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holes in glass

uphwiz

jimmy
I'm getting ready to go out in the work shop and try my hand at drilling a couple holes in my terrarium , I'll post a pic or two when i finish
I need a place to run the misting tubing through .
Wish me luck LOL:blush:
 
good luck. remember to drill straight in
 
im gona try my drill press, hopefully that will do the trick its just going to be tricky to get it positioned and braced .
 
I cracked 3 tanks in 10 minutes just trying to wash them in the tub. So good luck with that one.
 
I cracked 3 tanks in 10 minutes just trying to wash them in the tub. So good luck with that one.

Lol MM, dont scrub so hard then hahaha
i broke a tank by trying to tip it upside down and gently knock the old sand out (it was an aquarium) and yeah...hand straight through the bottom. ahahha
 
The trick to drilling glass is to

(a) using a diamond bit
(b) go slow as you drill
(c) keep the drill bit wet and cool, drilling wet or under water whenever possible
(d) use a very light touch; do not be impatient and put pressure on the bit

Going too fast can cause either the bit to degrade or the glass to crack. Drilling glass is easy but you need to be patient and let the drill bit do its work.
 
Lol MM, dont scrub so hard then hahaha
i broke a tank by trying to tip it upside down and gently knock the old sand out (it was an aquarium) and yeah...hand straight through the bottom. ahahha

I was tryinging to get the aquariums under the faucet and everytime I did I would bump them against the tub. And of course, big crack in the tank.
 
holes yes yes yes, the set up was a little tedious but the finish is very OK LOL,
the inside (drilled from out to in the tank) did chip a little but hardly noticeable from out side the tank. and the tubing will also be through these holes so im very happy , its hard to tell when your about to go through the galss if you could tell that , you could probably ease up even more ,and get a better inside finish.
its back in the house and not broken yet , knock wood i've still got to get it back into place. and get the misting system installed.
dont forget you can click on the pics for larger view ,:0o: and again for a real close up.
 
Well done mate, that's about as good as it gets :)
I would deburr (sand) the edges to prevent any stress risers from forming.

Av
 
  • #10
Looks great man!

I'd better get started you're gonna be all done before I've even bought the lumber for the shelf! LOL

There was two used 4 ft x 2 ft x 2ft acrylic display aquarium tanks with acrylic lids at the herp shop for $300 each. I was tempted to make an offer of $500 for both. First I've gotta figure out how I will get them home though, it won't be in my little Focus Hatchback. Maybe rent a Home Depot pickup truck for $20 an hour and go get em... LOL
 
  • #11
Herm - agree with all your points - many of which I learned the hard way.

Jimmy - for backside tearout, use the same concept as when drilling through wood - a backer board (or piece of scrap glass). You'll go through the 1st & start into the 2nd one w/ no issues at the juncture.

Av - sanding makes sense from a safety perspective but iirc, the small fractures are likely already present and waiting for stress to migrate...
 
  • #12
yep, yep and yep

totally agree, IMHO it would still help to remove the sharp edge and prevent any stresses from concentrating at that point.
 
  • #13
if you look close i did the backer board ,I wedged it under the site to be drilled, but still the last little bit of drilling pushed through ,( it showes in the first pic.)
I made the well for water from flour salt and water LOL that worked nicely.:-D
I did better on the second end , and would have done better still if I would have done this before I assembled the pieces of the terrarium, it is custom so i did have the chance:blush:but didnt .
I think a piece of glass would work better for the backer when drilling glass, much tighter ,and if I drill glass again on another project I'll try that , thanks for the advise.

---------- Post added at 06:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:34 PM ----------

some of the roughness about the holes is the silicone i cut away that isnt the finished edge of the glass.
its as though the holes have a slight bevel on the last 32nd of inch
 
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