blasting holes in glass?

[Martiglass]

Im looking to make some precise holes in glass...
I know the routine with the diamond bits and it's not economical for how many bits Id use up. The glass artists at www.gooserocksdesigns.com said that they sand blast their holes he was a bit standoffish I suppose its all they have to keep their trade secret... i'm not trying to do anything like what they are up to...
any one know more about this blasting technique?

[Greymatter Glass]

there are various ways to do it...

a diamond core drill would be effective. I think you may be underestimating the capabilities of quality bits. Cheaply made import bits that are electroplated will wear out after a few dozen holes. A quality sintered bit will last for thousands of holes.

You could invest in an ultrasonic drilling machine. Harold knows a lot more about those than I do, perhaps he'll pop in and share.

You can use a sand blaster and a copper shield with the proper sized hole, but you'll have a hard time getting a tolerance lower than about .5mm doing that.

You can use a water jet as a drill, and get precise holes to within .01mm or so depending on the quality of the machine.

up to you what you need to do and how you go about it.

[hwcglass]

What kind of holes are you looking to make?

For example; my ultrasonic is good (IMO) at making small holes (about 3-6mm) in relatively thin material (3-6mm).

Technology choice, in this case, depends a lot on what you want to do.

So . . . . what you got cooking?

ETA: from your link, soft glass sheet stock into wind chimes - I'll bet good money on a rotary drill set up is the way to go.

[bombheadster]

Diamond bit is probably the way to go. Like greymatter said, a quality bit is not going to wear out on you.

Interestingly, I have a good friend who recently told me about a new way to drill through glass. He turned a brass friction drill bit on the lathe and used that in combination with an aluminum oxide slurry to drill through a 1/4" thickness of sheet glass.

[jes]

WOw I love this place, a wealth of knowledge

Please martiglass show some picks as you go on these, what a cool idea>>>

[Sweettooth glass]

I pop holes with an air compressor and a tiny premix flame. Kinda depends on what your doing.

[SAWstudioZ]

water jet will work best if it is flat glass. It won't do so well trying to cut holes in tubing. If you go with the diamond bit, the key is to do all you drilling wet, either under water, or create something to keep a puddle of water in the drilling area...

[Martiglass]

Wow thanks everybody!
the glass will be blown vessels not exactly flat or super thin....
and Furnace made... looking into collaboration with a weaver...
Any suggestions on where to find quality bits...
Can't exactly do the water feed thing but i do understand the need for water.
tell me more about the ultrasonic drilling???

[re-vit]

i'd recommend the cutting lubricant. i had good results on a higher mileage type project.
here's what you need, in order of increasing gravity:

H2O+DIAMOND TOOL COOLANT/LUBRICANT
diamond cutting/grinding
catch basin- big ass tray
filter
recirculation pump (aquarium type works fine) back to top

i used a setup like that around a cheap drill press. a seperatory funnel on a lab stand dripped the coolant down along a wire right in where i was working.
i'm gonna go look up the MSDS on that coolant and see what it's made out of...

[HomegrownGlassStudio]

^^^ Probably propylene glycol thats what we use for cutting coolant mixed with water...

[re-vit]

triethanolomine. That's the main ingredient in Kleen Kool 100.
wtf is that? sounds nasty.