Holes in fw pearls

Well, I have these fw pearls from the store. We had a necklace that was strung
together on clear thread (what is the proper name for that stuff?) and kept
breaking. The pearls were spaced at intervals and must have been glued to the
thread. I took the necklace apart a couple of days ago and used most of the
pearls for a necklace at the store (simple choker with pink quartz chips and
coral colored shell). However, I can't get a needle or softlex wire through
about half of the beads. I suspect glue or bits of thread are stuck in there
stopping up the hole. Is there a type of tool used to ream out pearls, or do I
need to drill them out? If so, where do I get itty bitty drills and what type
do you recommend?
TIA

Dora

Kathy N-V

It's called (tah-dah!) a pearl reamer. Any decent bead store online or brick

and mortar should have one. A good one costs about $20, a cheap one about
$2. Either way, reaming out pearls is Not Fun. BTW, inhaling pearl dust is
not good for you, so you need to do the work under water. bleh.

Unless the pearls have something extraordinary about them, like great
sentimental value, I'd just buy a new string of freshwater pearls. You could
those for a project where you don't need to string them, like on something
glued.

Pearl reamers, huh? I'll take a look around. Having one on hand might be
handy, just because I've run into fw pearls that were really difficult to
string. Or the holes are too small for earring headpins. Enlarging the hole or
making it straight might help.
However not fun = not good
Glue and me don't usually get along, but I'll think about using the pearls
another way.
Thanks,
Dora

I recommend buying new pearls! It's not worth the effort.

However, I can't get a needle or softlex wire through
about half of the beads. I suspect glue or bits of thread are stuck in there
stopping up the hole. Is there a type of tool used to ream out pearls, or do
I
need to drill them out? If so, where do I get itty bitty drills and what type
do you recommend?
TIA

Dora


~~
Sooz
-------
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Lennon (1940 - 1980) Royal Varieties Performance
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