Drill holes in glass - that's how it works without jumps

• Drill / drill - prices
• Drill holes in glass - all tricks and tips
  • 1. Prepare the surface
  • 2.1. Tape as protection
  • 2.2. Wood panels as protection
  • 3. Drilling glass
• Tips for quick readers

Many do-it-yourselfers are afraid to drill a hole in a pane of glass. But with the right drill and a few small tricks, you can drill glass without any jumps. We show you the right tricks to prevent your glass from breaking while drilling.

The most important point when drilling into a pane of glass is the glass selection. Safety glass or Sekurit glass can only be drilled with a special drill and a special drill. Therefore, as a home improvement with the normal tools you should only drill simple glass panes yourself. How to drill a hole in a glass pane is shown here in the manual. You'll also find a buying guide that shows you which tool you really need when drilling glass.

You need this:

• drilling machine
• glass drills
• Screw clamp
• solid leather gloves
• safety goggles
• Wassersprühflasche
• Glass
• wood panels
• Adhesive tape / painter's crepe
• ruler
• felt-tip pen
• old sheet or similar

safety first

As careful as you may work, something can always go wrong when working on glass. Be sure to wear eye protection. A splinter flying through the air powered by the drill should not be able to hit your eye. The second important precaution is solid high quality leather gloves. There is easily a small degree of glass on the screen that you may not even see. When holding and moving the glass plate, you could injure yourself so much.

Costs and prices of the craftsman ">

In most cases, if you buy the glass from the glazier, you can immediately ask him to drill the appropriate holes for you. Depending on the glasses and purchase volume, he may not even be able to calculate something. As a precaution, ask him what he wants.

Drill / drill - prices

Whether the price of the glass is suitable for drilling, you will also see in comparison with the prices of glass drills. Cheap sets with some small glass drills are available in the hardware store for less than ten euros. If you need to drill larger holes in the glass, a diamond bur is suitable. With a simple glass drill you can drill holes up to ten millimeters thick. In addition, a hollow drill with diamond head is better suited. Here the prices depend on the size of the drill.
[Photo diamond drill bit]

• 6 mm diamond drill bit - just under 10 euros
• 17 mm diamond drill bit - about 12 euros
• 28 mm diamond drill bit - from about 15 euros

However, here too, as with so many tools, the prices are open at the top. If you want to use the drill more often, you should not rely on the cheapest quality described above. With a higher quality drill you can work well for a long time without ruining the wheel. Iron holes are also suitable for small holes, but usually the iron drill will only make one or two holes. In the worst case, he fails in the middle of drilling. The glass drill with diamond core, however, guarantees a well-drilled hole.

On quality you should also pay attention to the drill. Advantageous and important for drilling glass is an adjustable speed. However, most of the better drills now offer this feature. In a percussion drill, of course, the impact function should necessarily be switched off.

Drill holes in glass - all tricks and tips

Before you handle the glass, you should clean the workplace with the hand brush and put on the leather gloves. Before drilling, the glass pane must also be cut to the correct size. If the hole has already been drilled, it is very likely that the glass will break during cutting. After cutting, you should carefully sand the edges a little if the pane is to serve as a cabinet door, for example, so that you do not later cut yourself with the door.

1. Prepare the surface

He was never as important as he is today. The substrate on which you drill the glass plate determines the success of the action. Ideal is an MDF board or a smooth cork board. Test again with your hand, whether really no small foreign body is lying on the plate, before you put on the glass plate. Between the wood panel and the glass, you can lay out an old sheet blank to avoid any scratches. Make sure that there are no folds or seams under the glass.

Tip: Many also recommend rubber mats as a base for glass drilling. But these are often too soft. If you press the glass plate and the rubber mat from one side on one side, the rubber will compress too easily and the glass plate will break.

2.1. Tape as protection

The subsequent drilling site should be pasted over with a painter's crepe or a tissue adhesive tape that is as rough as possible. So the drill can not slip off so easily later. By the way, the drill hole on the tape can be marked much better. Rather measure twice before marking the drill site.

2.2. Wood panels as protection

Large filigree glass panels are better drilled between two wooden panels. To do this, place the glass on a smooth, clean wooden board and, in addition, place a second wooden panel on top. These two plates protect you against slipping with two clamps or the good old screw clamp. However, only screw the clamp together very carefully; after all, you should only hold it horizontally for a short while.

Tip: This variant is particularly suitable if, for example, you have to provide a larger number of glass doors with holes. The wooden panels can then be reused as a template each time for the next pane of glass.

Now just mark the holes you want to drill on the wooden plate. Or you can drill the holes in the wood panels before you start to have a perfect guide for your glass drill.

Tip: For scratch-sensitive glass, it is better to place a small layer of thin fabric between wood and glass. However, it must always be ensured that no wrinkles occur.

3. Drilling glass

Be sure to wear safety goggles before drilling. The drill must be firmly clamped in the machine. Nothing is worse when drilling glass than when your drill is self-centered. Decrease the speed of the drill and turn off the impact function on a percussion drill. Usually you notice when drilling that the speed is too low. Nevertheless, you should not immediately choose the highest level, but slowly adjust the speed gradually.

Tip: When drilling you should keep at least a distance of about two centimeters to the edge of the disc. For very thin glass even a slightly larger distance is recommended. Especially if you have to drill a relatively large hole.

Keep the drill exactly vertical. Even when drilling, the machine must not be accidentally inclined. If you have, you can get the best results with a drill holder. However, it is not worth it to buy a drill holder, because then you have to solve the problem of glass support again. If you notice during drilling that the drill and glass are getting hot, you should spray some water with a spray bottle or wait a moment if in doubt.

Tip: If you are a very cautious home improvement, you can first drill a very small hole in your glass. To do this, use a three-millimeter drill bit. This hole then serves as a so-called pilot hole and prevents the break-up of glass splinters.

Tips for quick readers

• Check glass drill and drill
• Wear gloves and eye protection
• Do not drill safety glass yourself
• never drill closer than two inches from the edge
• Protect drilling site with adhesive tape
• Optionally protect the drilling site with thin wooden boards
• Mark bore
• Place the disc on a solid smooth wooden plate
• Firmly clamp the drill
• Reduce speed on drill
• Pierce vertically into the glass
• Cool drill and glass with water spray bottle
• eventually drill pilot hole first