Friday, June 20, 2014
Four spindles sitting in a row ...
They're done!
Since I was not able to get down to Artistic Roots yesterday, I went and bought a diamond tip bit for my Dremel (a fantastic, handy-dandy tool with many uses). The bit is only 1/8" diameter so I also bought a larger glass-cutting bit for my regular electric drill.
Everything I read about drilling glass emphasized using cold water, so I placed each whorl one-by-one on a piece of cork board and submerged it just to cover in a shallow pan. The diamond-tip bit cut like a knife through butter but the glass-cutter took patience. Each whorl took about 5 minutes to drill. I don't know if that's normal or if I'm simply inexperienced.
The best news is that they all spin. The dark one on the left spins beautifully, as does the one on the right (that's the one I made with a built-in hole and didn't require drilling). The two in the middle spin well but not quite as well as the other two. The cross shaped one is least stable of all and that's not surprising, but a few pieces of "glue dots" under one side helps to bring it into alignment.
They all ended up as bottom whorl spindles because as top whorls they didn't have enough stability.
I'm exceedingly happy with these and they're a pleasure to use. That little extra 'self-made' aspect adds a bit more of something special to the process. :)
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