The drill press has an xyz travel (it moves right, left and backwards...and of course up and down)...and it also has a mini vise that holds pipe and roundstock....and you can lock in the depth - just like a regular sized big drill! Here are some holes i drilled for practice...
It was WAY easy peasy! My dh showed me how to tap lightly to make a small starter dent so that the drill doesn't "travel" and then how to drill partly through, blow out the dust and then drill all the way through. Tomorrow I'm going to learn how to use my glass ring saw, which I also got for my birthday. It's a bit more complicated and my DH can't give me a lesson with it, because he's never used one......
I committed to one more charm swap - for Valentine's day! I painted these wood cubes white, glued hearts of my own design on all sides and put a gloss finish on them. This is them drying:
My intention was to string them on brass, with a hammered squiggle, swarovski crystals and a red glass heart. They are very tiny - about 1/4 of an inch. They look cool, don't they?
Unfortunately, when they were dry, they were very LUMPY looking....and some of the gloss had turned yellow. They are not for Amber's charm group, but she has taught me well, and she would be appalled! It was the Alene's brand, and it said it dried clear.......hah! they really look lame! I would just make new ones, but it won't stop raining and I can't get anything to dry right. Since they need to be mailed end of next week and I also have a pendant swap due before I go to the mainland, and I have to assemble 52, I decided to use the same brass and beads and instead of my own art as the focal piece, i am using mini dice. I'm calling them "Lucky in Love".
Not what i intended, but ....oh well. I'll post when done, but they are not nearly what I envisioned.
Here's a great quote that Gabe Wizard on my glass group said in response to a members comment over a project gone awry and creative solutions to fix it.
"I am a firm believer in experimenting just to see what happens. Sometimes you get spectacular results. Sometime you get spectacular failures. Sometimes the failures inspire new successes. What a world."
How true, eh?
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2 comments:
I'm with you on the cutting tools. I'm scared of my hedge trimmer. Did you know they make a drill press for the Dremel? It doesn't go back and forth, but it does up and down. I LOVE mine!
Your beads for your charms are so cute. Even if they didn't turn out like you wanted. I can't wait to see the end result.
Hugs,
Darya
Holey (spelling intentional) Cow! What great fun you're going to have drilling!. Keep the painted heart charms - I bet if sanded and antiqued or patina-ed, they'll make great embellishments for something (like on the sleeves of dolls who wear their hearts on their sleeves).
You are really keeping to your word about completion.
Joanne
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