# Drill Through Glass? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 11, 2008, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drill-through-glass/448955 "2008-05-11T21:49:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drill-through-glass/448955/21 "2008-05-12T02:35:20Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] Why kerosene? [/QUOTE] It’s very low viscosity, which means low drag (it won’t spray much from the bit like heavier oils) and it has good thermal and lubricant properties. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drill-through-glass/448955/22 "2008-05-12T03:05:18Z")
I drilled through the bottom of an aquarium with a hand drill and a parabola-shaped Silicon Carbide grinding point. I went slow, and used water as coolant. Worked great. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drill-through-glass/448955/23 "2008-05-12T03:31:10Z")
[QUOTE=spingears] WEAR SAFETY GLASSES AND OR A FACE SHIELD. A bit of glass in the eye is painful and very difficult to see to remove. See a proffessional eye care specialist if you should unhappily find yourself in this predicament. [/QUOTE] I’d amend that to the full face shield and the plastic glasses underneath, instead of the And/OR. Your eyesight is critical, but once thats protected its time to think about facial lacerations from flying glass. Declan ---
**Author:** ![intention](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e95f7d/32.png) [@intention](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/intention)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drill-through-glass/448955/24 "2008-05-12T04:19:17Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] Why kerosene? [/QUOTE] 'Cause that’s what my grandma advised … and likely because we had kerosene for the lamps, but no light mineral oil. w. PS - and of course what Q.E.D. said. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drill-through-glass/448955/25 "2008-05-12T07:51:32Z")
I do stained glass. I have an attatchment on my grinder to drill holes. I have also done it with a diamond tip on a Dremel tool. Be sure to have it under running water, or the heat generated will break the glass. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drill-through-glass/448955/26 "2008-05-12T12:52:22Z")
[QUOTE=picunurse] I do stained glass. I have an attatchment on my grinder to drill holes. I have also done it with a diamond tip on a Dremel tool. Be sure to have it under running water, or the heat generated will break the glass. [/QUOTE] Just like I posted in post #2 - we used petroleum jelly because it was room temp and the glass never broke…water could make it too cold and the heat/cold difference tended to break the glass. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drill-through-glass/448955/27 "2008-05-12T12:52:43Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] For what that technique would most likely accomplish in the hands of a novice, a rock would be even easier. [/QUOTE] I actually just did this recently. I heated up a beer bottle with a Mapp gas torch and made a whole in it with a flower stem (becuase that’s what was near me). This wouldn’t work for the OP though as the it wasn’t a clean whole, it’s was more like a one inch cirumference divit about one inch deep with a whole in the middle. It’s looked more like a funnel. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drill-through-glass/448955.md?page=1)