Drilling Holes in Shells - help please!

[Lesterlassone]

For years I've beachcombed and have lots of shells (scallop, whelks, mussels, limpet etc) and want to string them with driftwood / pebbles to make mobiles, but ...... they need holes.

Can anyone recommend a not too expensive drill, suitable for this sort of thing? Any info and advice very welcome.

I have a Dremel kit, its a mini drill type thing that comes in a black molded case with different attachments for everything from polishing to this sort of drilling -

I got mine either from Argos or the big tool shop on Tottenham court road in London - sorry can't quite remember but it wasn't expensive & has been very useful for all kinds of crafty things such as drilling holes in shells

Thanks Rockinhippy - just looked on Argos website and found 2 products which might be what you're talking about: Dremel Speedclic Cutting Set at £18.42 or the Dremel 200 Series Corded Rotary Tool at £35.73.

Can you remember which of these sounds like the mini drill you have used for shells?

My once is boxed away in the attic & I can't get to it right now to check for sure, but it doesn't have cutting tools, so would presume its probably the latter one -

how about googling the model & number, you will probably find a lot more info on what it actually does than on the Argos site - I find Argos are pretty poor with details on a lot of their stuff & thats worked for me before - good luck

one - not once

I have a dremel type thingy from hobbycraft......tis very good! teeny tiny drill bits, variable speed and nae too dear! Was about £15 i think

Thanks rockin and lara for the advice - will go and investigate those options :)

DD has got one of these for exactly the same purpose - shells etc found on the beach. It works just right. (Not sure about pebbles though).

Now I'm in a dilemma - go for the more expensive Dremel drills or, because all I really do need it for is the shells, go for the cheaper option recommended by Paisley who confirms it's OK for shells!

I'm a mass of indecision ......

I should advise dremels are brilliant for pumpkin carving, you can get attachments that grind the flesh away for some amazing effects. Just in case you are interested in more than one crafty use for a dremel.

I'd recommend, taping the part you want to drill with masking tape, it stops delicate things shattering or splitting, you can then peel it off afterwards easily.

Well now, not being sure exactly how much use it would get (apart from the shells), I took the cheaper route and ordered a Fiskars hand drill from Amazon. Thanks to all who offered advice!