Tank drilling

blemmy_guy

blemmy_guy

Active Member
Its pretty tuff drilling glass! i would tak it down to my local glass shop if i were going to needing a hole in it, but there may be some one else on here that knows a better way. good luck todd
 
daveb

daveb

Member
I have drilled five tanks now. From an 1/8 thick glass to a 3/8 inch thick glass. With the proper drill bit, setup, which needs to be very stable, like a drill press you can position the tank properly for it is very easy really. Just take your time. You are not really drilling, which is quite different from what you have done drilling wood or metal. You are GRINDING AWAY GLASS so that you leave a hole when you are done GRINDING, not drilling.
I did the first hole I drilled on a ten gallon tank, with 1/8 inch glass, using a MOTOTOOL with a diamond bit, by hand... It took about 20 minutes. The key is go SLOW and easy.
But it not the daunting experience some would have you believe. Just make sure you get the proper tools, and understand that you are GRINDING, not DRILLING... and take your TIME...
Dave
 
mpls man

mpls man

Active Member
Dave, do you know if it would be possible to drill a hole in a already setup tank and drain the water down far enough to drill a hole for a overflow...thanks Dwight
 
daveb

daveb

Member
I would not try it... first of all there is always a chance that you would cause a crack, if you do, and there is water, it would not be pretty. Second, you have to have a flow of water on the drilling site to keep it cool, that would not be possible, and last, there is ground glass coming from the drilling site. Not worth the risk in any way.. in my opinion.
Dave
 
mpls man

mpls man

Active Member
I happened to see the same form on how he did it also, i think it would be kind of risky also , espisally with the pressure of the water in the tank, thought it might be something i could try??, but then if the tank does crack i would have a lot of water all over, so much for that idea .....
 
turningtim

turningtim

Active Member
Daveb, What type of diamond bit did you use on your roto? Is it the small cutting wheel type or did you drill a starter hole and use a diamond spirall bit?
I have a floor standing drill press any suggestions on a setup or jig fixture?
Thanks, Tim:notsure:
 
daveb

daveb

Member
When drilling a one inch hole, I used the round diamond bit for the Rototool and then followed a jig to cut out the one inch hole. When drilling larger holes I used a diamond hole cutting bit, and set up sideways drill press type setup using some clamps and a roller skate, believe it or not.. LOL, and then drilled the hole.. Once I had some guides clamped in place, the roller skate clamped securely to the drill, some light pressure and the skate rolled on the guides and the hole drilled beautifully...it does not take much pressure to do this, just remember it is not like drilling metal or wood, what you are actually doing is GRINDING away glass, not drilling out material...
Dave
 
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