Tutorial for cutting the holes in glass blocks

[dublin2]

Hello fellow crafters,

I was hoping that someone out there knows of a website or a blog that can show me what I need to do to cut out the holes of glass blocks. I have more than a few occasions coming up that these would be perfect as gifts for but it's just that I am not sure of what I need and how to go about doing it. I could go to my local home improvement store but they look at you funny when it's artsy craftsy and not your typical home improvement project! I would much rather get the information from crafters that have already done this and had success at it. Thanks for your help in advance and happy crafting!


Jeanne
Dublin2

[agcsmom]

http://www.ehow.com/how_4813490_cut-hol ... locks.html

[craftymyra]

I buy mine with holes already in from Michaels

[LiveLaughScrap]

I too would get them from a craft store w/ the hole already drilled. They come with the different plugs for however you might want to use it. They may be a little more expensive, but you can use a coupon & no hassle w/ drilling the holes or breaking the blocks when drilling.
Lori

[Awesome Cartoons]

If you are making only 1 or 2 then the ones from the craft store with the large hole in it would be fine but if you are making many it is almost cost prohibitive. Here in Canada the price is almost 3 times as much as buying a 'real' glass block. I make these to sell so I have made around 30 already and touch wood have never broken any.
There are 3 key pieces for success.

1. You must use the proper glass cutting drill bit. A regular drill bit will not work well. These are expensive but worth it.
2. You must start off slowly so the drill bit doesn't wander and once the hole has been started you can go faster.
3. Keep the drill bit cool. I usually put the block in the kitchen sink on something rubber so it doesn't move and have the cold water drip on the block around the area of the hole.

Once the hole has been drilled through there is a lot of dust and glass shavings inside. You have to rinse it out. I found that it took days for the inside to dry and never did completely dry so what I do now is put the block in a 200 degree oven for about an hour and it comes out perfectly.

I was really scared at first but after the 1st 3 I realized it was pretty easy. Just take your time, it could take between 5 & 10 minutes.

Good luck

[btails]

we use a drill press with diamond bit...just before breaking through use an air hose and blow off any water, we spray water to keep the bit cool....if you blow with a high pressured air there is nothing that goes inside the block....must drill slow and steady so as not to break the block.....I buy mine already drilled from Columbusglassblocks.com or Accentblocks.com...they are about 13.00