Can you drill glass? I can!

I started to build the long awaited refuge for the 20 today.

The piece of glass is 1/8". The supplies I used where;

Diamond hole saw #P32400 from Harbor Frieght $8.99

Diamond sanding drums # P32159 $7.99

A cordless drill

Some gray putty

A permanent marker

Water

Here are the drills and drums:

I marked the location and size of the hole with the marker and made a dam around it with the putty.

I filled the dam with water and started drilling. Starting the hole was the hardest part, the hole saw wanted to walk around. Next time I will probably use a drill press. I put a second piece of glass under the one I was drilling to try to keep the chipping to a minimum when the drill goes through. I used very gentle pressure and it went right through.

Then I enlarged the hole with the drum sander. I dipped it into water every few second to keep it wet. I stood the glass on edge to do this.

All done! From start to finish it took about 30 minutes. If I do another it will go faster because now I have a bit of a clue as to what I'm doing. The hole size is 1 1/2 ".

Nice work Liz!

What're you doing tomorrow? I'm going to bring over some glass for you to drill for me.

Anytime Matt. I'll hold the glass and the beer you can drill.

whoa so all u need is the cutter and the drum??? what was that other thing in the first pic that said glass cutter??

nishant

DAMN this sucks...the part is not available anymore...

hey liz? how much you want for the part?

Nice job! See it's not hard at all.

Originally posted by Stryf3

DAMN this sucks...the part is not available anymore...

hey liz? how much you want for the part?

No you can't have my part, Matthew wants to use it. Where did you see it's not available? I went to the store and puchased mine.

Nishant3789, that thing is a glass cutter. I had to cut the piece of glass to the right size first. That cutter really sucks, but it was the only kind they had there and I was too lazy to go to a different store.

actually home depot does it for free. thanks btw, mayb ill try this out.... will it work on plastic too? where did u get the bulkhead from? i dont wanna order mine off the net, thanks

nishant

I already had the bulkhead, though I know you can buy them at most fish stores.

I don't know about the plastic......I use my Dremel to cut and drill plastic.

thats cool

cam

Lizbeth, that was the best explaination on drilling glass I've seen. The photos are a big help. Thanks a million for going through the trouble to share this with us. I'm inspired to drill my own refugium and sump as well.

Thanks Cam and neophyte!

I would be chicken to try it on a tank without trying it a couple more times. Since I'm building my own tank (which is water testing right now(8hrs no leaks!) ) I figured if I broke a piece I could just replace it!

If you have access to a drill press it would be much easier.

damn you liz baby...hahahaha...i had to broke off a piece of my glass for the new tank that i am building now...its finished but look like sh*t! hahaha..it held water for 2 days..its a tank with refugium combo, except the refugium is not in the back but on the side..the tank is 12"x12"x12" with the attached refugium..6"L x 14"h x 12"w..i didn't know how to drill the glass so i tooka hammer and just slowly chipping the glass on the side off..and finally it cracked !!! hahaha..but i re-sylicon it up and it works fine.

Matt- dude..i need you to built me a canopy man!! my looked like crap! hahaha...i am good at art and computer graphics, but when it comes to the hand-made stuffs..forget it!!!

I was stupid enough to even buy the wrong wood! I guess i bought the compressed particle board without knowing that is not even wood! hahah..so when i drill and try to screw it together..it just felt apart on me!!!!!!

anyhow, that is my sad story..but i am still determined to set up my little self-built nano...BTW, you know how many gallon is that?

Anthony.....the main tank is 7.48 gallons and the refuge is about 4 gallons depending on the water height. A hammer! You need to buy some tools! Gawd I love tools. :love:

*sniff sniff* Lizbeth, where oh where were you when I was single? Truly a woman after my own heart.... Wait, I could be single again, yeah that's it! LIZBETH RUN AWAY WITH ME!! (I come complete with table saw,bandsaw, sliding miter saw with laser guide attachment *ooh ooh*,air compressor, every corded and cordless tool know to man and...... hehe)

Oh yeah, I cook too!

Anyway.... nice job on your glass drilling, can't wait to see pics of the completed project!

do you have the plans of your sump available? I need to build one for the 20 that i'm getting.

you did a great job on drilling that glass.

BEN

Originally posted by glazer

(I come complete with table saw, bandsaw, sliding miter saw with laser guide attachment *ooh ooh*,air compressor, every corded and cordless tool know to man and......   hehe)

 

Oh yeah, I cook too!  

[/b]

glazer darlin'......I missed this post. Too bad we live so far apart we could share tools. I have a table saw, two radial arm saws, a drill press, a lovely mahogany workbench, various corded and cordless tools......but I don't have a sliding miter saw with laser guide attachment :love:.

And you cook too!!! *heavy sigh* I'm really good at eating!

Maybe it's a good thing you live sooo far away.

Lakerfan, It's a refugium not a sump. I hope to have the whole set up finished it the next few days and I'll post pictures in the members reef forum.

Great work on the glass lizabeth. So I have to know are you a final fantasy fan? If not you probably have no idea what im talking about.

Thank you reefan. I know about final fantasy (I have a teenage son) but I have no clue as to what you are talking about. Is there something I should know? ???

lizbeth,

Do any of these look the same as your drilling bits:

32400

32398

32399

How about these sanding drums:

32159

32157

I was just reading about cutting holes in glass last night. I'm glad this thread popped up here! Pictures make it a lot clearer.