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Drilling Glass Blocks

Drilling in glass block or bottles is not different than drilling in traditional glass.  If you employ the acceptable speed, use low drill pressure and lots of water for lubrication, you will not have any issues.  Glass breakage with inorganic compound bits is fairly common, however with the right diamond drill bit, it’s very rare.  There are a couple of vital facts and tips which are useful for drilling glass blocks.

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There are various differing types and designs of glass block created by many alternative makers.  Most have some style of style or pattern, however, for drilling functions, there are 2 main characteristics.  Glass blocks will vary considerably on the thickness of the glass wall and a few glass block is tempered.  This info is never disclosed on the block itself, however ought to be thought-about once shopping for glass block for crafting functions.

If the glass block is 3/8″ thick, it’ll take thrice as long to drill compared to a 1/8″ thick block.

Tempered glass ought to be avoided.


Making a mini dam around the hole is the most effective cooling method for drilling in glass blocks.

Glass block contains a vacuum within. a number of the water and glass dirt can forever be sucked within once the opening breaks through.  However, it’s simple to rinse out {the within|the within} of the block with water as long because the dirty water inside isn’t allowed to dry out.  The plug from the opening can generally be force into the block – it’ll typically drop out simply once the within is rinsed.  However, if an excessive amount of pressure was placed on the drill because the hole breaks through, it will cause the plug to possess a aptitude from the break on the rear of the opening.  Normally, you’ll be able to take away the plug with a combine of needle nose pliers, however the simplest answer is to scale back the drill pressure once nearing the rear of the glass to avoid break because the drill breaks through.

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There is a great set of 5 diamond drill bits with the best selection of sizes on Amazon.  Previous customers were able to 10 to 30 holes in glass with 1 single bit.

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