Drilling The Perfect Hole in a Rock!

There are plenty of ways to drill a hole in a rock that work well enough for most people's needs, but none of them up to now have been able to make a perfectly flawless hole.
This worked so well, and I'm thrilled to have a way to drill a perfect hole in a rock without any blowout, chipping, or elongation of the hole.
You should also check out Scott's video that I based this on.
• Worlds Easiest Rock Dr...
LINKMICRO LM246MS: amzn.to/3SfzEKC
Dremel 4000: amzn.to/3vPD7YB
Dremel Drill Press: amzn.to/3SjtiK4
Be sure to check out my website at currentlyrockhounding.com for tons of additional rockhounding resources and much more!
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[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Did you enjoy this video and find it to be informative? You can help ensure that more videos just like this get made by supporting the project on Patreon. www.patreon.com/currentlyrockhounding

[@tenaedmonson1213]

yes

[@WagonWheelAgatesAssociated]

This is perfect for those of us that are wanting to take this next step..thanks for paving the way..and buying the microscope for us all😊

[@GeologyDude]

my only suggestion, is to add a flat gasket material in the area between the metal clamping plate and the stone (to be certain no slippage occurs in that area). Perhaps elsewhere too

[@farmboypresents9977]

Great vid. Folk often ask me to drill holes in their rocks. I always refer them to the other rock guy in town. He groans but does it. Your dremel setup is what i do too.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

It really is a good little system.

[@darrelsmedstad6473]

I purchased a EWANYO 3 Speed Benchtop Drill Press from Amazon that works great for me. It's currently $78 on Amazon. The chuck gives a firm grip and the spindle runs true. To drill small stones I sometimes make a shallow depression in a small stick and use it to steady the stone with my fingers gripping the stone. To eliminate blowouts sometimes I can drill partway through stone then turn it over and drill to meet hole from backside. This is mostly a hit or miss technique.

[@darrelsmedstad6473]

If your bit is out of round its not going to make an oval hole, it'll just increase the size a tad. I used your Dremel setup for a while but found that the drill press had an ever so slight deflection, I couldn't get it set up rock solid, it's a cheap setup. Drilling into flat surfaces isn't too bad, but when drilling into small uneven stones it's a challenge.

[@hubrigant]

I was thinking the same thing about out-of-round bits. Until he got the better results from the core bit, I suspected either spindle run-out or other tool-side slop. Now I don't know.

[@sandmaker]

I agree.

[@JnVrockhounding]

Thanks Jared. I am planning on making pendants and needed a good way to drill holes in them for the lanyard. Now I know what to get.

[@ThirdPlanetRocks]

So fair to say: price on Amazon is inverse to how round of a hole you get? 😂 Awesome lunchtime watch, thx for the deep dive!

[@kengeohegan6854]

I have been drilling small diameter holes in stones for jewelry with a drill press for some time. My one suggestion for you is a drip system instead of a water bath. For one stone it doesn't matter, but for continued use a drip system allows for easier visualization of your work. A bath tends to become too turbid quite quickly. I still set the drill press in the plastic tub to catch the water.

[@miak6859]

Nice going with the little drill press the hole came out pretty perfect

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

It does seem like a significant part of it all to get that nice hole.

[@QuartzCowboy]

I really like core bits, good info in your video! 🤙

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Thank you.

[@marycompogno5665]

That's pretty cool! My daughter is thinking about drilling holes in seashells and rocks for projects. The Rio Grande bits seemed to do a lot better. Thankyou for doing this research and sharing. 😊

[@ukrainef_poo-tin8917]

Glad you got it figured out. Thank you for sharing.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Thanks for watching!

[@cactusmann5542]

Oh, without the press/stand, but dremel for sure. Carved the beads almost fully with it...

[@geogrammy3381]

You should check run out of the dremel and the roundness of the bit F

[@johnbolton9957]

I would recomend using a GFI electrical outlet while using electric drill so close to water.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

I little 120 never killed anyone! :)

[@MauriceDay-tc2we]

I think the core bit is better because its self centering and by design, where the cylinder bit is blunt on the end making it want to skid around giving you the oval cut.....

