Post #188004 by TikiJosh on Wed, Sep 21, 2005 3:36 PM

I got a solid glass float at Michael's last year to make a lamp and used a dremel diamond bit to cut a hole in it. I used a marker to trace the size of the hole using a quarter as a template.
Using a diamond dremel bit, I traced over the circle until the dremel ate away the glass and I got a hole. Probably took about 30 minutes. I had a little tiny c7 type christmas fixture with prongs and it fit perfect.
Now, I didn't do anything so drastic as a 5 inch hole, so I don't know how that would work. I've heard that glass balls have a lot of stress and that you can shatter it as easily as cut a hole in it.
One of the previous posts about lots of water is good advice. I kept the bit wet the entire time I did mine.
And definitely go slow, don't apply too much pressure. I think not pressing as hard might help keep the float in one piece as you cut it. Did I mention to keep the bit wet? The water helped cut down on the amount of glass dust, too.
I want to see one of those lamps!