Where to get glass hole saws?

[danny zubot]

I want to order glass (diamond bit) hole saws to drill my own bulk head holes. I'm not sure what the hole sizes are for 1.5" & 1" bulk heads though, advice please? I've heard that there is a good website that sells them. Can anyone provide me the name of it?

Thanks,

Danny

[Veng68]

MOPS.ca and Bulk Reef Supplies has them.

Cheers,
Vic

[sphelps]

ebay

Different types of bulkheads will require different hole sizes, best to figure out which bulkheads you're going to use then buy the holes saws to match.

[Delphinus]

Last two bits I bought came from ebay and they were maybe $20 landed (ie., including shipping). As stated mops.ca and bulkreefsupply.com also sell them as well.

For schedule-40 bulkheads, ie., the black ones the holes sizes would be
1" bulkhead - 1-3/4" hole (45mm) - http://cgi.ebay.ca/45mm-Diamond-tipp...item1c0f8dfe4c
1.5" bulkhead - 2-3/8" hole (65mm) - http://cgi.ebay.ca/65mm-Diamond-tipp...item518fdcd3e9

If you go schedule-80 bulkheads (they grey ones) the hole sizes will need to be bigger because the wall thickness is larger. You don't need schedule-80 in our hobby but some people like grey better as if they are looking at the pipes instead of what's IN the tanks but hey, whatever floats your boat.

I have bought from the seller I linked to. Would highly recommend. Yeah the bits end up coming from Hong Kong but you'll have your bit within 4-5 days, at least I did (I bought from them twice).

[danny zubot]

Perfect, thanks everyone. I've decided that I need to drill my own holes from now on, since no glass companies around here will touch them with a 10 foot pole. They sort of look at you funny and say, "your doing what to your fish tank?" I guess the whole aquarium hobby thing is still in the dark ages in this area.

[Delphinus]

Sort of the approach I decided to adopt too, although the reasoning is the drill bits were $20ish, and the labour to have someone do it were $35-50ish depending on who I asked. At those prices for the bits it doesn't matter if I only get a dozen holes out of them before they are too dull.

The trick is keep the bits wet (use plumbers putty or a water reservoir ring), go about 1/4 speed on the drill and very light pressure. You're basically sanding the hole out of the glass not drilling it. And back off the pressure before you're about to punch through, if the glass is going to crack, this is the point where it's likely to happen. >1/4" thick is easy to drill without incident, 1/4" and less it can get a little dicey so it's best to have a scrap piece you can practise on if it's your first time.

Also FWIW there are plenty of instructional vids on the net, think even bulkreefsupply.com has some good ones there.

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by danny zubot

I want to order glass (diamond bit) hole saws to drill my own bulk head holes. I'm not sure what the hole sizes are for 1.5" & 1" bulk heads though, advice please? I've heard that there is a good website that sells them. Can anyone provide me the name of it?

Thanks,

Danny

if your going through kamloops "the tool place" has an awsome selection.

Steve

[monocus]

you can buy a set of 10(2 3/8-1/4) at summit tools for about 70 dollars

[schroeder]

I'm a DIY kind of guy. I build my own hardwood furniture, do my own acrylic fabrication, wire houshold ( and commercial ) electrical and do plumbing. I grew up with tools in my hands (got my first toolkit at 4 years old), built my first few computers, do all of my own car repairs, etc. etc.

SO... I was all intent on drilling my own tank, and I did all of the appropriate research, BUT, I got someone else to do it for me.

The reason? I needed 2 holes each, of 2 different sizes, so expected to pay $40 for 2 glass holesaws (cheap ones), but I was able to get James at Lions Gate Glass to drill the holes at $10 each...
(If you live around the Vancouver area this is a practical option)

BTW the LFS quoted $30 per hole vs. Lions Gate Glass at $10 per hole...
same cost as just buying cheap holesaws, professional glazier working with quality tools, lower risk.

No brainer

[donlite]

The best place to purchase bits is CRL. My Company has used there products
for many years. Make sure you follow directions. They also sell steel bits. You
make a small dam and fill it full of aluminum oxide and water. Good Luck. Don