Glass cutting yourself...yes or no?

I was wondering your insight on glass cutting of a tank. would u cut the glass from a aquarium tank that was purchased from a LFS? I mean say in therory you buy a 29,20,55 etc size gallon tank and its not drilled already, would you drill holes?

If so what would you use, and how do you do it.

If not, then why?

Thanks I look forward to the responses....

 

first que3stion is, is the glass tempered.if it is , it cant be drilled. quite a few have done their own drilling of tanks. good diamond glass bit, some vegetable oil for cooling the bit , and a drill. go slow , take your time and all should be good.

 

I'd be SUPER careful drilling a tank yourself!! Also, it's called drilling not cutting. I find it easier to let a pro do it. There are a lot of things to consider, is the area that you are drilling tempered glass, if so then no. Getting the proper tools & bits can get very pricey & if it's a one time deal I wouldn't do it myself.

 

Its called grinding not drilling ;D

And go for it, its not as hard as you think. I have drilled 5 aquariums so far. From small to large without a hitch. You can get cheap glass bits from Glass-Holes.com dope aquarium stuff its what I use. As long as you keep the bit and glass wet, let the weight of the bit do the work, and go slow anyone can do it. Trust me, its really easy

 

Oh, and 1st things 1st, find out if your tank is tempered.

 

HUH, grinding??? I learned something new today. LOL!!!! ;D I have a hole to grind out later on.. LOL!!!!

 

I drilled my own holes on my frag tank and it was pretty easy. I would recommend practicing on a piece of scrap if you care about how it looks at all.
I would also make some sort of guide for yourself or buy one if you don't have a drill press. The hole saw (grinder!) bit tends to skid around a bit if you're not super careful or experienced and it will scratch up the glass like crazy if you don't have a guide or press.
Take it slow and watch some videos and read up on it before trying it, but it's definitely not very difficult.

 

Yup, you grind glass with a diamond tipped hole saw. The glass gets pulverized into fine sand powder, since glass is derived from sand to begin with.
Cutting non-tempered glass isn't too hard, unless it's thick glass. I have done this and found that anything 1/4" or more thick should be handled by professionals. 1/8" thick was easy. I scored the glass and snap it along that line. Grinding a hole was easy too. I just used a template to keep the bit in place before it made a groove to stay still. I also put gaffers tape on the back side to keep the glass hole from falling once the hole was completed. I cooled the glass and bit with a constant supply of water.
If it's tempered glass you are working with, "fuggetaboutit."

 

I just went on the website and check and my tank does not have a tempered bottom. so that means it can be drilled??

 

It's "drilling a tank". Drill = rotary motor with a cutter head. Technically a drill bit cuts, but it's not called a cutting bit. Let's not make this complicated.

Anyhow, first source the bulk heads you will be using for your project. Not all 3/4" bulkheads will use the same holesize (1-3/8", 1-1/2", 1-5/8").

The most important part of drilling glass is to let the tool do the cutting, and follow recommended RPM speeds as per the manufacturer of the diamond holesaw.

The second most important part, is to keep the bit cool and lubricated. This can be done with either using plumber's putty to form a ring around the hole, to keep water pooled; or use a constant supply of running water (helper with a hose).

As tigermike74 mentioned, putting gaffer's tape on the back of the glass where the hole it goes will lower your chances of blowout (glass chips), and stop the cut out from falling and damaging the other side of the tank.

Screwtape suggestion of a guide is good. Take a piece of scrap wood, and cut a hole the same size as your diamond bit. The guide is then used to help properly align the bit and stop it from wandering. Personally I just start the holesaw on edge where I have marked, and go from there.