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The man shows how it be done.
Drilling holes in glass - how to
- Thread starter The Snark
- Start date
TarantulasWorld
Arachnosquire
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- Jun 12, 2014
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cool video and all but I think its better to get a video with how to drill vents into glass.
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Would be the same principle. Diamond drill, high speed drilling, under water, go slow and easy.
Ceymann
Arachnoknight
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- Jul 3, 2016
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Saw this thread, I have drilled more aquariums than I can count working in fish stores.
Here are some helpful tips on drilling glass vent holes using a dimond bit hole saw.
-first off always check to see if the panel is tempered, calling the manufacturer is a good way to find out. Most aquariums have tempered bottoms, but nontempered sides, still always check with manufacturer. You cannot drill tempered glass, it will crack/spiderweb like automotive glass.
-lay a piece of duct tape on the inside of the enclosure/aquarium across the site where you will be drilling. This prevents the drilled out piece of glass falling and potentially cracking the opposite glass face. (Seen it happen) laying a towel underneath works too.
-take a piece of silly putty and form it into a ring a little bit larger than the hole you will be drilling, and firmly stick it around the site, this helps form a pool of water around the bit while drilling.
- have a container of water place above you and use airline tubing to start a siphon, tie a knot in it and tighten till the flow is a small steady trickle. Really helps to have someone hold it over the silly putty ring while you are drilling.
-Start in at a 45 degree angle on medium speed and gradually tilt into a 90 degree angle and increase speed as you start making progress.
Hope this helps!
Here are some helpful tips on drilling glass vent holes using a dimond bit hole saw.
-first off always check to see if the panel is tempered, calling the manufacturer is a good way to find out. Most aquariums have tempered bottoms, but nontempered sides, still always check with manufacturer. You cannot drill tempered glass, it will crack/spiderweb like automotive glass.
-lay a piece of duct tape on the inside of the enclosure/aquarium across the site where you will be drilling. This prevents the drilled out piece of glass falling and potentially cracking the opposite glass face. (Seen it happen) laying a towel underneath works too.
-take a piece of silly putty and form it into a ring a little bit larger than the hole you will be drilling, and firmly stick it around the site, this helps form a pool of water around the bit while drilling.
- have a container of water place above you and use airline tubing to start a siphon, tie a knot in it and tighten till the flow is a small steady trickle. Really helps to have someone hold it over the silly putty ring while you are drilling.
-Start in at a 45 degree angle on medium speed and gradually tilt into a 90 degree angle and increase speed as you start making progress.
Hope this helps!
Last edited:
Geoff Armentrout
Arachnopeon
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- Jul 13, 2016
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I'd like to add to what Ceymann said. I've drilled a couple tanks as well (though not in the pet trade so pretty sure not nearly as many as he has) usually smaller tanks something I could afford to ruin anyway lol. I drilled outside used an old submersible 50gph water pump with 3 feet of the tubing clipped to the frame of the tank of the side I was drilling and placed them in an old rubbermaid container filled halfway with water so I didn't use continuous running water. The flowing water washed away the glass dust and kept it cool. I also used duct tape on the opposite side of the glass I was drilling to prevent the drill from punching through the glass causing as little glass flaking around the edge as possible. I also pre-drilled glass before building custom tanks which was a lot easier.
Geoff
Geoff
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- Aug 8, 2005
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When I think about it, -drilling- holes in glass just isn't quite right. It conjures up the mental image of that drill bit chewing it's way through wood. The principle with drilling glass is similar but also quite different. You are not cutting, you are grinding.
1. The work and the cutter must never heat up.
2. While it can be done in open air, drilling under a flood or under water is MUCH easier. It does not allow heat build up and the grindings are carried away.
If you eliminate any wedging, mechanical force, on the glass and never allow heat build up, with enough patience you can drill just about any non tempered glass.
Now for a trick that left me with my mouth open it was so simple yet effective. A guy took a pretty hard rubber ball that was hollow and cut it in half. In one half he punched a hole then inserted a metal rod about 5/16th thick and 6 inches long, one end threaded. He clamped the rod with a nut and washer on each side. The other end went in a drill, the cup of the half ball away from the drill.
Next he masked off the glass that he didn't want scratched up. Then with a hose running over the glass he placed a piece of 220 grit wet or dry carborundum sandpaper. The cup of the ball gripped the sandpaper a little and he held the drill very firm and steady. It took about a half hour to cut/grind a 3 inch hole. Primitive but it worked and a tiny fraction of the cost of a diamond cutter. How they do it in the backwater villages of the third world.
After I watched the guy cut two holes like that his 10 year old daughter came home from school and took over. She informed me she usually could cut 3 or 4 holes each evening.
One supreme advantage of the rubber ball grinder is you never break the glass.
1. The work and the cutter must never heat up.
2. While it can be done in open air, drilling under a flood or under water is MUCH easier. It does not allow heat build up and the grindings are carried away.
If you eliminate any wedging, mechanical force, on the glass and never allow heat build up, with enough patience you can drill just about any non tempered glass.
Now for a trick that left me with my mouth open it was so simple yet effective. A guy took a pretty hard rubber ball that was hollow and cut it in half. In one half he punched a hole then inserted a metal rod about 5/16th thick and 6 inches long, one end threaded. He clamped the rod with a nut and washer on each side. The other end went in a drill, the cup of the half ball away from the drill.
Next he masked off the glass that he didn't want scratched up. Then with a hose running over the glass he placed a piece of 220 grit wet or dry carborundum sandpaper. The cup of the ball gripped the sandpaper a little and he held the drill very firm and steady. It took about a half hour to cut/grind a 3 inch hole. Primitive but it worked and a tiny fraction of the cost of a diamond cutter. How they do it in the backwater villages of the third world.
After I watched the guy cut two holes like that his 10 year old daughter came home from school and took over. She informed me she usually could cut 3 or 4 holes each evening.
One supreme advantage of the rubber ball grinder is you never break the glass.
Rabid Mouse
Arachnopeon
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- Jun 17, 2017
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- 13
The Water should also prevent Blindness !!!