Wednesday, February 29, 2012

My fancy bits...

As I was sitting here, thinking how can I cut indents into my driftwood to hold the votive candles, Roger suggested trying a spade bit. Not a bad idea!



On our next trip to Sears we stopped at their tool department and found that the largest spade bit was 1 1/2 inches. That's a little bit narrower than a votive. Then I thought that maybe I could use that as a starting point and from there I'll use a wood file to file away to the size I need. So we bought the spade bit and a rounded wood file.

That didn't work too well. It cut the hole well enough (also learned that I would do good to get a vice or a clamp too), but it was still way too small. I started filing with the wood file, but I wasn't getting anywhere fast. Very disappointing.

My next bright idea was to do a google search and see if there is such a thing as a 2" or more spade bit.. There isn't, but I did find out that there is something called a forester bit. Very similar to spade bits but it has more sharper, edges.


That lead me to take a walk to the hardware store up the street to check their forester bit selection out. When reading about forester bits and checking some driftwood tutorials, I found that it is wise to use a drill press and or a clamp to hold your wood securely when drilling. My jaw dropped when I saw that a 2" forester bit cost over $30. I bit the bullet and bought one....

With that I'm set for 2 sizes, but I would still need something to smooth off the edges or make it just a tad bigger, because you know, not all votives are the same....Then it hit me. A long, long time ago I had something like a Dremel, just not as powerful, that I used to etch glass. With a Dremel I could use a carving/router bit or a sanding bit to get my cut to the size I need it to be - bit by bit. 



So that's what I did - in addition to the two fancy bits, I am also the proud owner of a Dremel and what is the next thing I found out? I need to practice, practice, practice!

Now you may ask what the moral of the story is? - I'm supposed to be purging - but if you are going to buy, buy something that you know you will need, not just for this one project - but for lots of things down the road.

I hope that I will soon be able to share the results of my new hobby and I'll be able to have them up and selling on Etsy soon!

Aloha a Hui Hou!

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