Deb,
Believe it or not I just hold the pieces with either tweezers of my finger tips. I have attached an image of the only water system I use in my entire shop no matter what I am doing. It uses very little water and keeps the splashing and spray down to a minimum. You can see it being used on my drill press at this link. http://www.lopacki.com/howto/

The first image shows the whole system the second is a close up of the off on valve.

All my best .......... Danny

I just ran through this thread real fast so forgive me if I missed this. I saw people using ball burrs (bad idea if you want a round hole). I have been drilling stone since 1978 and at this time I know I have drilled in excess of 30,000 holes ............... I use diamond drills. If your new to drilling go to this bead making tutorial I wrote for Lapidary journal about 1998, it ran in three issues as a how to. If you scroll down the page about half way the drilling part is there. http://www.lopacki.com/howto/

If I want large holes I drill a small one first and then go up step by step. 1.5 mm then 2mm then 2.5mm and so on. The main reason for starting with the small hole is that is removes the center, once the center is out of the way all other drills are more reaming not drilling. Here is an image of a bead I just made that has a 6mm 1/4 inch hole, the bead is over 1 1/2 inch long.

All my best ............ Danny

source for the best diamond drills as far as I am concerned been using them for years.  http://www.lopacki.com/drills/

Helene,

Here is a larger image of the bead that is my avatar, this bead was the first major piece I made in my new studio. I have images of the whole step by step process of it as it was made on my website at this link I think you will enjoy seeing what it took to make it. http://www.lopacki.com/art/new/ If you would like to see what I have been up to since 1978 start at this link. http://www.lopacki.com/art

This bead as a finished piece is very involved and a complete necklace here is an image of the bead with the spring loaded removable bail.

I will do my best to post many items over the months in hopes to inspire all those that love lapidary and jewelry. I do it as a passion and have done so all these years, it has blessed me and my family and continues to do so.

All my best ........... Danny

The stone in the bead Maw Sit Sit Sugilite and Lemon chrysoprase.

lopacki.com is mine, thanks for your business

I made these six spun agate beads prior to making the large Rhyolite in the above post so I could get the feel of spinning such a long bead.

37mm 1.46 inch X 12.1mm .48 inch
42mm 1.65 inch X 12.4mm .49 inch
37mm 1.46 inch X 12.1mm .48 inch
40.3mm 1.57 inch X 12.65mm .50 inch
31.5mm 1.24 inch X 16.5mm .65 inch
35.2mm 1.39 inch X 11.4mm .45 inch

All my best .......... Danny

All of the final shaping is done free hand on the grinder with the bead spinning using a 360 mesh wheel, this is somewhat time consuming but if your after the perfect shape in the long run it is well worth the time involved. After final shaping is done you then take the finish to the desired shine in this case the bead is finished on a worn out 600 mesh sanding belt, I think this finish lends itself to this stone and gives the bead a bit of character. After sanding I expanded the hole with a tapered 600 mesh diamond burr, in doing this there is no worry with the hole cutting the cord it is hung on.

Finished bead size 39.25mm 1.55 inch X 20mm .788 inch I am quite pleased with the results.

All my best ............. Danny

Next comes rough grinding to come up with the basic shape wanted. You will notice that the hole was so well centered in the blank that there were witness marks on opposite sides once roughed out. First image below

Next I removed the rough grinding from an 80 mesh to 260 mesh so I could get the bead in perfect balance for the final shaping.Second image below

As I have been a bead spinner (maybe a very early one) for years, 36 and counting I personally think if you want the best bead possible that this is the only way to go. I just posted this on a bead forum I go to of a bead I just finished last week.

As most of you know last year I was obsessed with marbles and marble beads. I just posted this on a carving forum I belong to and thought it would work here as well.

I have been a stone bead maker since 1978 and cannot tell you how many beads I have made over the years my guess at this time is in excess of 30,000. I have decided to make large stone beads for this years obsession and while working on them this past few weeks it dawned on me that beads are really a very involved carving. I decided to document one for all of you on the carving path to see if you agree with me that in fact a bead is a carving.

First off you need to find a piece of stone that is suited for a bead, once you find the stone your initial challenge is to cut out the proper bead blank, seen in the image below the blank measured 40mm 1.6inch X 21mm .828 inch. This stone is a banded New Mexico Rhyolite, Rhyolite is a stone formed from volcanic ash and this particular piece of stone is very hard and very well suited for bead making, in fact it turned out to be one of the most smooth cutting stones I have ever encountered. First image below.

The next thing is drill a hole in this case a long hole 1.6 inch. To drill a hole like this I started out with a 1.5mm diamond drill, I then worked my way up in steps until I reached my final size of 6mm (1/4 inch). You will notice that on one end the hole is not centered, this was expected as the blank had a taper about half way down one of the sides, when laid out for drilling I knew that if I centered the hole by the time the bead was made

Frank,
You need to get those Lambina pieces out and have at it. I have been making Opal beads since 1980 and everyone that sees them loves them. I wear a personal strand daily and tell people it is the finest near matched strand of Opal beads on the planet. Have yet to see a better one and I made this strand in 1996.

All my best ...... Danny

Hopefully the image I added will show up and give you inspiration to start drilling holes in the pieces

P.S. These are all spun beads.

Been playing with rocks since childhood. Started making a living at it in 1978 and am still at it.

All my best ......... Danny