how to drill a hole acrylic??

[dmcrete]

HI,
i want to put a float stop in my refugium i bought on this site classifieds,((THAT I HAD TO FIX, GLUED)any ways is there a special drill bit to use on plexiglass, it looks to be pretty thick 3|8s or so,, the diameter of the hole will be about dime size,
can any one help?? i dont want to crack the plexi,, any ideas or input would be great!!!!!!!!!!

 

[dmcrete]

any body got an idea???

 

[reefkprz]

drill with a sharp bit, high turning speed on the drill, very low pressure on the drill, pushing will force the bit to BITE in and seriously increases your chances of cracking the acryllic. also tends to cause volcano blow outs when the drill penetrates.
for a dime sized hole I would draw the circle I wanted then drill a smaller pilot hole through the smnaller the bit the lower the chance of cracking. then work the bit around to wenlarge the hole switch to a larger bit and side cut the hole to the size you want (just keep running the bit around the edge of the hole to enlarge it)
if you have a roto zip tool that would be best for cutting a larger hole, but you can do it with a nice sharp bit.

 

[buckster71]

Glass is the hard one to drill.
Acrylic is much easier. You can use most drill bits and hole saws for that.
Use a finer toothed one though.

 

[reefkprz]

make sure you drill the acryllic in a very warm place this also reduces the risk of cracking. (throw it in the oven for a few minutes and you can almost push your finger through it. LOL)

 

[grabbitt]

How bout heating up something metal with a decent point, like an icepick? Place it over the stove for a minute, then you can just push it through the acrylic.

 

[dmcrete]

seriously grabbit??? heat up a ice pic or??

 

[trippkid]

I just use a fine tooth hole saw or drill bit, and like Reefkeeprz said high speed, virturally no pressure, let the bit do the work, and I put a piece of tape(masking) on the inside of the acrylic where the hole is going(make sure the tape is bigger than the hole, the more the better. Then drill, the tape helps prevent cracking at the very end of drilling the hole, this is usually when it will crack. Good luck, just take your time, and use the right tools.

Matt

 

[grabbitt]

Originally Posted by dmcrete
seriously grabbit??? heat up a ice pic or??

Ice pick

That's the method I used to put some holes in my plastic specimen container for my makeshift in-tank fuge.
I was afraid to drill into the plastic, since it would more than likely break, so I just put one of those over the stove.

 

[saveafish]

The easiest way I do it is to use the hole saw bits the kind for making holes for door knobs find the size you want. lay the tank down on a solid place. have someone poor water on it while drilling when you get almost 3/4 the way through turn it over and finish the hole. use a lot of water. if it gets hot the bit will stick and grab and it will crack.

 

[florida joe]

Originally Posted by GRabbitt

Ice pick

That's the method I used to put some holes in my plastic specimen container for my makeshift in-tank fuge.
I was afraid to drill into the plastic, since it would more than likely break, so I just put one of those over the stove.
Where I come from that’s a Sicilian uppercut

 

[al mc]

Obviously many ways to accomplish this based on the posts already present. I use a 'hole saw' at low speed with masking tape on both sides of the drilling site. Works well every time.
Ice pick way is interesting. Can you make a uniform hole that is dime size with it?

 

[sleasia]

are you drilling into something which is already filled with water? if so rig something up under the cut site to catch all your little acrylic shavings and this will save you some work later cleaning this stuff up.....I have used both hole saw bits on drills and also rotozip bits on dremels with no problem in acrylic.....no cracking etc. like the other guy said, acrylic is easy, glass is hard.

 

[sleasia]

oh dmcrete...aren't you the guy I sent the float valve to....the hole you need is not so big, you can probably just use a regular drill bit....there is a paper/instruction sheet in with the float valve which probably tells you exactly what size bit you need....why didn't you tell me, I would have thrown one in the box....more stuff out of my house and into someone else's means I win remember?

 

[trippkid]

Originally Posted by Al Mc
Ice pick way is interesting. Can you make a uniform hole that is dime size with it?
I was thinking the same thing???

Matt

 

[dmcrete]

I drilled a hole in my refugium, while it was full!!,, pretty scary, went under the house ran a small water line from my rodi system in the kitchen, under the house 40 feet to my fish room, came up through the floor, drilled hole in refugium, conected lines and added my float valve ,tightened nut on float valve with rubber washers, and WALAAAa,,11 it works great,, wish i knew how to take pics,, its Awsum,, no mre pitures of water every day,, and best of all no more bubbles in aquarium, when i forget to add water before i go to work caused by evaperation,,
Im happy
thanks for all the in put,, just used masking tape and 3 sizes drill bits and slowly drilled, no cracks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[al mc]

I am happy for you. Auto top off makes life easier!

Too bad you live so far away (noted you are in Idaho) or I would contract you to plumb any future projects I have

 

[dmcrete]

HAAAH HEee thanks for the reply al, it was hard under that spider ridden house, webs all, in my face, but i just did it, imediatly showered after wards, worth it now though

 

[dmcrete]

SO FAR SO GOOD!!!
my auto top off is workin great,, i adjusted the skimmer this mornin and the float for the auto top off allowed water in,, BOY,, no mo packin buckets for evaperation fills,,

 

[al mc]

It is nice in life when things work the way they suppose to!