How to cut holes in a glass Tank!

[kalebjarrod]

A few have asked me to explain how to cut holes in a tank

hole cutting is really easy

you must have a few saftey items first

Goggles, you only have one set of eyes, glass in them is not a fun thing
Gloves, glass can cut your hands quicker than you think
protective clothes, long sleved shirts and jeans
BOOTS, i don't know how many times i watch dumb people work without sftey boots on

don't skimp, be safe

you will need to get yourself a glass hole saw

these little suckers are expensive, the blue part cost $285.00 and the silver part cost $37.80

you need a good drill, with a quaility clucth

the clutch is the part at the front of the drill that has a series of number or settings on it, it controls the toruqe or resistance that the "Drill Bit" can perform on the "target" (the target in our case is the glass)

[kalebjarrod]

Now the hardest part to drilling a tank is getting a templete made

get yourself a pieces of think glass (8-10mm is good)

of a decent size that you can handle, too small is dangerous too big is ackward

i use about a 250mm x 250mm piece of 8mm

unfortunatley these drills don't have a piolet drill bit like your wooden holesaws, so you need to make a hole in your temeplate glass plate

i found using a piece of wood with a hole cut in it the same size and them clamped to the glass gave me a excellent help in stting up the templete

you need to add lots of water to the glass as you cut, i use a dribbleing tap, this washes away the ground up glass that the drill bit produces

[kalebjarrod]

unfortunatley i can't take a pic of me cutting the tank

i need all my hands for that, sorry

but the idea is to place your templet on the tank where you want the hole

and slowly start your drill

the glass templete will hold the drill bit in place till you can get a rough gouge in the tank

then simply cugg through slowly

dont put presure on the tank, let the drill bit cutt through not you push the drill bit through the glass, the hole will turn out much better this way

keep the water flowing

in the picture above you can see my templet and the whiteish gunk on it

that is tiny glass grinding's, which will continue to grind against your expensive drill bit if you don't get rid of them

the easiest way to get rid of them is to wash them away

it also keep ths drill bit cool and lubricated

when your finished you need to add a bulkhead / tank through

and your done!

Questions? :wink:

[DiscusMad]

where do you get the glass hole saw from?

I've been in all sorts of hardware stores and come up with nothing

[kalebjarrod]

you'll have to get a glazier to buy one in for you

Do you have an ABN?

[wyldchyld01]

really good, really thorough article ryan, a must read for those wanting to cut glass...as you said, don't forget safety

[DiscusMad]

you'll have to get a glazier to buy one in for you

Do you have an ABN?


no I don't have one

[kalebjarrod]

no I don't have one

you will have to go to someone like Obrien's etc etc

there expensive but worth it :wink:

[maccas]

where do you get those bulk heads/ tank through, ive been looking around for something that fine for ages.
cheers

[DR.V]

ryan, i have drilled a glass before too...

it was the same technique you used, using a templete which is made out of wood about 1cm thick ( im used different drill bits for this )

i placed the templete on top of the glass and put some "glass putty" around that hole in the wood. So when you drill the glass, the small glass pieces will stick there to the putty and also it reduce the shock from the drill.

[kalebjarrod]

nice one

i have never heard of this "putty"

sounds like should do some investigating

best place to get tank throughs is your local irrigation pump specialest

[DR.V]

theres a special putty for glass at bunning warehouse here. Not sure if you got it down there...

[goldenpigeon]

first DR.V its "up there" ;) :lol:

ryan i think there would be something like this a the new bunnings at nerang.... if now i bet its at the other 1.

BTW great work ryan ;)

[Littlefish]

In the dark ages we constructed our tanks (and windows) using wrought iron frames and fixed/sealed the glass with putty.

You can buy tubs of putty from hardware outlets, but it dries up after a while no matter how you try to reseal the tub.

Putty is simply a mixture of whiting (ground chalk) and linseed oil. You can buy the ingredients from the hardware store.

Make a little pile of whiting and poke a hole in the centre. Pour linseed oil into the hole and mix together. Add more or less of the ingredients until the putty is the consistency you want (just like making dumplings).

Useless info: 'Hardware store' is an American expression. We used to say 'ironmonger'.

Fred

[kalebjarrod]

Useless info: 'Hardware store' is an American expression. We used to say 'ironmonger'.


these days hardware stores are simpley called bunnings!

[kalebjarrod]

Useless info: 'Hardware store' is an American expression. We used to say 'ironmonger'.


these days hardware stores are simpley called bunnings!

[DR.V]

first DR.V its "up there" ;) :lol:

LOL I dropped geography in year 9 ^_^

[Littlefish]

LOL - Bunnings. Yeah, can't argue with that!

Fred :lol:

[goldenpigeon]

lol u slacker! ;)

lets start with the basics: north is up here, south is down where u r, east is just facing north and turn right, west is just face north and turn left ;)

that should give u a good indication ;)

cheers mate

[Littlefish]

Then you do the hokey-pokey and you turn around...

Fred :lol:

[mcloughlin2]

And thats wat it's all about.....

[goldenpigeon]

:lol:

[piranha-discus]

hello if any one still looking for glass drill bits to drill holes in glass, i had orded 1 inch , i had cut more than 40 holes and blade still good, i orded it online use direct deposit and the product came in the mail in one week, worth it the cost to order but cost some one else do it to exspensive etc the blade cost under $50 to get some one to drill only 2 holes cost $50 same but if do your self alot more holes u can get. the web site i orded the diamond drill bit comes from USA but came to my front door in 1 week, if intresting look in this web site that took me ages to find www.diamonddrillandtool.com good luck and belive me !!!! ben

[SirClutzz]

Hi all,

I have been doing some research on trying to get the drill bits, and have not found much at all around me (Gold Coast), I did found a place in Brisbane, he wated about $100 for the bit.

I really didn't want to pay this sort of cash for the bit so continuted to research and stubbled across this place.

www.giveanaussieago.com.au/sites/unicorn2.html

They are based in darwin, and sell a 20mm bit for about $32, will cost me about 6 dollars postage. He stated that aquarists are his biggest customer and would give further instructions on how to do it if required.

Hope this helps anyone looking into doing this.

[DarrenJThomas]

Just a quick question.

Do you drill all the way from one side or do you go half way and then start on the other side?

[DarrenJThomas]

Does anyone know the answer to my last post?

[DR.V]

Just a quick question.

Do you drill all the way from one side or do you go half way and then start on the other side?

Yes you drill from one side only !!