# Plastic tote Enclosure- How do I make the holes?  HELP!



## Tatarita (Mar 15, 2016)

Hi, I got a nice, cheap (and BPA-free) clear plastic tote enosure for my Tarantula, but can someone tell me how to make the holes easily?  Doing them by hand with a screw-driver isn't easy.

Much thanks for any help


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## lunarae (Mar 15, 2016)

You can do a few methods, there's using a drill which I'm assuming you don't have cause your trying it with a screw driver. There's also the hot nail trick I've heard of. Where people take a nail and heat it super hot and then poke that through. Melts the plastic and leaves a hole the size of the nail.


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## Tatarita (Mar 15, 2016)

lunarae said:


> You can do a few methods, there's using a drill which I'm assuming you don't have cause your trying it with a screw driver. There's also the hot nail trick I've heard of. Where people take a nail and heat it super hot and then poke that through. Melts the plastic and leaves a hole the size of the nail.


Ok, I will try getting a drill.  I'm not sure but is there one they sell that automatically heats the hole in the plastic?
I don't wanna accidentally burn myself with the nail method.


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## lunarae (Mar 16, 2016)

If you get a pair of pliers to hold the nail you should be ok and able to avoid burning. I suppose you could use a wood burning tool too? Or a saudering iron? I can't be sure on those though cause I dunno about melted plastic sticking onto them and if that would effect using them for their original purposes so unless someone has experience and can assure you that's safe I'd use caution. I personally use a drill, it makes controlling the size of the holes easier as well.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Tatarita (Mar 16, 2016)

Ok, I guess I will try the drill method.  Do u know where I could buy a cheap drill- I don't know much about tools 

Thanks for your help


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## Andrea82 (Mar 16, 2016)

I use a soldering iron with a small tip to burn holes. Way less effort than drilling. You have to know what you're doing if you want to drill the holes,to prevent the plastic from cracking. Soldering irons aren't expensive at all and it works a lot faster.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## Tatarita (Mar 16, 2016)

Andrea82 said:


> I use a soldering iron with a small tip to burn holes. Way less effort than drilling. You have to know what you're doing if you want to drill the holes,to prevent the plastic from cracking. Soldering irons aren't expensive at all and it works a lot faster.


Ok, thank you.  I will check that out also


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## Sam_Peanuts (Mar 16, 2016)

You can find cheap drills(around 30$ here) in pretty much any big hardware store. I personally prefer using them since I don't like having an excess blob of melted plastic around the holes. I use a bit commonly used for metals and it works great for me. You can buy some specifically for plastic, but they're much more expensive.

If you use a drill, just have the side of your container(inside it) rest on something solid and drill the plastic. Having something solid on the other side will prevent you from applying too much pressure on the container and potentially cracking it.

If you go the melted way, you can find cheap soldering irons(about 5$ here for a 25watt a few years back, but it seem to be 12$ now) in store that sell electronic parts or, again, in big hardware store(they may not be as cheap there though). They usually come with a pointy tip which is pretty much useless for soldering, but great for poking holes. All you need is a wet sponge to clean the tip of melted plastic and you're set.
The more wattage they have, the hotter it will get, but I'm not sure what wattage is ideal for melting holes(too hot will be hard to control the size of the hole and too low will take longer and may require a pause between holes) since I've never used that method. I would assume around 30w to be a safe bet.

Try to practice on another piece of plastic first watever method you choose, just to be safe, since you probably don't want to accidentally destroy your enclosure by not knowing what to expect from the tool.

Reactions: Like 2 | Informative 1


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## jrh3 (Mar 16, 2016)

i use a dremel tool with drill bit on the end, its perfect.

Reactions: Like 2


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## lunarae (Mar 16, 2016)

jrh3 said:


> i use a dremel tool with drill bit on the end, its perfect.


Isn't that hard on the motor? What sort of drill bits do you use? Just regular or ones specifically for plastic?


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## jrh3 (Mar 16, 2016)

lunarae said:


> Isn't that hard on the motor? What sort of drill bits do you use? Just regular or ones specifically for plastic?


some dremels come with different size collets to use multiple bits with. the size im using for my slings is 7/64". im using high speed metal bits, i dont use the wood ones. no issues with motor, those dremels are designed to use drill bits for various things. cutting plastic is a breeze with it. i use it on speed 1, mine is variable speed. i cut all these holes in about 10 minutes.

Reactions: Like 1


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## lunarae (Mar 16, 2016)

Nice.


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## Sam_Peanuts (Mar 16, 2016)

A dremel will do the job, but since the rotation speed is very high(even at the lowest speed which is usually 5000RPM), it tends to melt the plastic a bit. If you want a clean hole, low speed is better so using a normal drill is best.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## viper69 (Mar 16, 2016)

Tarantuli said:


> Ok, I guess I will try the drill method.  Do u know where I could buy a cheap drill- I don't know much about tools
> 
> Thanks for your help


Search Google.

