drilling holes ?

[sea monkey]

what is the recommended coolant/lubricant for drilling holes in glass ?

just plain old antifreeze ?

also , if a tank is tempered will the glass explode in tiny pieces like a windshield or just have a couple cracks coming from the hole ?

[Chad Vossen]

regular water is fine for a coolant/lubricant.

and tempered glass will explode.

[sea monkey]

found this : )

http://www.vidilife.com/video_play_961740_Superman_s_Glass_Drilling_Demo.h tm?tc=997912

[Chad Vossen]

i drilled two holes in my 65 gal useing a drill press. just remember to not force it! take it very slow and apply little pressure. if the drill grabs the glass, your screwed. you just want it to lightly scratch its way through. i like to use plummers putty to build a wall around my hole so it will hold water.

also, another major thing to do. have something behind the glass to push against the area your drilling. this way you dont break the last 1/8 inch of glass. i didnt have a backing when i was drilling and now i have some nasty chips missing.

i like to use the glass plugs for frags. they look too cool to just throw away.

[Chad Vossen]

tells me "problem loading page".

[sea monkey]

tells me "problem loading page".

odd , its a video of superman drilling a hole

[Chad Vossen]

odd , its a video of superman drilling a hole

maybe it will work for someone else, sometimes my internet is stupid.

[sea monkey]

I drilled a few 29's without any problem.

today i tried a 10g and a really tiny tank and every hole broke . it didn't shatter , it just cracked . this is really thin glass so that's prolly why .

we were using water .

[Chris Goetz]

Thin glass is harder to drill.

FWIW I had a 55 that I tried drilling and found out the sides were tempered too(sticker indicated only bottom was). Well yesterday I was trying to break up the rest of it to fit in the recycle bin and I couldn't break it with a hammer or brick so I decided to drill a hole in it. Wouldn't you know it but I was able to drill holes in two of the three sides I had left... And yes they were tempered because when I tapped the hole with the hammer it shattered into tiny pieces(inside the recycle bin luckily).

Ryan, did you ever find a drill press for your hand drill?
Chris

[stuckey_t]

On really thin glass I might be inclined to try the diamond dremel bit method. I've used this before on my brothers tank and it works really well.

[patent]

On really thin glass I might be inclined to try the diamond dremel bit method. I've used this before on my brothers tank and it works really well.

I drilled a hole using the dremel method. Worked fine, if you are patient. It also convinced me I don't like drilling holes though. :tongue:

[David Grigor]

My preferred method is garden hose outside and noise/squel is a little less outside.

Only use antifreeze method in wintertime on large tanks. Small tanks in the bathtub/shower with garden hose.

[storrisch]

I have drilled a few 2.5's, a 5.5, and a few 10's w/ the dremel method. I think anything larger than a 20gallon would take forever to get through.

I use the 7134 or the 7144 Diamond Wheel Point Bits. I lightly trace over my marked hole until I have scoured it deep enough that there is a thin groove and then I apply more pressure and move slower around tracing the hole. Once I am near halfway through I make a hole going all the way through and hold the dremel vertically moving it up and down to cut the remainder of the glass out.

[PLNelson]

I've drilled 4 holes, with no problems. Just take it slow.

[superman]

found this : )

http://www.vidilife.com/video_play_961740_Superman_s_Glass_Drilling_Demo.h tm?tc=997912

Whoever that is in that video is a stud!!:gay1:

[morty]

I've always used 50/50 water/antifreeze with no issues. I've drilled 10's, 30's (about 25 of them) a 35 hex, and a 5.5, all with a diamond hole saw and a drill guide or a drill press, never a cracked pane. I just go slow and steady, occasionally lifting the bit to allow the coolant to re-flood the groove. I lighten up the pressure when the bit is about to go through.

For keeping the coolant on the cutting area, a good substitute to surrounding the hole with a putty ring is to use a bulkhead gasket weighted down by a short section of larger diameter steel pipe, if you have the tools to cut the pipe. (That's what Something Fishy used to use.)

[Soltaker]

i like to use plummers putty to build a wall around my hole so it will hold water.


BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA http://www.tcmas.org/forums/imagehosting/834609816b5fd49.gif

[sea monkey]

I drilled a few 29's without any problem.

today i tried a 10g and a really tiny tank and every hole broke . it didn't shatter , it just cracked . this is really thin glass so that's prolly why .

we were using water .



went and got a 20L and made swiss cheese out of it . no problems even free handed and only used water.

[Chad Vossen]

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA http://www.tcmas.org/forums/imagehosting/834609816b5fd49.gif

oh come on.. watch the video, i do it the exact same way, but with just water. he is using plummers putty.