How to make a hole in glass without a drill

How to drill a hole in the glass at home: take apart all options

When it is necessary to create an even and neat hole in a glass surface, it is not necessary to turn to experienced and qualified specialists, whose services are quite expensive. Such a procedure can be performed with your own hands in the conditions of the home workshop, but, of course, for this you need to know how to drill glass, what tools, consumables and equipment to use.

To drill through the glass, use one of the methods described in this article

The first method (the easiest).

To drill a hole in the glass we need: a flat surface (board, table or other), an electric screwdriver or a low-speed drill, plasticine and turpentine.

So, to begin with put the glass on the prepared flat surface so that it is lying stably (does not “play” on the surface), and its (glass) edges are not drooping. Now insert the drill into the drill (electric screwdriver) and set the minimum possible speed of its drilling. We twist it in the air defining “run-out”, if it is big you should choose another one. Having selected the drill bit, degrease the glass surface with alcohol and model a circle of plasticine on it, into which we pour turpentine (small amount). Now you can drill, the main thing. do not apply a lot of force, so that your glass does not crack under pressure.

The first way (the easiest).

To drill a hole in the glass we need: a flat surface (board, table or other), an electric screwdriver or low-speed drill, plasticine and turpentine.

So, to begin, put the glass on the prepared flat surface so that it was stable (does not “play” on the surface), and its (the glass) edges are not hanging down. Now put the drill bit into the drill (electric screwdriver) and set the minimum possible speed of its drilling. Let’s spin it in the air and check the beating; if the beating is big, you should choose another one. Having chosen the drill bit, degrease the glass surface with alcohol and make a circle of plasticine in which you pour a small amount of turpentine. Now you can drill, the main thing is not to apply much effort so your glass does not crack under pressure.

Drilling with a homemade drill

The drilling of glass sheets at home involves the use of a special drill, which has a diamond roller. To make such a device, you need to create a cut in the rod and place this same roller in it.

Having made the drill bit, install it in a drill or an electric screwdriver, and then you can get to work.

Another option is to take an ordinary drill bit, squeeze it with a pair of pliers and hold it over the flame for 5-10 minutes. After the drill bit begins to turn white, it should be promptly cooled in sealing wax. This is how the tool is hardened.

Using a glass cutter

This tool is excellent for creating large holes of unusual shape. The sequence of work in this case will be as follows:

  • Using a marker, mark out the contours that will be processed.
  • When using a glass cutter do not make too drastic manipulations. Press on the device to smoothly and as evenly as possible.
  • To make the cut piece fall off, gently tap the tool handle on the surface.
  • To get rid of excess material, use special tongs.
  • Check the condition of the device in advance. The cutting roller must be positioned strictly in the middle.

How to drill through glass with sand

In times when there were no drills and screwdrivers, drilling glass with their own hands was made this way. In order to make a hole with sand you will need the following things:

The surface should be degreased with gasoline, and after that a heap of wet sand should be poured on the place of the future drilling. Then, with the help of some sharp object you need to make a funnel of exactly the same diameter as the future hole should be.

Pour the lead or tin melted down into the mold you have created. After a few minutes remove the sand and take out the cured part of the glass. It should easily come off the surface. The resulting hole will be perfectly flat and will not require any additional work on it.

To heat tin or lead, use a metal mug or other container and a gas torch. If you do not have a torch, you can use an ordinary household gas stove.

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The glass drill can be made with your own hands

Devices to drill through glass, you can make yourself. To do this, it is necessary to perform the hardening procedure of an ordinary drill bit. It is clamped with a pair of pliers and the cutting end is placed in the flame of a gas torch. When the metal is red-hot to white, it is cooled in a wax bath. Hardened metal can handle almost any glass material.

A regular glass cutter may also help. To do this, the cutting element in the form of a diamond roller is mounted on a metal rod so that it is stationary in relation to it. The resulting tool can be called a modification of the diamond-coated tools from the factory.

A few effective ways to drill through glass

Let’s now look at how to drill a hole in glass. There are several ways to do this.

  • To drill a hole in the glass at home is simple enough if you have all the necessary tools. The glass should be placed completely on a flat surface. It should not hang down and play. The place where the hole will be drilled needs to be degreased with acetone or alcohol. From plasticine or clay make a bounding circle around the proposed hole, where you should pour a little turpentine, machine oil or ordinary water to moisten the drill bit and glass. You can buy a commercially made mandrel. They are usually sold made of plexiglass.

Drilling holes in the glass is done with a drill or screwdriver at low speed (400-700 rpm or 1 speed). It is necessary to hold the tool steady and not to press it hard while working.When cutting a hole with a drill bit, it is necessary to monitor its position very carefully. A commercially made mandrel made of plexiglass or a homemade one made of particle board or cardboard will help you in this.

Fix them usually on plasticine, which is easy to remove at the end of the work. This will keep the crown correctly, parallel to the glass and add water or other liquid so that the material does not heat up. It is unacceptable sharp movements and uneven cutting of the circle on either side, undercutting must go evenly.

  • How to drill glass at home without wetting? For this you will need a special self-made drill bit. Take the diamond roller out of the glass cutter and fasten it into the metal rod. To do this, you must first prepare a slot. The roller is fixed in the rod with a rivet, so that it does not turn. This drill allows you to make holes in the glass without lubrication.
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Recommendation! If you do not wet the drill bit and glass while drilling, then be sure to wear gloves and goggles to protect the skin and eyes.