[@WorldofRockhounds]

That was a really nice hole!

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

It's also a fast and clean process which I can do even in my shop in the winter, which is always a concern of mine when dealing with water.

[@JouleEon]

For sure. That is why I am now picking up the Dremel Press. If I can reproduce your results that will be perfect😊.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

It's a good system for the price, and it offers more control vs going freehand with it.

[@largent45]

That is just the cutest little setup for dilling holes! That little mini drill press is awesome! The only way you are going to drill a perfect 90 degree hole is with something thats mounted to drill at 90 degees. And with something as hard as a rock to drill through, thats quite a bit of time to hold the drill, dremmel fordom, or whatever you are using to drill with. That mini drill press made for holding a Dremel is awesome! And that core bit is really nice! It cores and grinds its way down without the blowout at the end! Its amazing Thanks Scott for the email and suggestions and thank you Jared for the demonstation video!

[@tenaedmonson1213]

I think alowes the shavings to go inside it and then out helpes stop the blow-out . Maybe.

[@kerickwalters2749]

Flawless holes 😂 that could be construed so wrong man 😅. Okay enough of that. Great instructional Jared

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Ha!

[@patriciamckean4186]

Thanks for all the testing and diligence in resolving this challenge.

[@marssupila6173]

Interesting, thanks.

[@JouleEon]

I was leaning toward the (pricey) Gunther system. I have some success on a regular drill press or my Dremel handheld. Both have advantages but they are far from perfection. This seems a more advantageous and cost-effective way to get better results. Great demo. Thanks.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

I don't doubt that the Gunther system is outstanding to use. The Lapidary Bench Drill Press they make I think would be a great machine to have, but for how few holes I need to drill in things, having a dedicated $1400 machine just doesn't work for me. That's the price of a Cab King or money that can be thrown into a larger saw.

[@johnlinay3939]

Hey Jared, have you tried a constant pressure rather than frequently taping the bit at the hole? Seems like with Dremel dusters encourage a slight wip on the end of the drill. Nice post though. John

[@brutusb1858]

ive been making lots of pendants using a flex shaft to drill through the sides for the chain to pass through. im still perfecting it. polishing the through hole isnt easy but doable.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Are you just free handing it?

[@brutusb1858]

yes because the holes are urved to match the chain bend@@CurrentlyRockhounding

[@brutusb1858]

*curved

[@farmboypresents9977]

Ive always found the cheap bits have a wobble. Especially the smaller ones.

[@DanFarrar]

That Dremel press is sweet. Diamond coated inside and out =sweeter still. 😊

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

It's a nice little addition to the shop.

[@markattardo]

Gotta say I'm pleasantly surprised the drill press stand didn't twist or deform a little while you were drilling. I suppose the trick is to use just enough pressure to keep the bit in contact without excess pressure. Nice way to drill rocks!👍👍

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

If you're not mindful of it, you can twist it a bit, but if you're careful and go up and down it works well.

[@markattardo]

@@CurrentlyRockhoundingAppreciate the reply👍👍

[@mikerandolph5827]

Another great video, Jason! My dogs were asleep. When you started drilling, they both came running with their ears perked up and twisting their heads side to side quizacly. It was priceless! I had not thought of setting the drill stand in the water. I used a small tub on top of the drill base with poor results. I'll take your advice tomorrow! Thanks!

[@spetkovsek57]

I'm glad you got good results, however I think you were comparing apple to oranges. A solid bit vs. a core bit. You should have tested both solid, or both core. With the solid it's got to take out "all" the material whereas the core is significantly less. Also the solid has to disperse the material out of the hole before it can proceed. I'm guessing because of that, you got some wobble, hence the non-round hole. It was a great experiment though. I've core drilled rock slabs before, but didn't need to worry about blowout so I was satisfied with what I got. They were inexpensive bits, so I got what I paid for. Even though I drilled in water, they didn't last very long before the diamonds started coming off. Thanks for sharing your results.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

You bring up a good point here. I guess I'm more concerned with the final result, which I'm happy with, and the price is right. Is there a benefit to solid bits over core bits?

