Robert, that's really interesting. I've done that on a large knife handle before with good results. I did not orient the beads in the same direction as you did. In fact I tried to keep the hole hidden, but there were places where I missed the orientation. I did not bother trying to fix it and just carried on. I thought it came out very good and got lots of positive comments. I don't remember the type of glue I used, but it was mixed with a dry brown pigment to fill in the gaps and holes. The hardest part for me was determining the proper size drill bit and depth. I relied on a friction fit and added the brown pigmented glue after. My thinking was that the beads were put in first and the holes and gaps were filled up with use over time. That's really nice work and I have a good understanding of the work involved
