How Do I Make My Own Recycled Glass Into Beads?
Using recycled glass in beading is growing in popularity as bead artists have discovered that they can create their own tumbled sea glass by tumbling glass in a rock tumbler. This allows for at-home glass recycling and access to very interesting and unusual beads. Sea glass beads can be wrapped with silver wire, or holes can be drilled into the glass to allow the beads to be strung with other beads. The options are beautiful. Place broken glass into a rock tumbler. Add coarse to medium-fine silicone carbide grit. Run the tumbler, and check every 10 to 15 minutes. Each batch will tumbled differently. This will produce soft and rounded sea glass that can be used as a bead by being wrapped in jewelry wire. Place soap in a disposable small plastic container. Insert your sea glass into the soap. The soap is used to hold the bead in place. Fill the container, so that water flows over the area to be drilled. Drill with a flexible shaft drill that has a handpiece. Use a diamond-tipped drill bi
