# Beginner mistake with mistking and bulkhead hole size! Please help if possible!!!



## diggenem (Sep 2, 2011)

Ok I ordered value line nozzles from Mistking which require a 5/8" hole drilled for the bulkhead. Ok I, in my etreme excitement did not thouroughly read the instructions and had 1/2" holes drilled in my glass top by a glass shop near my house. Is there anything I can do to mod the nozzles or am I doomed to purchase a set of premium line nozzles??


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## JPccusa (Mar 10, 2009)

You can cover those holes with net (ventilation) and have the glass shop drill new holes.


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## froggorf (Nov 22, 2008)

Can you just get the holes bored out another 1/8" ?


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## JPccusa (Mar 10, 2009)

Ha, true.
I didn't pay attention to the fact that the hole you have now is smaller than the hole required. That should not be a problem for the glass shop to fix.


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## carola1155 (Sep 10, 2007)

also, you wouldn't have to purchase the premium nozzles... you could just buy new bulkheads.

However, you could get a diamond bit and just make the holes bigger or take the glass back to the shop and have them expand them. If you or they have a drill press it really shouldn't be an issue.


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

Before you make a decision about resizing the holes....PM Pumilo (Doug) who has worked with glass for a lot of years...it may not work as far as overdrilling the same hole...he would be the best one to ask...and perhaps he could advise you on bulkheads that could be used in the current hole, and downsized to the appropriate size...or even call the people at MistKing..they might also be able to give good advice about it....and you know you'll be charged again for changing the hole size....how much did that run you???


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## carola1155 (Sep 10, 2007)

no need to go bugging Doug... there are plenty of other people here with glass experience

Drilling holes in glass entails basically grinding the material away with a diamond bit... So if the glass shop has a drill press or someone with a steady hand it really should not be a big deal. All it is, is grinding away more material. This isn't like we're using a paddle bit and it needs the guidance of the existing hole and would jump around. A diamond hole cutter will do the job just fine.


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## diggenem (Sep 2, 2011)

Thanks for the quick responses. The glass shop told me that they couldn't over drill the hole to make it bigger. They said that they didn't even have the correct drill bit size. I don't even want to tell you guys how much I paid for the work. 

I have drilled a few tanks before, but I'm just worried bout messing the glass up especially since I paid so much to have them made.


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## carola1155 (Sep 10, 2007)

that seems really odd... I would find another glass shop in the future.

A drill press and a couple clamps to keep the glass steady really should make it a pretty easy job. The only trick is keeping things cool and well lubricated since you can't use the normal method of a plumber's putty pool of water around it (unless you make a dam under the glass somehow so it doesn't run through the existing hole).


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## Dane (Aug 19, 2004)

How many holes are you dealing with? You should be able to find some 1/4" tubing bulkheads that require a 1/2" hole. MistKing used to supply them, not sure if they still do. If you can't find any, I may have a few that I could part with.


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## diggenem (Sep 2, 2011)

Dane said:


> How many holes are you dealing with? You should be able to find some 1/4" tubing bulkheads that require a 1/2" hole. MistKing used to supply them, not sure if they still do. If you can't find any, I may have a few that I could part with.


Its only 2 holes. I will take them off of your hands if you do.


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## Pubfiction (Feb 3, 2013)

As others said you can find bulkheads for 1/4 OD push connect tubing that only require a half inch hold. Just buy those should run you about $15 after shipping.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Redrilling a glass hole to a bigger size is not something most professional shops will do. It is difficult and the risk of breakage increases. It is also very likely to ruin the bit. You can no longer properly dam and lubricate it. Yes, it's possible, I have done it, but that was for myself. There is no money in taking on the risk, in order to fix the customer's screw up. Sorry, just telling it like it is. I would be very surprised if any shop would try to correct it. They don't want to go "backyard".

Get yourself a dremel tool with a rotory diamond tip. Enlarge it by hand. With a dremel and a proper diamond tip, it should be very easy. You could most likey get away with a good carbide, tile bit for a dremel, too. I discuss it here. http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/138881-making-glass-holes-bigger.html

The best way to overdrill a small hole is to patch it and start over. If it is somewhere you don't see it, silicone a 3" x 3" square of glass to the back side of the hole. Patch should be at least as thick as the tank's glass. Let dry completely. Line up your new bit and drill through the patch and into the old hole, enlarging it. Now your bulkhead can be set up through both the pane, and the patch, together.
It's ugly, but it's very strong and it works. Depending on location, sometimes ugly doesn't matter.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

It sounds like you might be able to simply use Marty's high end misters. They use a 1/2 hole.


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## carola1155 (Sep 10, 2007)

hmm... I guess I wasn't really thinking about the economics of it. I had no problem widening a hole in the past... but I really took my time and to a glass shop time is money.

Either way, I still cant imagine it being too tough if you had a drill press. You could take it outside and get a hose on it to keep it cool.

