How to Make a Hole In Glass Without a Drill

One of the fragile materials is glass, which must be handled very carefully. To accurately drill a hole in the glass without creating a crack in it, you should follow the recommendations, carefully select the tools for the job.

Special crowns and drills

First of all, you need to purchase special devices. To do this, you will need:

• Pointed drill.
• Drill bits.

Point drill mainly used in cases where you need to make a small hole. Spear-shaped can be conventional or diamond coated, which provides smoother drilling. But it’s difficult to work with such a product, therefore it is preferable to use the second option.

For making holes of large diameter diamond coated drill bits. The use of abrasive spraying is allowed, but with such a product drilling is not enough high quality. Therefore, it is recommended to use products specifically with diamond spraying, because with such crowns it is less likely that the glass will crack.

Depending on which hole you want to get, you can use drills of different diameters.

Necessary tools and equipment

In addition to the drill, you will need equipment for work:

• Drill.
• Scotch.
• Stencil (thick cardboard or plywood sheet is suitable).
• Water.
• Gloves.
• Protective glasses.

Drill Must be adjustable speed. It can be replaced with a screwdriver, which is more gentle. It can be used both manual and electric. The main thing is that there is a minimum runout of the drill. It is recommended to use a drill with a speed in the range of 250. 1000 rpm.

Stencil necessary in order to accurately drill a hole. To do this, a hole of the desired diameter is pre-drilled in it, and then it is applied to the glass.

Scotch additionally protects against small glass fragments. Water needed to cool the surface that will be drilled. For individual skin protection, you must have gloves, and glasses, which protect the skin and eyes from splinters.

Glass preparation

Before starting work, it is necessary to determine the surface on which the glass will be drilled. It is best to use a table that stands firmly on the floor. It is advisable to cover it with a thick cloth or cardboard so that during the work it does not damage its surface. It will also prevent the glass from cracking.

• Glass is degreased with alcohol.
• It is wiped with a soft dry cloth.
• It is laid on the prepared surface.
• Adhesive tape to the intended mounting location.
• A stencil with a drilled hole is attached.

Using a stencil, you can more accurately make the required hole. It is necessary to ensure that the distance from the edge of the glass is at least 25 mm, otherwise the product may crack.

There is a second method without using a stencil. For this, the usual plasticine and sticks to the glass around the hole for drilling. Plasticine will play the role of sides. Water is poured inside, which will cool the glass.

Step-by-step instruction

After the markup is done, the bulk of the work is done. For this, a drill is prepared, which is tightly inserted into the drill. It must be checked that it is well fixed. Then the drill is turned on and at low speeds it is brought to the marked drilling location. The drill must be held strictly perpendicular to the glass.

When the recess has turned out about 3 mm, you need to stop and drop a little water into it. Turpentine or kerosene is also used to remove heat from the glass that is released during drilling.

Видео: How to Make a Hole In Glass Without a Drill

Then continue drilling also at minimum speed. The tool must not be pressed during operation, because the glass is very fragile, and the drill can break if you do not follow these recommendations.

Drilling rules

To prevent the glass from cracking during drilling, it is necessary to adhere to several rules:

• Switch on the drill with a minimum rotation speed.
• Hold the tool at right angles to the glass.
• Do not press on the drill.
• Drill slowly in several passes.
• After each run, moisten the recess with water.

Drilling in several passes is necessary not only then to avoid overheating of the glass, but also overheating of the tool. The drill also heats up, so it must be constantly moistened with water.

When the hole is made, you can remove the small roughness that has formed around it with fine-grained sandpaper.

If the drill is held easily, crack formation can be prevented. In addition, the drill must not be shaken from side to side. It must be held strictly at right angles.

On the video you can see the method of drilling thick glass. For this, a method is used in which the hole is made from two sides.

How to make a hole larger in diameter than the size of the drill

If you need to make a hole with a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the existing drill, than the size of the drill, then you can use a glass cutter. For this, a hole is drilled according to the above scheme. Thereafter:

• A nail is inserted into the hole.
• A small rope is attached to the nail.
• The end of the rope is tied to a glass cutter.
• A circle is made.

The nail must be selected clearly by the diameter of the hole so that it does not hang, but stands firmly. The length of the rope, which is attached at one end to a nail and the other to a glass cutter, must be calculated so that it is equal to the radius of the desired hole.

After drawing a circle with a glass cutter, you need to make neat tapping movements. Due to this, the circle will come out of the hole. Then, the rough edges at the cut point are processed with sandpaper.

What to do if there is no drill needed

Quite often, there is no suitable drill at hand. Therefore, you can use their replacement:

• Make a hardened drill.
• Use copper wire.

Do it yourself hardened drill it is possible by a simple technology: a conventional drill is taken, clamped with pliers and hold the end of the product over the gas burner. When the tip turns white, it must be immediately dipped in sealing wax. After a couple of minutes, the drill is removed, it is cleaned of wax particles.

Copper wire used if there is no drill at hand. For this, the wire is clamped in a drill. Then a special solution is prepared from sandpaper powder (it is better to take coarse-grained), camphor, as well as turpentine in a ratio of 0.5: 1: 2. When everything is ready, the mixture is poured onto the glass at the drilling site, and then a hole is made.

How to make a hole without drilling

If you do not have the right drill and drill at hand, then there is another way to make a hole in the material. You can use the old method. You must have:

• Sand.
• Tin (or lead).
• Any thin and long object (you can take a wooden stick with a pointed end).

Work begins with degreasing the glass, onto which a small slide of wet sand is poured. It makes a small funnel with a sharp object. Deepening is done to the surface of the glass. The center of the funnel should match the diameter of the future hole. Then a mixture of tin or lead (called solder) melts and is poured into a funnel.

After a few minutes, the sand is removed. A frozen metal is taken, at the end of which there will be a frozen glass. It should easily separate from the surface. As a result, there is a perfectly even through hole in the glass.

Home Drilling Tips

When drilling glass, the main thing is to adhere to the technology of the work and choose the right material. To make a quality hole in the material without damaging it, it is desirable:

• It is better to use a diamond-coated drill.
• Carefully select the diameter of the drill.
• Correctly select the working surface: it must be stable.
• To prevent the glass from sliding, the table is covered with cloth, cardboard or plywood.
• Do not drill tempered glass, which may burst into small fragments.
• Do not push the drill while working.
• All actions are carried out slowly, constantly wetting the hole with water. This will help to avoid overheating of the material and prevent cracking.
• Work should be carried out in protective gloves and glasses so that debris does not get into the skin in the eyes.
• Before starting work, it is better to practice making holes on an unnecessary piece of glass.

When drilling holes do not need to try to do all the work for 1 time. This is a rather time-consuming process and requires a lot of time.

It often seems that a fragile material such as glass can only be processed by an experienced craftsman. But if the novice treats the work with understanding and will do it slowly, calmly, leisurely, then you can perfectly drill a hole in the glass.