GetCrafty Craft Facts

Q: I was wondering if anyone has a contraption they use for clearing holes in beads? I have some great beads with lousy, uneven holes, and was wondering what other people do about this. I'm trying to get a good tool that requires a mimimum amount of equipment.

A: If the beads are polymer clay, take a drill bit, mold a handle from poly clay, embed the bit and bake. When cool, pull bit out (metal and clay don't bond) and glue it back in with cryanoacetate glue. Then use this hand drill to clean up and enlarge the holes. If you are talking about seed beads made of glass then they are scrap. Part of the price of the beads is some scrap. For beads in between, it basically depends on the material they are made from. Actually the easiest way to enlarge a hole in clay, wood, and most plastic beads is with a round needle file available anyplace that sells metal jewelry supplies and tools. Glass likely will not file. The wire type jewelry saw blades can also be threaded into the hole and gently worked to enlarge it some, especially if it is a long hole.