Cali Kid Corals

Anyone know of any pro glass drillers???

swk

swk

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Hey guys. I've drilled many acrylic tanks and being in the tile and stone industry, many holes in granite slabs, but never a thin glass aquarium. Does anyone know of anyone that does this type of work? I have a 40B that I need to drill and am feeling aprehensive about doing myself for some reason

Thanks!
 
It is incredibly easy. I did quite a few tanks in the past. Best advice is to read or watch videos from the guys at glass-holes.com

Very thorough and they have some tips like plumbers putty to create a dike for water and placing towels inside to keep the glass slug from falling in the tank after you drill. Good luck!
 
You could always get some glass to practice on.

I assisted (well more like standing around and saying encouraging things) on a drilling. Didn't seem too hard. Wasn't my tank. ;)

There's been a thread on RC about drilling 10g tanks. One of the most logical hints passed in that discussion was the use of a backer piece of plywood. Clamped on the far side of the hole, it helps to keep the drill from crashing thru and chipping/cracking the nice hole just made.

Everybody says don't push, just use the weight of the drill. Take your time. It's a grind not a cut.

I'm in SR too and could lend you similar support. Might even bring some pom-poms to cheer with! :)
 
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John is just dying to bust out with the cheerleader outfit! ;)

Drilling glass is not as delicate a procedure as it might appear. First thing is to make sure the panel you are working with is not tempered glass. tr1gger and aqua-nut pretty much covered the rest.

If you haven't already, watch a couple videos that walk you through the process:
Glass-Holes
Bulkreefsupply

You can borrow my drill guide, similar to what they use in the second video. It helps to align the bit and ensure you don't lean into the drill.
 
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Freehand to start. Extremely easy. Glad I was able to practice on a junker tank though.


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Nice work! You can reduce chipping by going extra slow just before the bit breaks through the glass or using a backer piece of rigid material like aqua-nut suggested.

Looking forward to seeing the results on the 40B!
 
i drilled my old 75g using the glass-holes.com kit. my advice is to go slow, use light pressure the weight of the drill is usually enough, and use a hand held drill press that can be bought at sears. i also used masking tape and a piece of plywood behind it to minimize chipping. oh i also ran water over the bit to cool it while cutting.
 
I drilled a couple holes in my old 34g Solana using a cheapie Deal Extreme glass hole saw, and a Makita cordless drill.

The biggest tip I can give you is to get a scrap of plywood and drill (using a regular wood hole saw) a same size hole in it. Then you can clamp the plywood scrap to your glass, and it acts as a guide for the hole saw, and a nice way to keep water on the drilling surface:

IMAGE_84C01F77-EAC6-482C-9116-D8E38516D32E.JPG


End result:
IMAGE_A843D31A-C710-4911-BFA8-2F36B8818811.JPG
 
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