Anyone ever tried drilling a tempered tank?

Discussion in 'I made this!' started by leighton1245, May 19, 2011.

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  1. leighton1245

    leighton1245 Horrid Stonefish

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    I have my old tank that the movers cracked setting in my garage and as im bored I was thinking about trying to see if there was some way i could drill the bottom without completely shattering it. Its trash anyways so i figured that If anything ill have a little fun and break some stuff anyone else tried to drill a tempered bottom if so how did you go about it? (just so i know where to start from) Thanks ;D
     
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  3. blackraven1425

    blackraven1425 Giant Squid

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    You can't do it, the tank will shatter.
     
  4. leighton1245

    leighton1245 Horrid Stonefish

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    Not even with a torch? It doesnt matter if it shatters just wanna have some fun if im successfull all the better :)
     
  5. blackraven1425

    blackraven1425 Giant Squid

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    It will shatter, guaranteed.
     
  6. leighton1245

    leighton1245 Horrid Stonefish

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    lol you are taking all the fun out of it.
     
  7. Brennan

    Brennan Gigas Clam

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    If you want to, go for it
     
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  9. magnetar68

    magnetar68 Astrea Snail

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    Not impossible, but improbable

    Some people get lucky. They drill through an aquarium that was not well tempered to begin with and they go very slowly with a high quality diamond bit. The one sure way to cut tempered glass is to untemper it but this requires a high temperature oven and specific knowledge.

    From here: How to Use Diamond Drill Bits

    Drilling Tempered Glass - Not Recommended

    Tempered glass can be drilled, however, breakage may run as high as 80% to 90% depending upon the degree of temper in the glass. We do not recommend trying to drill tempered glass.

    The manufacturing process of making tempered glass results in the glass having a large amount of stress between various portions of the glass. The stress points might look much like a piece of wood containing lots of "knots", however, there is no outward appearance to indicate the hidden stress. Highly tempered glass will often crack at the stress points near the hole. Since the amount of hidden stress increases with the degree of temper, the success rate of drilling tempered glass reduces with the increase in glass temper.

    There is no way to know the amount of temper in a piece of tempered glass, so there is no way to evaluate the amount of risk involved in trying to drill it. Therefore, we DO NOT RECOMMEND attempting to drill tempered glass.
     
  10. SnooknRedz

    SnooknRedz Vlamingii Tang

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    who cares what anyone is saying,if its already damaged, who gives a you know what. id drill away. slowly and carefully.
     
  11. M-Ocean Man

    M-Ocean Man Flame Angel

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    it's like sticking a ball of tinfoil in the microwave - you know what's going to happen - but the spectacle is too much to deny!
     
  12. link248

    link248 Ritteri Anemone

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    Go for it, let us know how you did