Drilling Glass- My First Attempt

[Pumilo]

Originally Posted by Azriel

It's actually just water. As I drilled, it got clouded over with particles (from the glass, I assume?).

Ahh, ok. Yes, it's just clouded from very fine glass dust then.

[Azriel]

Originally Posted by Pumilo

I thought that might have been you. I'd wait until you get it in to see just how much you'll have to clearance it.

Sounds good, I'll wait and see then.

[Pumilo]

Very nice Jennie, so these are your first three holes and all three were successful, right?
I can tell people that it's easy but they can say, "Oh, that's easy for you to say when you've been working with glass half your life."
But you have shown them that a first timer was successful the very first time! Hopefully people will take some encouragement from this.

[Azriel]

Originally Posted by Pumilo

Very nice Jennie, so these are your first three holes and all three were successful, right?
I can tell people that it's easy but they can say, "Oh, that's easy for you to say when you've been working with glass half your life."
But you have shown them that a first timer was successful the very first time! Hopefully people will take some encouragement from this.

Yep, first three and all turned out fine! I followed the advise in your "how to drill your glass" thread, and it was a lot easier than I expected it to be. So I wanted to post this thread to encourage others who (like me) were afraid to try it. It really was not bad at all.

[Toxic frogs]

Nice to see ya got the Lenox Bits. I used the Hitachi ones that Lowes sells on thier web site...The package said 5/8...but they were actualy about 1/16 of an inch smaller then they were supposed to be. Lowes was nice in exchanging them though for the Lenox ones. I then had to use a diamond grinder to carve out the the holes to the right size. The puddy methode works good for holding the water there till ya start breaking throught the other side....luckly i had an understanding wife to hold the garden hose in mine...lol. Looks like ya did good though.

Brian S

[mydumname]

Tip for starting the hole.....get a normal hole saw same size as your diamond drill bit. Drill a hole in a thin piece of wood...quarter inch half inch whatever....then hold that wood over where u want your hole and use it as a guide. This will prevent the diamond bit from sliding on the glass.

Simple to do.

[Pumilo]

Originally Posted by mydumname

Tip for starting the hole.....get a normal hole saw same size as your diamond drill bit. Drill a hole in a thin piece of wood...quarter inch half inch whatever....then hold that wood over where u want your hole and use it as a guide. This will prevent the diamond bit from sliding on the glass.

Simple to do.

That gets in the way of making a proper dam to cool and lubricate your bit. The proper way to drill glass freehand is to start it at an angle. Exactly as she did it. If you try to start the hole using wood as a guide you will be drilling dry, which can ruin a bit almost instantly.

[mydumname]

Gets water on my drill bits just fine. Drilled many tanks this way and multiple holes per bit. Plus I get my bits for a couple bucks a piece so if it does shorten the life one or two holes....oh well. To each there own tho. I would rather not have the bit travel.

[Pumilo]

If you do it right, the bit doesn't travel. I'm not saying your way will not work, but it is not the best way. There are two proper ways in the glass industry to do this. One is with a drill press or a drill guide. The other is to start it at an angle. They keep your bit working longer, and a bit with sharp diamonds cuts a cleaner hole with less chipping and less chance of breakage. I have owned and operated a glass company for over 20 years.

[FwoGiZ]

it tooked me around 5-6holes before doing 95% chirpless holes!
its easy, just be patient and doug's tutorial is A1 regarding this.
i have done around 30-40 holes now and I RARELY miss one