Has anyone drilled their own holes in their tank for bulkhead fittings? If so, how did you go about doing it?
Drilling holes in glass?
- Thread starter Turbo
- Start date
Ive done it before.
The first thing you need to do is make absolutely sure the piece of glass you want to drill is not tempered.
Then, to drill the hole you have a variety of options. There are two main types of bits, there is either the diamond typed bit, or the metal bit that uses diamond dust.
Heres a link for the diamond hole saws- http://www.diamond-drill-bit-and-tool.com/Diamond-Drill/MAIN.htm
I dont know of a link for the metal bit ones, they are quite a bit cheaper, but take longer and are more difficult to use.
To start the hole, get a piece of wood, and drill a hole through the wood with a standard wood hole saw that is the same size as the diamond hole saw, then clamp that to the tank, wet the diamond hole saw and start grinding away, keep the bit going relatively slowly, dont use any pressure on the bit, and wet it frequently.
The first thing you need to do is make absolutely sure the piece of glass you want to drill is not tempered.
Then, to drill the hole you have a variety of options. There are two main types of bits, there is either the diamond typed bit, or the metal bit that uses diamond dust.
Heres a link for the diamond hole saws- http://www.diamond-drill-bit-and-tool.com/Diamond-Drill/MAIN.htm
I dont know of a link for the metal bit ones, they are quite a bit cheaper, but take longer and are more difficult to use.
To start the hole, get a piece of wood, and drill a hole through the wood with a standard wood hole saw that is the same size as the diamond hole saw, then clamp that to the tank, wet the diamond hole saw and start grinding away, keep the bit going relatively slowly, dont use any pressure on the bit, and wet it frequently.
I've done it before, and on thin glass it is very hard to keep from breaking the glass (cracked a few 10gal tanks). But on thicker glass, following slips recommendations will work like a champ.
On my hole saw the RPMs had to be really slow, like 200 or something. So your drill needs to be adjustable or you could maybe use a riostat.
On my hole saw the RPMs had to be really slow, like 200 or something. So your drill needs to be adjustable or you could maybe use a riostat.