Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I must of cracked 3 or 4 today. They are still useable but I hate the fact that they have cracks... I used a drill bit with a pointy tip to drill holes this time. 3 out of 4 came out perfect but ofcourse there's a few holes surrounded by cracks...what's the best way? Melting?

Just take it real slow. Don't put too much pressure on your drill. Let the bit sink in. Should avoid further cracks.
See Happy Gilmore?
"taaap it in...taaap in....tap tap-a-roony"

Happy Gilmore is the best movie!!!!!!!

Grandma's quite a quilter!
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"If woody would of went to the police, none of this would have ever happened!"

you eat pieces of $h1t for breakfast?

>>you eat pieces of $h1t for breakfast?
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mark

>>>>you eat pieces of $h1t for breakfast?
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>>mark
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"If woody would of went to the police, none of this would have ever happened!"

Why dont you just go home ball... What your not good enough for your home!

np

Folks, just pointing out that while I understand that you're posting quotes from a movie, subject lines like this are going to raise some eyebrows.. And remember, not everyone has seen the movie (I didn't), so they wouldn't understand... Just asking you to be careful...

Thanks,
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Bonnie Keller
PH Scales
Kingsnake.com Site Coordinator

I would say drilling just make sure to do it slowly if you do it fast you will get cracks you could try melting but you might get the ugly black rings around the holes just my .02

Like Alex said just go slow, I personally have a Dremel for my drilling but also have a drill. Both work fine, but the Dremel spins faster so it kind off melts at the same time.

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Giantkeeper Reptiles
E-mail Giantkeeper
Our website
There are no stupid questions, just stupid people!

Charles,

Many people say the best thing to do is to use a soldering iron. I have tried this and it works but when the plastic melts it sticks to the soldering iron and when you pull away it leaves a "string" thing from the hole to the soldering iron. This cools and then you have this long skinny thing hanging from your hole. If you don't get the long string you get a short sharp thing. You can trim this off but I find it is much better to drill with a SHARP drill bit. Doesn't necessarily need to be pointy. Try starting with a small bit to make a small hole and go progressively larger from there. Just remember...Start small, use a sharp (new) bit and go slow. This way has worked well for me and so far I've never had one crack. You can try the soldering iron method too but I wouldn't recomend it.

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mark

I use a soldering iron and it makes perfect holes and no burrs

I too use a 'hot' method. I use an old Pozi screwdiver, heat it over the stove, and melt hole as required. As a guide I use a scrap 'mosaic' tile. I hold the tile in place and this avoids burns, and the 'grout' between the squares forms a useful guide to form regularly spaced holes. I don't get any black rings but do need to snap off the burr on the outside of the tub. For this, I use a knife, and it invariably snaps off in one twist.

Two suggestions - if you're going to drill and you have the tools for it, try bracing the plastic with thin strips of wood clamped onto it. i haven't tried it personally but i think that they use a similar technique for drilling through materials like particleboard to keep it from splinterin. If that's not convenient, the easiest way, even though it may leave the holes a little discolored, is to heat up a thin phillips head screwdriver and just push it through. if you have a blowtorch that's ideal but, if the plastic isn't too thick, even a lighter or better yet for safety reasons, a stove burner would work. it never cracks and leaves a nice smooth edge. Just watch out for fumes.

I use the drumle tool, it works great, they are kinda like a drill but they cut, but can make nice clean holes

Pushing will surely crack em'

to use a small, cheap soldering gun. It never cracks, less mess and they work great on rubbermaids, hard plastic, or clear acrylics. I've used it on all my boxes and Derek Yagi recently used it for his Boaphile racks. Just be careful where you set the soldering gun(not really a gun) down after you're done using it!

I am done for now and I used the sharp tipped drill. You guys are correct in saying "go slow" and not to put to much pressure on the drill. It works fine... I did kill the first two boxes so maybe I will try the heat method on the replacement boxes.... Thank god these things are sooooooooooooo cheap!

Thanks for the help
CE
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"If woody would of went to the police, none of this would have ever happened!"

I use a sodering gun (not sure if I spelled that right)
Just let it get hot. Touch the container with the tip of the gun, and it will go right through.

Use a Forstner bit and back up the hole with some scrap to prevent tearing out. Forstner bits are available in sizes from about 1/8 to big, like 3 inch. Try different speeds to see what works. Use a Rubbermaid you've already cracked to practice on.

I use a glue gun. Never had a problem....

Goes much faster and no cracking.