Stone Bead Hole Sizes
More than ever we've been receiving questions about the size of our stone bead holes.
As more and more stringing materials are being used the more challenges have been
popping up.
Bead holes come in a wide variety of sizes. For example, glass beads have a very
consistent hole because the beads are made from molds. Fresh water pearls have
a very small hole normally, and raw diamond beads have the tiniest in the bead world.
When you venture into natural materials such as stone, drilling them has many challenges.
Here are a couple of examples of the challenges and how they are solved:
1. The material can be fragile in structure and will only allow for a small hole,
so as not to crack the material.
2. Some stones need to be drilled from either end into the center where they meet.
This insures that the hole is centered but can lead to an uneven hole diameter.
How do you deal with this?
I keep on hand a variety of stringing materials so I will never have to run to the
store to complete a design.
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.014 diameter beading wire works great for glass, wood, seeds, and medium to large
sized stone beads:
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.010 diameter beading wire for pearls and small stone beads:
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If you're going to be using leather or a different cording you'll need to buy beads
that are specially sold with a large hole. Know the diameter of your cord, and buy
large hole beads according to the cording you're planning to use. Dakota Stones
bead holes range in size from .8 - 1.2mm. We also have our line of LARGE HOLE BEADS which have a 2.5mm hole, these are perfect for
designs with cording.
And, if all else fails, use an Electric Bead Reamer and make the hole larger yourself.
This is something I rarely need to do, but it's a nice option to have.
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