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Re: [Killietalk] drilling glass
I have drilled lots of tanks, and I have only broken a few.
You can drill with a hand drill. You will need a glass "drill" of the correct size. There are various sources, but I have bought mine from Jehmco (www.jehmco.com). They are good quality but not cheap. Lee Harper may chime in as I know he has found a fairly economical source. I believe that the cheaper ones wear more quickly.
To drill the tank you need to make a jig to retain the drill in the right position. I have used a piece of 1/2 inch ply with a notch cut in the top. I use a support of a very straight piece of 2x4 lumber underneath the glass, with the two clamped together with C clamps, lightly tightened. I have a small bracket screwed to the ply to hold in place a hose that runs a stream of water over the glass being drilled. I have not found that stopping the drill to inspect progress as been a problem. The main tricks are to get the drill pretty much perpendicular to the glass, although it doesn't have to be perfect in that regard, and to apply only very light pressure. The last point is the critical one. Drilling glass takes time and patience. I have found that drilling a 10 gal tank takes me about 10-12 minutes, and more for larger tanks with thicker glass. Lee Harper uses a similar set-up but with a plastic jig rather than ply. See his images in the members gallery on www.aka.org.
Barry
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gary Smith" <rivulus at cogeco_ca>
To: <killietalk at aka_org>
Sent: Wed, 12 May 2004 17:28:58 -0600
Subject: [Killietalk] drilling glass
> Hi everyone,
> I'm about to build a central system for my nothos and
> would like any tips on drilling the glass. This will be my first attempt and
> I'd love to hear any recommendations. Can I use a hand drill and do I need
> to lubricate the drill when drilling?
>
> Best regards,
> Gary
>
>
>
> To join the AKA see http://www.aka.org/pages/join.html
> Archives are at http://fins.actwin.com/killietalk/
>
>
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