Making holes in the glass may seem like a simple operation, but in practice it is a rather complicated and demanding procedure. The glass structure is malleable for machining, but very fragile. Therefore, the peculiarity of the operation is not so much in the choice of the force of influence as in the approach to its organization. The main task of the master is not to lead to the formation of cracks, chips and fractures of the main surface. How to make a hole in the glass without violating this condition? You can accomplish this task with the help of special technologies and tricks that are available to almost any master. Next, the most popular and effective methods will be considered.
Glass preparation for processing
Before any hole making or just cutting operation, proper preparation should be made. The working surface of the glass should be clean and, if possible, not have defective areas - during drilling, they can give an external chip, which will ruin the workpiece. It is recommended to mark the lines of the future hole so that the physical defects of the surface are inside the circle, but do not go beyond. As an additional measure, glass can also be treated with chemical agents, which, in particular, will save it from oil traces. If there is a question about how to make a hole in the glass of a small size, then you will have to prepare and fixing equipment. The method of fixing the workpiece will depend on the technology of creating the hole, but in most cases, such elements are mounted on a vice of a suitable configuration - a damping soft material is laid directly in the contact areas.
The nuances of drilling holes
In the usual way of drilling it is impossible to process glass. If we are talking about the preparation of the same small sizes, then you can use the standard set of drills and drills, but before that, working equipment should be prepared in a special way. First of all, a drill of a suitable size is heated to a white shade. Next, it must be immersed in sealing wax and held until the latter melts. After that, the tip is wetted in turpentine and you can begin the working process. There is another option that allows you to make a round hole in the glass by drilling - its step-by-step instructions are presented below:
- Camphor and particles of coarse sandpaper are crushed.
- Prepared items are poured into a small container and diluted with turpentine.
- A small piece of copper wire is being prepared for the drill, which should be clamped in the chuck.
- Previously prepared paste is placed on a cleaned glass surface.
- To position the copper tooling, a guide conductor made of plywood is prepared.
- You can start drilling.
Making large holes
Drilling methods are not always theoretically acceptable for making holes in the glass, and not only for reasons of high risk of the formation of the same chips. In the case of holes with a diameter of more than 10 cm, no household equipment can cope with this task. But in this case there is a way out, in which a drill is also used. It is necessary to make a small through point in the prepared surface in the very center of the planned hole. To do this, you can use any small-sized glass with a diameter of less than 1 cm. You should not be afraid of third-party chips, because they will fall on the area, which will be removed anyway. Now another question: how to make a hole in the glass, having in the center a small through opening? A piece of wire is inserted into the created small hole and fixed. The other end is fastened with a glass cutter. Further, after checking the reliability of the fixation of the elements and the smoothness of the tool in a circle, you can start cutting in a circle.
Smelting holes
In this case, you will need to initially prepare equipment for the preparation of liquid tin or lead. The glass surface is prepared accordingly. It should be treated with gasoline, acetone or alcohol. Next, wetted sand is poured onto the marked hole formation zone. It should be so much that it is possible to create a funnel, the bottom of which in size will fit the edges of the hole. After that, metal is poured into the created funnel. It will cool down after 1-2 minutes, after which it will be possible to remove the sand equipment along with the poured form. This is the best option if there is a question regarding how to make a hole in the glass without a drill and with smooth edges. But the problem may arise in another aspect. No matter how accurate the funnel made of sand, it will be impossible to control the diameter that will form when the glass is melted by metal.
Soldering Iron Cutting
In terms of the quality of the result, this option can be called the opposite of the previous one. In this case, the master will be able to relatively accurately withstand the boundaries of the marked hole diameter, but the edges may be uneven. The process begins with the creation of risks using the needle file. The task of this operation is to accurately mark the depth of the future melt with a soldering iron. Now you can move on to the next step - how to make a hole in the glass without drilling with a soldering iron? After warming up the sting of the device, you can start cutting. And in a hurry in this process should not be. It is advisable to melt in small segments, if necessary, cooling the glass - otherwise there is a risk of deformation of areas not intended for processing.
How to make a hole in heat-resistant glass?
A very time-consuming operation, and in such situations the limitations in the methods, due to the fragility of ordinary glass, no longer matter. In some ways, this cutting is similar to the processing of metal surfaces. If we are talking about thin glass, then you can try drilling using diamond and solid-state nozzles. In any case, they cope with metal. But how to make a hole in glass of large diameter? To do this, you can use a powerful hammer drill with a crown equipped with the same diamond elements. Alternatively, you can try cutting with an abrasive wheel, but it will provide a very rough result, which is not always suitable.
High tech processing methods
This category of methods for creating holes is more likely to be industrial, although private craftsmen acquire appropriate equipment for their needs. We are talking about lathes and units that provide sandblasting abrasive cutting. Hydroabrasives give the best quality result - how can a hole be made in glass using such equipment? At first, the installation is fixed in machine clamps - there are practically no restrictions on size, including thickness. Then refueling supplies. They are sand and water. The hole is created as a result of circular cutting with a water-sand jet along a predetermined line. Automation will itself position the direction of the cut, providing an almost perfectly even cut.
Conclusion
The fragility of the material significantly limits home craftsmen who need to make a hole in it. Nevertheless, almost every traditional method of forming round cuts, subject to improvement, is also effective in solving this problem. It is quite possible to make a hole in the glass at home using a drill, glass cutter or soldering iron. Another thing is that quality will not always meet expectations. Nevertheless, manual processing always involves risks of deviation from the direction of cut. If the diameter does not really matter, then you can turn to the method of smelting - at least it allows you to rely on the smoothness of the edges. If you need a high-quality hole, and made in tempered glass, then without special equipment can not do.