GetCrafty Craft Facts

Q: I have a bag of sea glass pieces that would make a beautiful decorative half-curtain over my patio door. The problem is, I need a hole in the top and bottom through which to string the line to hang them on. I pulled out my old variable speed 'Dremel', but the two tips I found that might have done something did nothing - one made a bit of a hole when I pushed hard enough to heat it to glowing. I only need a small hole, and I need something that won't crack along the length of the glass piece, as well.

A: Holes can be drilled in glass using some of the diamond plated bits in your 'Dremel'. However, for best results use lots of water. Keep the bit as wet as possible, drill a little, remove the bit from the hole, dip in water, and drill agin. Commercial operations would probably use a small diamond core drill. That's a drill that's hollow, like a pipe, with 1 end diamond plated or sintered. Water is continually run through the bit while drilling. This flushes the swarf out of the hole and keeps the bit cool and cutting. If you'd like, you can make a little dam (use 'PlayDoh', or similar) around the area where the hole will be drilled. Fill the the well with water and keep lifting the drill-bit every little while to clean it and re-wet it. The dam is what I use, I make it out of drips of candle wax. 'Dremel' makes a tungsen-carbide bit that I like better than the 'Industrial Diamond'. It's a bit cheaper too. Amy, you've gotten a lot of advice, some good, some not so good, and some so stupid any attempt on my part to point them out would end in a raging flame. Do yourself a simple, inexpensive, and possibly lifesaving favor. Install a 'GFCI' ('Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter') outlet. You can pick one up at most any hardware store. Mine is made by Levitron and is called 'Shock Resistor.' Another option that totally bypasses the need to drill - wire-wrap the pieces of glass. Make loops at each end for hanging and connecting them by, and maybe even create a lovely dangle of accent beads at the bottom of the lowest one on each curtain strand. From what I've seen in some home decor catalogs lately, wire/metal and sea glass are one of the really popular combinations right now.