Drilling Holes in Raw Polymer Clay Vs Baked Clay

Video #617: If you want your beads to look professional, then it is usually best to drill holes after your polymer has been baked.

Topics Covered In This Video:

• I’m going to show you the difference between drilling holes in polymer clay when the clay is raw versus when it is baked.
• Often you will see on the internet where someone who is making a polymer clay pendant or flat charm, just take a skewer and make a hole in the clay when it is raw.
• There are several problems that can happen when piercing holes in raw polymer clay.
• First is that the piece will tend to distort… the clay gets pushed to the sides of the hole and can distort the piece out of shape.
• The hole gets uneven and puckered up around the edges.
• A hole made in clay by swirling a pointed tool generally looks very unprofessional.
• A much cleaner and better looking hole can be made after the polymer clay has been baked, using a drill bit.
• Drilling in baked polymer clay is super easy to do.
• By holding off on adding holes to your polymer clay beads until after they are baked… gives you more options.
• You may change your mind on where you want to drill the hole, how many holes you want to add or if you want to add a bail instead. If the hole is already there, you can’t do much about it.
• All you need is some inexpensive drill bits made for wood, since polymer clay is soft and easy to drill through.
• You can find drill bits in the hardware store or even the dollar store.
• Purchases the sizes of drill bits that you will need.
• Support your polymer clay piece from behind, using scrap wood or a plastic block.
• I used to make a polymer clay handle for my drill bits but found that the bits they came loose if the bit was not bent on the end (which is very difficult to do).
• So now I just use a pin vise to hold my drill bits.
• You can find single and double ended pin vises, which screw apart for adding any size of drill bit that is required.
• Most Exacto Blade handles will accommodate small drill bits as well.
• Press a small dent in the clay where you want to drill the hole, so the bit doesn’t slide around on the surface.
• Using light pressure, drill into the polymer clay with a piece of wood behind it as a back stop, and you should get a pretty clean hole.
• Drill from the back as well as the front, to clear any burrs along the edges of the hole.
• Resin coated polymer clay pendants can also be drilled after baking. You will notice that thhey need a little more pressure and time, but it is easily done by hand.
• I also like to use a tapered drill bit or a tapered burr bit (made for Dremel Tools), for getting holes started or cleaning burrs around the edge of holes.
• Drilling your polymer clay after it is baked will give you a nice clean professional looking hole… much better than the dorky, puckered up, uneven holes that you squish in when the clay was raw! :)

• Related Video: Drilling Holes In Your Polymer Clay Beads
• Related Article: Polymer Clay Bead Holes
• Related Article: How To Make Pretty Handles for Your Drill Bits
• Related Video: Applying Ultradome UV Epoxy Resin To Polymer Clay

Do you have any suggestions for videos on tips, techniques or products you would like to learn more about? Let me know in the comments section below!

My goal is to help you to learn quicker and easier ways to bring up the professionalism in your polymer clay art.

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