That being said, the easiest solution is still probably just picking up a couple of the premium bulkheads like this: MistKing Misting Systems by Jungle Hobbies Ltd You can take your value nozzle and plug it right into that.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Exactly, it can be done, but it doesn't pay and they take on extra risk, so they pass. I would pass, if someone came through my doors with the problem. But in my own garage, on my own time (like 1 or 2 am haha), I would do it. 
Personally, I'd still go the Dremel method I linked. The running bit basically "walks" itself around the inside of the hole. It's worked for me.

Edit: Actually, my first choice would be to get the proper bulkhead as Tom mentioned.


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## diggenem (Sep 2, 2011)

So just to make sure, the bulkhead above will work with the value nozzles?

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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

I felt very confident about suggesting that Doug weigh in on redrilling a hole...and knew that the glass had already been compromised by the original hole. A drill press is an obvious solution...but not everyone has one. Doug's idea for the dremel is a good one...and the patch idea is terrific... As far as bugging Doug--he LOVES bugs.....!


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## diggenem (Sep 2, 2011)

Yes he is very knowledgeable and I reaaly appreciate all of your suggestions. I dont know why I didnt think of the patch idea first. I am confident in drilling glass by hand so that is probably the route I will take. 

Thanks for the advice everybody!


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Judy S said:


> As far as bugging Doug--he LOVES bugs.....!


Hey Judy, careful or I'll black list you! Let's say, "bothering Doug", instead of, "Bugging Doug", please.  That sounds way too close to the name of a former DendroBoard vendor that I simply cannot be associated with.

I know you meant nothing but the best, Judy, thanks!


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## carola1155 (Sep 10, 2007)

Judy S said:


> I felt very confident about suggesting that Doug weigh in on redrilling a hole...and knew that the glass had already been compromised by the original hole. A drill press is an obvious solution...but not everyone has one. Doug's idea for the dremel is a good one...and the patch idea is terrific... As far as bugging Doug--he LOVES bugs.....!


I know... I just like to let Doug have a life every once in a while and weigh in when he wants to instead of having everyone always say "ask Doug" and getting his PM inbox flooded. The same thing happens with Ed. Yes, they both know a lot and share a lot... but maybe try getting a few answers first before resorting to asking specific members. They aren't employees and don't get paid for this... it is nice to try to be considerate of their private lives/free time every once in a while.


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## JPccusa (Mar 10, 2009)

carola1155 said:


> They aren't employees and don't get paid for this... it is nice to try to be considerate of their private lives/free time every once in a while.


I definitely can relate.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

diggenem said:


> Yes he is very knowledgeable and I reaaly appreciate all of your suggestions. I dont know why I didnt think of the patch idea first. I am confident in drilling glass by hand so that is probably the route I will take.
> 
> Thanks for the advice everybody!


I have used that patch idea to repair and "overdrill" sumps on thousand gallon systems when I was half of fragshop.com (now defunct) I had to overdrill for 2" bulkheads, which of course required even bigger holes. It never failed. In that case I did it on acrylic sumps, but I've done it with glass, on smaller holes. 
You may be wondering at my suggestion of using silicone on acrylic, when I've said so many times that silicone does not bond to acrylic. When you tighten the bulkhead, it sandwiches the two pieces of acrylic together very tightly. The silicone that you already applied, is now working as a perfect gasket, with the bulkhead functioning as the attachment/binding method. At this point, we really don't care if the silicone completely loses is bind to the acrylic. It's nothing more than a gasket.
Note: You do want to keep the silicone thin, so that your diamond bit doesn't have to deal with much material that it's not designed to go through.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

carola1155 said:


> I know... I just like to let Doug have a life every once in a while and weigh in when he wants to instead of having everyone always say "ask Doug" and getting his PM inbox flooded. The same thing happens with Ed. Yes, they both know a lot and share a lot... but maybe try getting a few answers first before resorting to asking specific members. They aren't employees and don't get paid for this... it is nice to try to be considerate of their private lives/free time every once in a while.


Thanks Tom, I appreciate it, but as long as it's not a "hot" subject, I sincerely enjoy helping here. I love sharing what I've learned from my peers, and what I've discovered myself along the way. 
Now the hot subjects I really need to walk away from.


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## diggenem (Sep 2, 2011)

Pumilo said:


> I have used that patch idea to repair and "overdrill" sumps on thousand gallon systems when I was half of fragshop.com (now defunct) I had to overdrill for 2" bulkheads, which of course required even bigger holes. It never failed. In that case I did it on acrylic sumps, but I've done it with glass, on smaller holes.
> You may be wondering at my suggestion of using silicone on acrylic, when I've said so many times that silicone does not bond to acrylic. When you tighten the bulkhead, it sandwiches the two pieces of acrylic together very tightly. The silicone that you already applied, is now working as a perfect gasket, with the bulkhead functioning as the attachment/binding method. At this point, we really don't care if the silicone completely loses is bind to the acrylic. It's nothing more than a gasket.
> Note: You do want to keep the silicone thin, so that your diamond bit doesn't have to deal with much material that it's not designed to go through.


Well I ordered a 5/8" hole saw from eBay and I'm going to drill it again and patch the existing holes with 1" glass tiles. Like I said before, I don't know why I didn't think of that at first but that's the beauty of this forum.

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