Drilling small hole in a stone arrowhead.

[Will S.]

Wife's friend is making a few Indian arrowhead necklaces for someone, and wants me to drill a single hole for the silver hoop, for the chain. She's wanting something smaller than 1/8" dia, and only thing that I can think of is a 1/8th diamond tipped bit, of the type used for drilling ceramic tire.

Of course I don't want to screw this up by cracking or breaking, while drilling. These are probably 200 year old stone arrowheads. Anyone here have a suggestion? I do have a variety of power tools incl Dremel, a machinist drill press, etc. How would you do it?

 

[four.cycle]

very slowly, under water.

if you try to go fast, you're going to crack the thing.

took me about 5 tries to drill a hole through a geoduck shell to use as the clapper for a set of wind chimes.
intact, whole geoduck shells are not easy to find, either.

slow. slower than slow, actually. hand drill only.

 

[EdT]

The best drill for this project is one that is at a local jeweler who drills holes in hard stuff all the time. If you screw it up, you will be on several S&^% lists for some time. If a pro screws it up, well at least he wasn't you. If you must pursue it personally, I'd sure try to get a piece of whatever they're made of to run some tests before doing the real deal. Around here, arrow heads are usually quartz, but that can vary a lot depending on where they came from. You could probably get some experience with a piece of ordinary glass but quartz or flint is harder than glass IIR. I'd try a diamond bit in a dremel tool with lots of water.

 

[BillK]

I have done small pieces of glass with a diamond bit. Very slow, water and pressure. Like the others said I think I would find something to practice on first even though I dont think arrowheads are all that rare. Just wouldnt want to mess up the one she is using.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/50-PC-Lot-...h=item20fc4a7ac8:g:81QAAOSw3xJVXF~2:rk:2:pf:0

 

[Will S.]

OK,, thanks all, for the replies. I will need to find a smaller diamond-faced drill, but will follow the suggestions of slow drilling, and lots of water to keep it cool and lubed.

I agree that arrowheads are not all that rare, but the kicker in this project is the lady jewelry maker, friend of my wife, is doing this project for someone she doesn't even know. HE supplied the arrowheads (2 or 3), that have been in his family, and somehow are connected to a family member many generations ago. The necklace will be for his wife.

They asked me to do the "easy" part; just drill a tiny hole through the stone arrowhead, and "soften" (de-burr?) the edges of the hole. Piece of cake! Right.

I will practice on something that is rough, brittle hard stone; maybe something from the stone pad behind my garage.

Again, thanks. Now I just got to find the right size bit(s).

 

[matt_i]

I've heard of using a copper tube charged with lapping compound to drill things like this, its basically wearing a hole thru it with the abrasive which becomes embedded in the softer copper material.

I think a water cooled diamond edge is a good one.

I think fixturing the part is the biggest problem here. A sharp-edged irregularly shaped thing would be a pain to clamp in place.

 

[Abeo]

I think fixturing the part is the biggest problem here. A sharp-edged irregularly shaped thing would be a pain to clamp in place.

I'd line the bottom of a plastic container with Plasticine, then press the arrowhead into it. The Plasticine will hold it in place and isn't affected by water.

The plastic container can be held by a vice.

 

[Will S.]

I'd line the bottom of a plastic container with Plasticine, then press the arrowhead into it. The Plasticine will hold it in place and isn't affected by water.

The plastic container can be held by a vice.

Another excellent tip. Thanks. I don't know what Plasticine is, but you have me an idea to cut a piece of closed-cell foam, to the shape of the arrowhead, and press it in. Then I'll submerge the whole assembly into a plastic tray and add water until the arrowhead is covered. That should hold things in place.

I ordered a set of diamond drills from Amazon, and they will be here in a few days, so I can get this done.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.

 

[Ray-CA]

Would a water jet be able to "drill" through it?

Ray

 

[bullnerd]

Epoxy a mounting point to the top.

 

[rsanter]

Look at the diamond dremmel bits

 

[MoonRise]

Step #1 - Find out what actual material these 'stone' arrowheads are mode of.

Could be flint, or a 'quartz' type of stone, or a more glass-like material (obsidian).

https://www.wildernesscollege.com/making-arrowheads.html

Actually, let's go back a step.

#1 - Do you actually HAVE to drill a hole through these 'stone' arrowheads?

How about just using the existing "notch" that is (or should be, unless something happened to the arrowheads and broke the notch off of them) already there and using some appropriate (size and material) cordage to attach the metal hoop/ring to the arrowhead that way?

Advantages : No drilling (or trying to drill) a small hole through a relatively small and brittle and irregularly shaped object. No change to the arrowheads at all. Fixable, changeable, repairable, 'reversible' just in case it turns out that the arrowhead(s) are some sort of archaeologically valuable artifact.

Disadvantages : None

 

[Will S.]

All good stuff. I will ask the owner about the type of stone (it looks like stone to my untrained eye), and will also ask about the suggested attachment methods, even though I have already ordered diamond drills from Amazon, and they have already shipped. But that's ok. Any excuse to buy more tools!

 

[hawkeye2]

Don’t drill... google ‘wire wrap arrowhead’ instead.

 

[BD1]

I'd get a price to have it done. I wouldn't take a chance.

 

[mrvm]

Don’t drill... google ‘wire wrap arrowhead’ instead.

I like this idea...think about how these were attached to the shaft of the arrow. More authentic and reflects the craftsmanship used to make arrow heads rather than drilling a hole risking damage.

 

[bullnerd]

I like this idea...think about how these were attached to the shaft of the arrow. More authentic and reflects the craftsmanship used to make arrow heads rather than drilling a hole risking damage.

This sounds good too.

 

[rustyjames]

I wouldn't drill it either, especially if it's a well crafted one.

 

[GeoRoss]

If the surface is not flat you will can have a lot of trouble with the bit wanting to wander over the surface.

Drilling this sort of stuff is hard. I use diamond coated bits, go slow and under water. Anything you can do to fix the arrowhead down will help.

 

[nelstomlinson]

The way the pros do this is with a soft copper rod or tube, and a diamond slurry, as matt_i said. I saw a little rock carving shop in Taiwan, where they worked jade, quartz and so on. They had a bandsaw-like device with a thin copper wire and diamond slurry they used for fretwork, a tablesaw with a copper disc and diamond slurry, and a drillpress with copper rods and diamond slurry. I didn't get a chance to look at any of it up close, I was just looking across the counter at what was going on in the back room.

The important point is don't use expensive diamond bits, use cheap soft copper and cheap diamond dust and water.

 

[Kevin54]

Depending on what type of arrowhead, I would be very decisive on drilling it. I think I would rather have it wrapped in some fine leather strips around the tail instead of drilling.

 

[Marctrees]

Maybe an option ?

Epoxy on Bail -

https://www.google.com/search?q=glu...s5HgAhUOPN8KHUUQCegQ_AUIDygC&biw=1229&bih=604