[@spetkovsek57]

@@CurrentlyRockhounding I'm sure someone would debate the benefits of solid vs. core. Maybe if someone wanted to make stone rings using two different sized bits they would want perfect holes with no blowout. For me, it didn't matter, so I didn't think about it until I watched this video.

[@angiewright692]

Sweet, I wanted to try this very thing on glass, and of course wondered how it would work on stone.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

I'm glad you liked it.

[@RyanWeishalla]

Definitely could be some runout in the burr, plus it may not be designed to plunge cut and having to grind out all of the material, the extra pressure you may be putting on it could be deflecting the 1/4" arbor. The downside to the core bit is that you are limited to the thickness of the material you can drill a hole though.

[@NewZealandRocksDownunder]

I used to use the same setup as you but found there was too much movement in the press flexing as pressure is applied to the lever. I have since moved to a benchpress drill that has significantly less induced movement

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

How hard are you pressing because it seems like if the bit is good then it should be doing all the work, and you shouldn't have to be pressing very hard at all.

[@NewZealandRocksDownunder]

@@CurrentlyRockhounding after several hundred holes the drill press hasn't stood up very well and has become sloppy in the action

[@pamelatrozera224]

Awesome video. I have been wanting a better way to drill holes in rocks. Thank-you for sharing. There are so many different brands of drill bits out there. What bits should I buy?

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

That's a good question, it depends on what you're doing exactly. Is it a hole all the way through or not? How hard is the material? How thick is it? You might have to buy some things to test out to see if they work well for you.

[@mpaulk2023]

Ha I was listening to the sound that the bits made and was all 'hu. It sounds like he was using the core but at a faster speed' ....then you went and said that you had it at 10k vs 5k with the cheaper bit 😂🤣 My friend has an older model of that drill press and it's actually pretty nicely built. He's used it for a number of small project stuff, but I'm not sure how often, if ever, he's used it on rocks.

[@susanmcalvany6181]

Great video! Do you have a link to the core drill bits that worked so well in the video? And what size was it? Thanks👍😊

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

These bits are from Rio Grande and here I was using the 6mm core bit.

[@MGgoose1]

When you are playing the high-speed video of the dremel drill press you can see the entire dremel unit shifting as it contacts the rock. The easiest way to notice the movement is to watch the power cord tilting as the unit moves down.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

I don't know what you're trying to say with this comment.

[@MGgoose1]

@@CurrentlyRockhounding It seems your goal is to have a perfectly vertical hole with no blowout or other flaws. If the dremel unit is tilting as you apply pressure, your hole will have a slight angle to it, and may end up with a slightly ovoid opening. I'm not always great at putting my thoughts into words that make complete sense to others.

[@1885win]

How would a solid diamond end mill work on a machining mill? I am into some projects that require drilling and have a mill and a lathe.

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

I'm not sure but you should try it.

[@utahrockhoundingcouple]

The sound it makes going through 😬 definitely does a perfect job tho

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

It is a little like nails on a chalkboard.

[@utahrockhoundingcouple]

@@CurrentlyRockhounding I'd have to wear ear protection for sure!

[@miketufts9765]

Makes me think of native Americans using flint/chert as drills to make holes in stones,what kind of material are you boring through?

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

This here is jasper.

[@josephvohs8003]

Hey Jared, was ordering bits around and looking for bits similar to this as I need coreing bits for a project, was wondering what brand of bits you have as the previous bits ive purchased have not worked as well as these appear to?

[@CurrentlyRockhounding]

Mine are RioGrand bits.

[@josephvohs8003]

@@CurrentlyRockhounding Cool, thanks for replying.

[@DonariaRegia]

First step, cut a hole in the rock. Second step... 😳