Thread: Drilling Glass

Felix,

I take it from that your doors are not going to be framed? Otherwise you'd just fix the handles to the frame, right?

If you're going to have glass doors, you'll probably want to get the edges either pencil round or arised. This is a job for a glass firm. While they're doing that, get them to drill the holes. Drilling holes in glass is a job for someone who isn't going to worry about breaking it, especially given the proximity to the edge you will be working at. It's prone to failure, which is why glass is so expensive - you're paying for all the stuff ups and breakages.

If you are still game to give it a go, you'll need a diamond tipped glass cutting drill. There might be some new gadgets around for doing it but when I was a lad they looked like a bit of tubing with a slot on one end. You'll need to use a low speed and a coolant of some kind and probably a drill press or stand unless you think you have a steady enough hand to hold the drill without shaking. If the glass is expensive, you'll probably be shaking quite a lot.

My advice: draw up what you want and get someone to make it for you.