Drilling a tank

[dirtycontour]

Can anyone close by drill a 5/8" hole in a ten gallon tank for me? I have the drill bit. My first attempt was a failure...

 

[redfishbluefish]

Can anyone close by drill a 5/8" hole in a ten gallon tank for me? I have the drill bit. My first attempt was a failure...

Explain.....was it tempered glass? What happened?


If you want to bring it to me, I'll drill it.....NO GUARANTEES

 

[dirtycontour]

Explain.....was it tempered glass? What happened?


If you want to bring it to me, I'll drill it.....NO GUARANTEES

I don't think it's tempered. I was squirting it with a spray bottle and I thought I was going to get it and about half way through it broke. I'm not sure if I went too fast or if I didn't keep it wet enough.

 

[redfishbluefish]

You need to actually have a reservoir of water so that the bit is sitting in water. I would think simply spraying would cause for hot spots, that once wetted, would cool too quickly and cause it to crack. If you had a drill guide (which I highly recommend), add a little plumber’s putty to the bottom of this and then tape the guide to the glass. Fill this reservoir with water and begin drilling. Drill speed needs to be very slow, no pressure on the drill. When I say “no pressure,” if anything you are lifting the drill to take the weight of the drill off the glass. Let the bit do the drilling.

It wasn’t tempered. If it was tempered, as soon as the bit hit the glass, it would have shattered into a million and one pieces.

 

[dirtycontour]

You need to actually have a reservoir of water so that the bit is sitting in water. I would think simply spraying would cause for hot spots, that once wetted, would cool too quickly and cause it to crack. If you had a drill guide (which I highly recommend), add a little plumber’s putty to the bottom of this and then tape the guide to the glass. Fill this reservoir with water and begin drilling. Drill speed needs to be very slow, no pressure on the drill. When I say “no pressure,” if anything you are lifting the drill to take the weight of the drill off the glass. Let the bit do the drilling.

It wasn’t tempered. If it was tempered, as soon as the bit hit the glass, it would have shattered into a million and one pieces.

Thanks for the tips. Silly question: I can't find my battery charger for my drill. Would I electrocute myself if I used an electric drill?

 

[redfishbluefish]

Would I electrocute myself if I used an electric drill?

I would hope not.....it's the only drill I've used to drill a tank:

 

[dirtycontour]

WooHoo! Thank you sir!

 

[motortrendz]

Haha 10g glass is way too thin to cut thru. Ive never had luck doing it. It always pops right at the end. The smallest Ive ever been able to go thru was a 20g.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[dirtycontour]

Haha 10g glass is way too thin to cut thru. Ive never had luck doing it. It always pops right at the end. The smallest Ive ever been able to go thru was a 20g.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

I propped a running garden hose up and took my time. Really wasn't too bad.

 

[motortrendz]

That's how I do mine. But the 10g was rough.

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[dirtycontour]

That's how I do mine. But the 10g was rough.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

Worst part is, I have to redrill a bigger hole.

 

[dirtycontour]

Here is a quick video of a non-professional tank drilling.
[video=youtube;PdFj4jJjfbo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdFj4jJjfbo[/video]

 

[Gonzapa]

If the tank is a10GI would also support the tank with a piece of wood through the other side !

 

[Fish Brain]

On thinner glass tanks, it's better to use a Dremel with diamond bit. I've done a large range of sizes even down to a 2.5G with 1/8" glass.