought up to the top in a notched vertical trench and knotted. It seems to work, although I have had to touch up with super glue gel on bigger ones. I’d rather drill holes! And be able to use them for beads, etc. Thanks for posting!
Thanks for the great comment, Mindy! Do you think there are C-clamps that would work with a stone that was really small, say .5 by .5 inches? I’ll look at them the next time we pass through the hardware store :) I really recommend the hollow core drill bits over regular diamond drill bits, they really help with drilling the holes and not breaking the stones, though they do tend to get clogged with stone in the middle and then are hard to clean out.
Wind chimes is a great idea, maybe I’ll make some as Christmas presents next year :D
I want to make this. Thanks a lot for the motivation.
Best of luck :D You’re super welcome!!
I have stuck glass and rocks down with hot glue to a piece of wood when there was no place to hold them. It seems to work and you can use the hot glue over, you just heat up the puddle and push your rock down in. Sometimes I make sure there is a little up over the edge to hold it better. The wood piece gives you something bigger to hold onto. Bobby
Good tip, Bobby :) Does the hot glue work under water??
Oh I am SO gonna try this this weekend! I’ve got a whole bag of beachcombed moonstones and jadite from Central California and more bags of old beach glass and bits of abalone shell that I started collecting in my teens in So Cal. (30-something years ago.) I’m thinking the shell will be easiest to drill since its so thin. But, my Dremel is not a variable speed one — will it still work ok? Guess I finf out tomorrow!
I’d say it’ll probably work fine! Good luck with it :D (sounds like you’re gonna have an awesome time!)
This is so helpful, you are very inspiring! thank you!
I was just reading this and wanted to respond to the question regarding holding the beach stone or glass under the water. I use modeling clay. You can use a small piece, place the stone or sea glass in the clay then drill. The clay can be used over and over. Good luck!
Thanks for the tip, Ann!
could you let me know just how long a diamond drill bit will last, here in the u.k. they cost about £3 to £4 each,thats prob about $6 to $7 ,if they are only going to last for a few holes,is it really worth it, thanks Jon.
Hi Jon :) That depends on how thick the hole is and how hard the stone is. If it’s a thin stone and it’s sedimentary rock (not too hard) then I can use one bit for ~20-40 stones (occasionally poking out the rock from the center of the bit) but it only takes one really hard stone or me abusing the bit (like the time I made a little nick in a rock outside of the water and completely wore all the diamond chips off the tip at one go). If you need to drill through stone, though, diamond tipped bits are your best option!
Many thanks Jenny for your info,Jon
Any time! :D
Thanks – steps are very simple to follow and thanks for the link to the drill bits. Do you think the same process would work with sea glass?
Found you from Pinterest.
Cool, Hello :D
Yes, I’ve heard you can drill sea glass the same way :) It’d be like drilling quartz, so it’d take longer than sedimentary rocks. Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Everybody. Working with natural materials to make jewelry has always been a passion of mine, as well. 1.) A tip I’d like to pass on is simply to place an ice cube or two into the water and then use the Dremmel©, it helps take away the heat faster and keeps the water cooler longer, allowing you to drill more stones with fewer interruptions to change out the water. 2.)Oh, and Jenny I use the white plastic trays that are two inches in depth, they come from my Hormel© Roasted pork, located in the frozen food section. These give less shadows while drilling, allowing you to see your work better. As to the question about drilling glass, ceramics or crystals; I recommend glass drilling bits made specifically for drilling holes into glass, ceramics, and crystals (I wouldn’t waste my diamond tipped ones on these types of materials). Check your local hardware store for them.
I wish happy crafting days to you all. Great site Jenny!
P.S. I almost forgot! 3.)I use floral clay, (used to hold frogs in place for arranged flowers)to hold my smaller stones in place, well, simply because it works and is waterproof; you can get this item at your local arts & craft stores.
John M.
Thanks for the tips, John :) I did try using cold water before, but it’s just terrible on my little fingers, so in the winter I actually use warmed up water! I’ll check out those glass bits, too, I don’t drill glass or crystals but I get that question a lot!!
My husband is concerned that I am going to electrocute myself dremeling in water. I pointed out that you survived the process long enough to share the “how to” on your blog, but he is unconvinced. Anything I can share from your experiences to put his mind at ease? :)
Hmm, well, I’m still surviving right now, too. I was concerned about the electricity and water combo when I first started too, when I asked my husband about it he just laughed and told me not to worry. Of course, he’s from Mexico and they’re used to living dangerously. There probably is some risk involved.
Hi again Jennifer! I just got a helpful answer to your question from another reader :D http://jennyhoople.com/blog/how-to-drill-rocks-without-electrocuting-yourself
If you’re really concerned about the electrical hazard, plug your drill into an outlet with a “ground fault interrupter”, or GFI, for short. They are expressly designed for this sort of thing, which is why all modern construction codes REQUIRE them in kitchens, bathrooms, basements, outdoor outlets, and any location near water pipes or dampness. They constantly watch for electric current going someplace where it shouldn’t be (like through your body), and instantly shut off all power to the outlet if and when such a current is detected. These devices have been around for years, and are a technically mature and reliable product, and also not terribly expensive.
Wade
Excellent tip, Wade! I’ll get my little fix-it man on the job, thanks!!
You just inspired a new blog post, Wade! Thanks so much again :D
Anybody ever try to coat the inside of the core bit with something so the cores will come out easier? Maybe vegetable oil or glycerin…? Today is my 1st time drilling and I don’t want to gunk something up before I even get started.
Haven’t tried that, Ned, but as long as I don’t press hard when drilling and clear out the core before it gets all jammed in there, I rarely have a problem getting them out. Slow and easy wins the race :)
Beach stones look really good and they have a rather chic appeal when used in accessories. Thank you for this blog as one can now drill the stones on one’s own to create splendid piece of jewelry. Thanks!
These are some really exquisite pieces and I just love the designs. Thank you so much for sharing these tips and I must say that your dog is very cute.
is that technique good for drilling concrete as well (sorry, bad keyboard setup, i can’t find the correct sign!)
I’ve never tried it :) But concrete’s like a human made rock. Sorry I can’t be more help!
What a great pin to run across today! I am an incurable ‘yeah, i can probably do that’ (lazy@$$)artist, and if I had no kids, i’d be the Pintrosity Queen!! (NAILED IT!!!….?)
Your blog post is detailed with information to keep even a worrywort like me feeling smart enough to attempt the mighty dremel. My kids always find me beautiful pebbles and it would be fun to make earrings or something pretty with them. My husband has a dremel tool, so maybe I’ll be investing in some hollow-core diamond (and glass, who am I kidding!!) tips.
Well written, informative, and a ROCKIN’ comments section. I am going to follow your blog (your commenters are totally high quality!) and be back often. Also, i am repinning straight from your page.
Thanks for a fabulous post!
:D Thanks Shari! Glad to know you :)
Thanks so much!!!!! I am educated myself on this and everything I can read helps!!!!!!
Thanks so much for sharing, both the how to and the gift from your dog…
Thanks so much for sharing. I tend to collect driftwood and pebbles and would one day like to incorporat both into my jewellery. Love my dremel and do order from Rio Grande so a hollow bit will be on the next order. Thanks again!
Thank you so much for posting this info, been wanting to try this for ages and I have some seagrass I’m going to try as well.