bulkheads

Off The Deep End

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#21
Change the drill so it is going counter clockwise, it will still cut the acrylic it just eliminates the risk of a tooth catching and potentially cracking the acrylic. It also gives it a cleaner cut on the inside.
 

chrislorentz

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#22
Nice
 

Wicked Color

Tiger Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#23
lol, I went and found em, then read the rest of the thread, sorry I wasn't faster about that.
 

Cherub

Hey you
M.A.S.C Club Member
#24
wicked demon;93611 said:
lol, I went and found em, then read the rest of the thread, sorry I wasn't faster about that.
Woops sorry about that! I get impatient easy I guess. I had today off and was bored so I ended up buying the bulkheads, then 8 new corals and a bit of live rock. Painted that ugly stand black and added handles too! Was a productive day :p

Off The Deep End;93596 said:
Change the drill so it is going counter clockwise, it will still cut the acrylic it just eliminates the risk of a tooth catching and potentially cracking the acrylic. It also gives it a cleaner cut on the inside.
Nice thanks for the tip I will do that.

chrislorentz;93592 said:
Another critical factor with acrylic is heat generated from the bit. If the bit is less than sharp then you will have to drill very slowly (either slow bit speed or retracting the bit often). Sharp bits can be drilled quicker but you still have to retract the bit often to let the material cool down. Over heating will result in a crystalline sugar-like melting around the hole. Also try not to punch the bit through the material when you are almost through the material. This may chip the back side of the acrylic. When drilling acrylic always use a cutting fluid, water works well. A water soluble oil is what the pros use. Otherwise your drill will heat up and melt the acrylic and you'll get an oversize hole. Also use a smaller diameter drill bit to pilot drill the hole. A pilot hole will reduce the tendency of your bit to wander.
It's a new drill bit I just got so hopefully it's sharp enough lol but I plan on going very slow with this. stop and go on the drill. Didn't get a fluid though...
 
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