Thanks to Heleen and Floor for naming me...Iīm sure, there are some others...I came to "reworking beads", because so many of the beads I buy by kilos and strands are more or less badly chipped, and so I started some years ago to give them new life by grinding them in round or oval shapes and make necklaces for myself and friends. I use a simple drilling machine, fixed on a bench, dropping water and mainly the tools from the image.
Itīs the first time I brought beads to Morocco (usually opposite...), because I will stay longer and some friends here asked for a necklace...The necklace from the image is the one I am currently wearing, with a chevron in center, made from a beautiful cane the Picards once sent to me....
I use a simple polishing wheel in the end for larger beads, like those from the image, and a small silicon/grit wheel for small beads. The larger cylinders come from "Tiffany work". Itīs easier to work, when you put the bead on a stick. I use Chinese chopsticks made of bamboo (shit, now I write it, I realize, that I forgot them; I fear, here I will only find plastic).
Give it a try, Linda, itīs pure fun...!