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glaze drilling...

updated sat 15 dec 01

 

Lajos Kamocsay on tue 11 dec 01


Hello,

I've glazed a teapot with tenmoku which ran into the little holes where =
the handle would attach. I tried to drill a hole through the glaze, but =
already messed up 2 dremel grinding heads. I would need a hole about the =
size of a 10 gauge wire.
Any ideas?

Thanks,
Lajos

Marsh Pottery on wed 12 dec 01


Hi Lajos.
A Dremel won't cut it. You need a diamond-head drill bit and the pot must
be kept wet during grinding to keep the heat from building up in that spot
and cracking the pot.
My husband uses a spray bottle to keep it wet when he grinds out holes
that have filled on my berry bowls and chimes.
Good Luck.
Marsha Koenig

----- Original Message -----
From: "Lajos Kamocsay"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2001 2:30 AM
Subject: glaze drilling...


Hello,

I've glazed a teapot with tenmoku which ran into the little holes where the
handle would attach. I tried to drill a hole through the glaze, but already
messed up 2 dremel grinding heads. I would need a hole about the size of a
10 gauge wire.
Any ideas?

Thanks,
Lajos

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Richard Jeffery on wed 12 dec 01


try the special drills for tiles or glass. if you look, you will find them
as small as 1/8". you need a very slow drill speed, with minimal pressure
to start off. clear dust frequently.

-----Original Message-----
From: Ceramic Arts Discussion List [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On
Behalf Of Lajos Kamocsay
Sent: 12 December 2001 07:31
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: glaze drilling...


Hello,

I've glazed a teapot with tenmoku which ran into the little holes where the
handle would attach. I tried to drill a hole through the glaze, but already
messed up 2 dremel grinding heads. I would need a hole about the size of a
10 gauge wire.
Any ideas?

Thanks,
Lajos

____________________________________________________________________________
__
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org

You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/

Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.

Don Goodrich on wed 12 dec 01


Hi Lajos,
Try diamond drills. You need to keep them wet while
drilling with your Dremel, which requires care so the
motor stays dry, but it works if you keep a steady
hand. Hardware and craft stores and large home centers
sometimes have them, or Check out Harbor Freight's
item:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=32375
Or, there's
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=32375
for a wider range of shapes and sizes. Neither of these
is particularly expensive, and I've gotten a lot of
mileage from mine.

Not knowing your technique, it's hard to say why those
grinding heads were messed up. It's often a good idea
to grind or drill gently, a little at a time, rather
than go for the whole cut at once, which causes
overheating. With diamond tools, this is even more
important, since the abrasive is bonded to the shank
with soft metal that can melt if you try too hard all
at once.
Good luck,
Don Goodrich
goodrichdn@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/goodrichdn/

>I've glazed a teapot with tenmoku which ran into the little holes where the
handle >would attach. I tried to drill a hole through the glaze, but already
messed up 2 >dremel grinding heads. I would need a hole about the size of a
10 gauge wire.
>Any ideas?

>Thanks,
>Lajos

Bruce Girrell on wed 12 dec 01


Lajos Kamocsay wrote:

> I've glazed a teapot with tenmoku which ran into the little holes
> where the handle would attach. I tried to drill a hole through
> the glaze, but already messed up 2 dremel grinding heads.

Get the diamond tipped shapes for the Dremel. They can be ordered from
woodworking catalogs if you can't find them locally. Not all that expensive,
either.

Bruce "girl's best friend" Girrell

Cindy Strnad on wed 12 dec 01


Dear Lajos,

This is going to be a tough, and likely an
unsuccessful job for you. Two things I know of
that you can try. First, you could re-fire the pot
and see if the glaze clears away from the holes.
Second, you could try drilling it with a masonry
bit. I drilled out a too-small spigot hole for a
fancy water cooler with a masonry bit once and it
worked, but I did have a very large hole there to
begin with. People told me to drip water on it
during the drilling process to keep it from
getting too hot, but my helper (my dad) said this
wasn't necessary and it turned out he was right.

Good luck,

Cindy Strnad
Earthen Vessels Pottery
RR 1, Box 51
Custer, SD 57730
USA
cindy@earthen-vessels-pottery.com
http://www.earthen-vessels-pottery.com

bruec@anv.net on wed 12 dec 01


I don't know about the accessability of th location where you need to drill, but I used to have a job where we routinely =
drilled through stainless steel, porcelain, and caste iron sinks. We would tape the hole and drill through the tape. Th=
is seemed to minimize chipping. We used a variable speed drill at a relatively slow speed, cooled the drill hole with wa=
ter so it wouldn't get too hot, and used a concrete or mason's bit with a silicon carbide tip.

Original Message:
-----------------
From: Lajos Kamocsay lajos@VIRTUALMAGICUSA.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2001 23:30:55 -0800
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: glaze drilling...


Hello,

I've glazed a teapot with tenmoku which ran into the little holes where the handle would attach. I tried to drill a hole =
through the glaze, but already messed up 2 dremel grinding heads. I would need a hole about the size of a 10 gauge wire.=

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Lajos

______________________________________________________________________________
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org

You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/

Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.

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GlassyClass on thu 13 dec 01


Good Morning Lajos,

Since you are in the LA area, I would suggest that you go to Pacific Glass
(Gardenia), or Belveldine Glass (Garden Grove), and get some of their
diamond boring bits. They are relatively inexpensive, they come in multiple
sizes, and do a good job.

You do need to cool the bits with a water drip, (small drip bottle or
submerge the piece in a tub of water), when you use them. The point of
contact will get red hot if you are pressing hard which is not what you
want, because it will burn up the diamond coating on the drill bit.

Use light pressure, even just the weight of the drill and let the diamonds
do what they do best, score/fracture the material away slowly.

I used to use them for drilling glass for jewelry, and chimes, and other
sorts of stuff. Since glaze is a form of glass, would think they would work
just fine.

Sincerely,
Bud Britt
Tustin, CA, USA
glassyclass@worldnet.att.net
http://www.homestead.com/glassyclass/

----- Original Message -----
From: "Lajos Kamocsay"
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2001 11:30 PM
Subject: glaze drilling...


Hello,

I've glazed a teapot with tenmoku which ran into the little holes where the
handle would attach. I tried to drill a hole through the glaze, but already
messed up 2 dremel grinding heads. I would need a hole about the size of a
10 gauge wire.
Any ideas?

Thanks,
Lajos

Paul Brinkmann on fri 14 dec 01


Lajos, Was doing a "honey-do" project for my wife, in which I needed to
drill holes through the bottom of a cup and saucer. I thought I could use my
masonry bit, but found out it dosent work. Went over to Home Depot, and
guess what. There is a bit, made by Black & Decker, for Glass and Tile. I
needed a 1/4 inch, but there were other sizes smaller. Havent tried it yet,
but I have all confidence it will do the job.
Paul Brinkmann, from sunny San
Antonio, Texas.

Lajos Kamocsay on fri 14 dec 01


Hello,

Thanks for all the ideas!
I went to OSH and found a glass and tile bit for ~$4. It does not look like
a drill at all - at the end there is only this little triangle shape. I put
that in my black&decker rotary tool, set it to the lowest speed and with
some water cooling it drilled through the glaze perfectly. I guess the most
important thing is to go slow, and to use water for cooling. My mistake must
have been that I tried drilling at the highest speed with no cooling.

Thanks again,
Lajos