  • Is it possible to cut holes in glass without a fluid or special homemade drill bit?? Yes, but it is risky enough, so it is better not to use this method with large expensive objects. In this case, the place where you want to make a hole, sealed with tape or gum. Then everything as in the previous two methods. drill or screwdriver on low speed without pressure with a special tip.

Advice! To make the edges of the hole even, drill it from both sides of the glass. It is better to do it with a mandrel.

  • How to cut a hole in glass without a drill or screwdriver? This way our ancestors used to use. First, degrease the glass surface in the area of the future hole with acetone or alcohol. Then pour wet sand on it and use a sharp instrument to scratch out the contours of the required hole. Pour molten tin or lead here. This makes a neat through hole.

Now you know a few ways to make a hole in the glass, and not to ruin the material in the process. Which way you choose is up to you, but we suggest method 1 or 2, as they are the fastest, easiest and least risky.

Making a hole in glass without a drill

A way to make a hole without a drill bit in the glass so it doesn’t crack. You will need molten lead for this.

  • Load the lead fishing weights into the metal dish.
  • Light a torch and melt them.

In the place where the molten lead was poured, a hole is formed. And the glass will not be damaged.

Screw drill with your own hands

For construction of the screw drill the mechanism of rotation from a children’s spinner is well suitable. Instead of a chuck, a pencil holder from a compasses is well suited. When you lower the threaded motor with the same thread by hand, the screw axis of the drill begins to rotate. The head of the drill with this mechanism must rotate freely on the axis.

If there is no spinner at hand, you can bend the screw of this action yourself. This requires a strip of steel, one end of which must be secured in a vise fixed on the machine or on the table, and the other end secured in a manual vise. With the rotation of the hand vise strip evenly twisted into a screw, which is then put on a wooden slider with a predrilled hole. In order that the passing of the helical surface of the strip at the engine does not cause difficulties, the strip is heated and, passing in this state by the engine, make a thread on the strip. To make the head, you can use a small wooden ball with a hole whose diameter is slightly larger than the diameter of the screw.

How to make a hole in glass? Here are two simple ways

There are times when you want to make a hole in the glass. In fact, it is not so easy to do. In this article you will learn a couple of ways to solve this problem.

If you need to make a hole in the glass, for example, to hang a mirror or insert a handle in a glass cabinet door, you can use these and simple ways.

For the first method, you will need:

To drill a hole in the glass it is necessary to lay it on a flat surface, you can use a large sheet of plywood, the edges of the glass should not hang down.

The speed of the drill on the drill set to “one” or “minimum”, depending on the configuration of the drill. It is necessary to exclude a strong runout of the drill bit in order not to crack the glass when drilling, in such a case a drill press is better suited.

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Use acetone or alcohol to degrease the glass surface where you want to drill it. Put a drill bit in the center of the intended hole, turn on the drill, while drilling, you need to drop a little turpentine on the glass, in the place of drilling. You can just make a small circle of plasticine funnel and pour turpentine in it.

To prevent the glass from cracking, the drill should be pressed lightly, without unnecessary effort.

The second method will require:

  • glass
  • Solder in the form of lead or tin,
  • Wet fine sand
  • a stick, sharpened under a cone, with the point of the stick having the diameter of the expected hole
  • Alcohol or acetone.

Do the following: degrease the glass surface in the place where the supposed hole will be located. Pour sand in a three centimeter high pile on the drilling spot. In the sand make a hole with a stick to form a funnel, pour molten solder into the funnel.

After a minute or two remove the sand from the glass surface, remove the solder, the hole is melted. Before working, it is better to check the technique and try to make a hole in the glass on an unnecessary splinter.

What to drill glass with

Drill bit for glass In the industry, this process is performed quite easily on special equipment, using tools typical of this type of work. At home, of course, there are no such opportunities. Therefore, and the methodology of work is somewhat simplified.

For the beginning it is necessary to understand, what is the best drill bit to perform such operation. Simple drills designed to work with metal or wood are not suitable, as they simply crush the glass. To make holes in the glass, it is necessary to use a special drill bit. Its tip has a characteristic shape, something resembling an arrow. This type of drill has a special coating that allows the work not to punch through the material, but gradually scrape away the layers of the surface, gradually making it in the place of drilling thinner. Another type of drill for such work is a tubular drill. With its help you can quite easily drill both tile and glass material. Edge of this drill bit has a diamond dusting in the form of fine crumbs.

Please note!This type of drill is recommended when it is necessary to drill a hole with a large diameter.

Glass drilling work is done with an electric drill. The only condition. the tool must have a function of speed regulation. This is because glass drilling should be done at low speeds.

Useful recommendations

To make a homemade drill, you will need a diamond roller from a glass cutter and a metal rod:

  • Saw a groove in the rod to insert the roller into it. Fix it so that it is immobile in relation to the metal rod.
  • Insert the drill bit you have made in your electric screwdriver or drill and start drilling. This is tantamount to doing a peorization with a diamond-powdered drill bit.

Important! If for some reason you can’t buy a factory-made drill bit, you can also make one yourself.

There is another way to prepare your own drill bit to drill glass at home: