drilling with water level lowered

[madadi]

how do you know its a she?????

 

[JPSKI25]

I'm guessing! Not to many guys that are sporting bright yellow polyps. Well maybe some guys but they like to be called queens!

 

[aiko670]

I've done it a few times, shouldn't be a problem. Keep the bit cool by dipping it in water once or twice.

 

[DgenR8]

I went the extra 9 yards and bought a drill press (Harbor Freight, about $100.00). It's great for keeping the hole saw exactly where you want it, with no chance of deviating from a 90* angle to the glass, but more importantly, can be set for a very slow rotation speed.
This is not an option on a tank with water in it, but if you want to be sure that you are doing everything you can to prevent breakage, it's the way to go.

 

[BenjieC]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14175908#post14175908 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DgenR8
I went the extra 9 yards and bought a drill press (Harbor Freight, about $100.00). It's great for keeping the hole saw exactly where you want it, with no chance of deviating from a 90* angle to the glass, but more importantly, can be set for a very slow rotation speed.
This is not an option on a tank with water in it, but if you want to be sure that you are doing everything you can to prevent breakage, it's the way to go.

How did you get the tank situated to use the drill press?

 

[DgenR8]

It's a bench model drill press

It went up a little bit, it's $130.00 now. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=44836
I set the tank on it's front, and used wooden blocks to support the press, and went to town. A little play doh (I have a kid) as a dam to hold water and keep the bit cool, and at 250 RPMs, I was through the tank in about a minute.

 

[aiko670]

It's not a drill press like you are imagining.

I have a friend that's a glass guy and here's what he uses. He has the bottom drill. I think the best part about using the press is that you don't get that little bit of blow out on the opposite side.

http://www.jehmco.com/html/glass_drills.html

 

[DgenR8]

That would be far superior to what I use, as I am limited in how far from the edge I can make a hole, but that's a far pricier option, too.

 

[Kmiec123]

I usually use 1" pink foam insulation under the tank instead of wood blocks, seems to absorb some of the vibration so I thought it could help with breakage.
Hope this helps.
Carl

 

[fishedout]

I am going for it.
Rich

 

[SaraB]

Rod drilled an extra drain hole on my 75 gallon tank while it had water in it last month. He had me spray a stream of water from a spray bottle to the hole saw area while he slowly drilled the tank. Whatever that did, there were no issues.

 

[JPSKI25]

Well I had virgin drilling success. poo-tang drilled the first two i did the last two. No breaks very minimal blowout. woohoo. Thanks again Joe and Thanks Little Squid for letting us borrow the bits.

 

[little_squid]

now your a pro heheh the first hole is the trick after that its easy