How to drill acrylic? Should I drill this tank?
- Thread starter MoshJosh
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Use a hole saw for metal, or even better, one made specifically for plastic. A hole saw bit made for wood will chatter and skip a lot, and may end up cracking insteal of cutting.
Warm the acrylic with a hair drier before making your initial cut, then run the drill at a slow speed clutched to about 8 or 9. (The dial on the front of most cordless drills is a stop clutch to ensure you don't overtorque a bit or a screw, but we're going to use it here to make a smooth cut into a soft material.)
Once you make an initial cut to about 1/8 of an inch, take the heat off the acrylic and drill the rest of the way through. Just like with drilling glass, let the weight of the drill do the work, don't press, don't force, don't lift the bit to let one edge bite faster than the other.
Warm the acrylic with a hair drier before making your initial cut, then run the drill at a slow speed clutched to about 8 or 9. (The dial on the front of most cordless drills is a stop clutch to ensure you don't overtorque a bit or a screw, but we're going to use it here to make a smooth cut into a soft material.)
Once you make an initial cut to about 1/8 of an inch, take the heat off the acrylic and drill the rest of the way through. Just like with drilling glass, let the weight of the drill do the work, don't press, don't force, don't lift the bit to let one edge bite faster than the other.
My overflow came with a diamond hole saw meant for acrylic, there's a kit on sale for Prime Day for 12 bucks too, but there are other types for acrylic. I have an adjustable two-pin cutter, but I'm not sure it's advisable on a finished tank, as it's meant for my drill press.
Or... you can go to autozone. Pick up the appropriate size tail pipe adapter, heat the end and stick it through and Bob's your uncle. Doing it this way is good on thinner acrylic, that maybe subject to cracking with a saw.
albano
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I always use one of these, works great and leave a nice finish! 
The one i use is made from brass so its nice and soft.
The one i use is made from brass so its nice and soft.
That’s funny! Because I think I got it from your generation…Don’t recall ever hearing that phrase … but I’m only in my 70’s!
Troylee
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Regular hole saw or unibit “step drill” will work just fine! Any questions hit me up! I’m a pro at acrylic! Lol
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MoshJosh
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Thank you everyone for the replies! I ended up getting a wood/metal holesaw from the local hardware store. I was kind of limited and in fact I had to go to two different stores to get the sizes I needed. Anyway I took it very slow and anytime I felt a bit binding I backed off. . . And it worked like a charm! I did drill one of the holes slightly high, and will have to shave off the top of the bulkhead lip, but I’m not too worried about it. I’ll send a picture when I get home. Thanks again everyone!
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MoshJosh
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