[Jewelry making - Article 00418] - Re: [Orchid] Drilling investigated

[James Binnion]

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>     Is it "better" to drill holes in metal that is hard or annealed? 

    Harder metal cuts cleaner than annealed and in the jewelry metals
    harder is generally better. 

>     Are there any dangers, such as structural failure, when drilling a
>     piece of metal numerous times? 

    Not unless you remove so much metal that the work loses mechanical
    integrity 

>     Which method is better when enlarging a drilled hole: drill again,
>     using a larger drill bit or using a needle file? 

    Depends but usually it is much easier to step drill than file a hole
    larger 

>     Does the same drill bit behave differently with different metals
>     (copper, silver, gold)? 

    Yes, in an ideal world you would have different rake and clearance
    angles on the drill bit for each metal. But that would require way
    too many drill bits so a compromise is used for the cutting angles
    and you will see different performance in different metals. 

James Binnion
jbin AT mokume-gane.com
James Binnion Metal Arts
http://www.mokume-gane.com
360-756-6550
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