oh so that's tempered glass!

[fish head )'>]

I can get about 3/4 of the way through it before it shatters. It is verrrrry hard on the drill bits and will just about ruin one in 3 or 4 trys.

just a thought,, would it help if you clamped a piece of wood to the glass you were drilling

I made a wood jig with wood on both sides. works well.....on regular glass.

I was in to it 1/2 way or so. just about peed myself when it blew!

 

[repair]

I made a wood jig with wood on both sides. works well.....on regular glass.

I was in to it 1/2 way or so. just about peed myself when it blew!

I feel your pain..... it's like you are shot.

 

[fish head )'>]

Well that sucks. How about acrylic next time?

Would love to, but these were garage sale finds. You take what you can get. 15g, 15g, 20g long, 30g. with various pumps, heaters, filters, decors, etc. (much of which I do not use) All in pretty good shape.

From various sales total for these four: $53.
Can wait for this years yard sale season.

 

[CHOMPERS]

I've blown out 4 tanks because of tempered glass.... I can get about 3/4 of the way through it before it shatters. It is verrrrry hard on the drill bits and will just about ruin one in 3 or 4 trys.

That is good to know. I am thinking that it should be possible to drill tempered if you drill part of the way from one side and then flip it and drill from the other. Tempered is heat treated to cause both surfaces to be under tensile stress. The center of the glass is under compressive stress. When a fracture propogates from one region to the other, the energy stored between the opposite stresses is released (rapid crack propogation). I have several pieces of tempered glass that I am going to experiment with.

 

[CHOMPERS]

...how are you supposed to tell regular glass from tempered glass?

Some tempered glass is labelled in the lower right hand corner. Of course that changes if the glass is installed upside down. In the case of tanks, sometimes the bottoms are labeled. In the case of non-labeled tempered glass, (if you are lucky) a flaw in the tempering process causes the glass to have a wavy appearance. If you see this in a tank bottom, don't drill it. Keep in mind that all tempered is not always wavy. Most of the time you just can't tell until it is too late.

 

[fish head )'>]

also give credit were credit is due:
I used the wood jig as pictured in one of CHOMPERS threads.
Thank you. it works well. I used a turkey baster to keep lots of water on the bit.
Just not in the shower (if you read the post, you'd know what I mean.)

 

[CHOMPERS]

And so far my bare feet haven't complained. I like the idea of using the turkey baster.

 

[Phixer]

A buddy once asked me how to tell the difference between tempered glass and acrylic? he said you hit it with a hammer.

 

[IITUFFTOBEATII]

A buddy once asked me how to tell the difference between tempered glass and acrylic? he said you hit it with a hammer.

works everytime

 

[fish head )'>]

Went to the glass store. $31 for a 30"x18" 1/4" standard glass. Or $46 for a whole new tank at the LFS.

Is there a cheaper way to go? As you can see this will be an in-wall tank, I do not care about the back.
Or should I go to somewhere other than a glass replacement store to check for prices?