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 1 | Useful 1


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## Tatarita (Mar 18, 2016)

jrh3 said:


> some dremels come with different size collets to use multiple bits with. the size im using for my slings is 7/64". im using high speed metal bits, i dont use the wood ones. no issues with motor, those dremels are designed to use drill bits for various things. cutting plastic is a breeze with it. i use it on speed 1, mine is variable speed. i cut all these holes in about 10 minutes.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Oh, you did it on acrylic- nice job!  I got a clear plastic storage box and I will be drilling.  I like the acrylic enclosures but I can't seem to find a decent-sized one for my girl and at a reasonable price.


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## Tatarita (Mar 18, 2016)

Sam_Peanuts said:


> You can find cheap drills(around 30$ here) in pretty much any big hardware store. I personally prefer using them since I don't like having an excess blob of melted plastic around the holes. I use a bit commonly used for metals and it works great for me. You can buy some specifically for plastic, but they're much more expensive.
> 
> If you use a drill, just have the side of your container(inside it) rest on something solid and drill the plastic. Having something solid on the other side will prevent you from applying too much pressure on the container and potentially cracking it.
> 
> ...


Yes, you're right.  I already messed one up (luckily, the container isn't so expensive- around $6)   But I know how to drill on the new one, as I've used the damaged one as practice

Reactions: Like 1


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## lunarae (Mar 18, 2016)

if you go to containerstore.com and look at the heeled shoe boxes they have some good clear boxes I have heard people use for decent prices that you could look into.


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## viper69 (Mar 18, 2016)

lunarae said:


> if you go to containerstore.com and look at the heeled shoe boxes they have some good clear boxes I have heard people use for decent prices that you could look into.


I read from a member here they aren't that good as they are prone to cracking. Others have used them successfully though, sounds like a crap shoot.


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## lunarae (Mar 18, 2016)

viper69 said:


> I read from a member here they aren't that good as they are prone to cracking. Others have used them successfully though, sounds like a crap shoot.


Good to know XD


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## Tatarita (Mar 19, 2016)

lunarae said:


> if you go to containerstore.com and look at the heeled shoe boxes they have some good clear boxes I have heard people use for decent prices that you could look into.





viper69 said:


> I read from a member here they aren't that good as they are prone to cracking. Others have used them successfully though, sounds like a crap shoot.


Actually, these are the ones I got at the Container Store!  They're clear, BPA-free and inexpensive.  And I got a drill and drilled some holes and they did not crack!


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## viper69 (Mar 19, 2016)

Tarantuli said:


> Actually, these are the ones I got at the Container Store!  They're clear, BPA-free and inexpensive.  And I got a drill and drilled some holes and they did not crack!


BPA free haha..  Good for you, not the experience of another.


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## Scoly (Aug 31, 2016)

Forks! Heat them over a good flame like a gas hob, and make 4 holes at a time 

Extra efficiency tip 1: have a few forks resting on the flame and alternate between them, as they cool down.

Extra efficiency tip 2: tape a load of forks together in parallel using spacers.

You may have difficulty getting the plastic off the forks afterwards, you have been warned!


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## sschind (Aug 31, 2016)

Scoly said:


> Forks! Heat them over a good flame like a gas hob, and make 4 holes at a time
> 
> Extra efficiency tip 1: have a few forks resting on the flame and alternate between them, as they cool down.
> 
> ...


Just don't use plastic forks.  

Personally I've found a soldering iron to be the best tool.  I use something like this






 If you don't like the plastic blobs around the holes you can do a few things to prevent it or remove it.  First don't let the entire tip poke through so the base of the tip hits the plastic. Sounds like a contradiction doesn't it, the base of the tip.  The base is the part near the screw.  If it does it creates a raised little donut shaped ring of plastic but if that does happen simply take a single edge razor blade, lay it flat against the plastic and usually it slices off clean.  Also if you burn from the inside the outside will look cleaner but depending on the size and shape of you container it may not be possible.  When I melt the holes in my plastic lids I go from the inside and the outside looks as if the hole are punched trough.  Lastly don't go too fast as the tip cools off and then things can get ugly.  I allow the iron to rest and melt off any excess plastic occasionally if I am really concerned about the finished appearance.  A hot clean tip is the key, also be sure to do you melting in a well ventilated area.


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## Realevil1 (Sep 8, 2016)

battery powered soldering iron. No drilling mess, no plug in needed, and works on the absolute hardest plastics and even acrylic. AND less than $30.

Reactions: Like 1


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