This went HORRIBLY wrong... But I won't give up!

Since EKWB decided not to put ports on their FT360 reservoir in places that actually make sense, I decided to teach myself how to modify acrylic... and it went horrible wrong! BUT I learned a neat new technique along the way!
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[@Jwalk9000]

From somebody that's been doing acrylic mods for PCs since the late 90s, tree acrylic like steel. Use high speed steel drill bits, lube them with a light oil, and work your way up through the sizes starting with an 1/8 inch bit.

[@korinogaro]

Tile drill bits, these with "arrowhead" tips and you don't need to f*ck around with lube or progression of sizes.

[@bndahi8251]

"High speed, low feed"

[@whasian1487]

I use drill bits specifically for drilling acrylic. I got them from TAP Plastics. If you're open to something new, give them a try.

[@andrewparker3689]

Use what's called a One shot reamer. The cutting angle on regular drill bits aren't suited to cutting acrylic cleanly, especially as the diameter increases.

[@j-vlog002]

I was just about to type out... where is the oil?

[@bami2]

I love that Jay is still embracing the jank but is getting better at it.

[@Xenoray1]

professional JAnkYness

[@iommu426]

@@Xenoray1 Jaynkyness

[@wh1teduck765]

He is truly a modern renaissance man.

[@marcopolotse2490]

More Jank JAY!!!!

[@jameslawrence8734]

JankzTwoCents is the second channel's name for a reason.

[@Moonbrony]

Use Vaseline in your holes :) Petroleum jelly is a good lube for drilling acrylic. Or a step drill as there's no vertical pulling which caused the crack, they just cut horizontally as you press down.

[@RockstarRacc00n]

I was really surprised when he started drilling without even putting water on that, like, he doesn't know how to drill into rigid materials at this point, and I'm not sure how he doesn't know that.

[@10100rsn]

Super Lube oil or grease is better for plastics but water is necessary for thermal control. Petroleum based greases are not great for plastic or rubber, but the synthetic PTFE stuff like Super Lube is compatible with most plastics and rubbers. The most compatible is probably the Super Lube Silicone greases/lubricants which are compatible with everything except for silicone rubber, but the regular super lube grease/oil is probably compatible with everything except stuff containing natural rubber like car tires...

[@OllieVK]

you don't need any lubricant at all if you're going the right speed, and take the rake off your drill. Step drill... ffs. Really?

[@markhackett2302]

@@OllieVK The speed may not go low enough, though. A manual drill goes as slow as you turn the handle. Alternatively use masking tape or similar on the hole, to stop or slow down fracturing, it being based on the speed of the drill descent, not the drill spin speed. Slower descent will build up more heat, though.

[@OllieVK]

@@markhackett2302 you take the rake off the drill so it doesn't pull. Problem solved. No cracking, no crazing. Clean hole.

[@kenross4453]

Another good tip I haven't seen mentioned - drill just past half way, not quite 3/4 of the way through... then flip the acrylic. Your pilot hole will keep it centered in the right spot, and it will make the last half as easy as the first half (not that its particularly easy, but as you noted the last half is where it gets a bit more touchy). Definitely get a drill press if you are doing this more than a handful of times - you can buy a bench style new at Harbor Freight for like $30, or pick them up used for $20 and up (depending on the size, age, features, and seller)... it would make it SO much easier/cleaner.

[@Pulverrostmannen]

you don´t need to do anything of that if you just make it right, it is so simple and yet nobody knows how to drill acrylics, you can take a normal metal drillbit as the first one he used to crack the plexi and you can grind the tip in a special way to make it drill through acrylics like it was butter smooth and almost impossible to go wrong, I made a drillkit myself ages ago that I use in some of my videos. you get sharp clean edges throughout the hole and no burrs with pretty much zero risk of failure even if you press really hard. maybe I should make a video about these drills?

[@kenross4453]

@@Pulverrostmannen There are commercially available drill bits that are made for acrylics and other solid surface materials.They're not cheap, but not ridiculously expensive either. Still, just the normal good practice of drilling a hole just over half way and flipping (which is great for good holes in ANY material - wood, metal, SSMs, etc), is a great habit to develop.

[@Pulverrostmannen]

@@kenross4453 I know you can buy these but as I say you can make any regular metal drill bit become one. It takes me one minute to convert a regular drill to become a plastic works masterpiece and it cost nothing more than the regular bit itself. I am all in for good habits and techniques. But I also have a saying that you can’t become better than your tools either. As of fact you would not use a wood drill for stainless steel, and you really should not use a drill made for steel in acrylics either. Thing is that you don’t need oil or anything for this type. It cuts smooth and gentle throughout the cut and it will never bite the edge when it goes through the material either. The magic of re-shaping the tip to work with plastics is that you gain quality you never known existed until you try it yourself with ease and result way above what you get using the wrong tool

[@docholiday3800]

I've always just used a pilot hole and a dremel with the grinding cone

[@Gaming_Biker]

@@Pulverrostmannen You literally just destroy the versatility of your bits & likely their effectiveness by doing that. There is no need to grind your bits. If you have the proper speeds & feeds between your tool material & the material you're planning on cutting into, you'll be just fine as long as you cut straight. Ppl not cutting straight or running at the proper speeds & feeds will screw up the work, no point in marring up your tools to compensate for the inability to do simple arithmetic.

[@thatdangGuy101]

I would also recommend a stepped drill bit. I've used them for drilling holes in acrylic control panels and they turn out clean. Best of luck!

[@BuilditFunky]

That was what I was going to share

[@KillaMilla0513]

I think the rez is to skinny to use a step bit for the size he needs. Personally I would use Dimond hole saws made for titles or marble.

[@KillaMilla0513]

That Rez has a sh*t lay out for being made for that case

[@S10Reaper]

A good suggestion would be after drilling your first pilot hole, gradually increase your drill bit size using multiple drill bits up to your desired hole size. That way your not having to remove so much material with one drill bit at once. Water is good for for keeping the drill bits and acrylic cool. The main point like you said is keeping it from getting hot so it doesn't have to be any kind of fancy coolant, water is perfect.

[@Jd-zl7mn]

That and I'd have that drill screaming fast no pressure on that drill.

[@dantecoal7584]

As someone who has to drill and tap a *LOT* in my line of work, I can 100% attest to using a proper thread tapping oil. Check that what you're using won't harm the material you're tapping, but the viscosity of the oil, plus it's thermal wicking properties, do a ton more than water will if you're serious about tapping clean holes with no breakage or tear out.

[@janlesinski4719]

Nope that will cause an aggressive grab cut which will break the plastic

[@RichWhiteUM]

@@dantecoal7584 Absolutely. Always use tap oil. It cools and lubricates without getting hot itself. Water is not a lubricant in and of itself and will get hot.

[@flikflak24]

From personal experience as a machinest I world actually go straight to full size and use a plastic specific drill ( witch is sharper and have a different point anglele and less turns on its helix)

[@darrenskjoelsvold]

I love watching these videos because it saves me the trouble of trying to make a custom loop myself. Thank goodness for the advancements in fans and CPU heatsinks.

[@jolness1]

Love these more personal feeling videos. Like the old days. Phil does amazing work and love what he adds to the content but nice to see stuff like this too

[@SaraMorgan-ym6ue]

that cable mess is to gross🤮🤮🤮

[@erictrinque6513]

Jay, acrylic has its own Bit, high angle, tapered, tapping acrylic uses slightly oversized drill bits to tap ratio, IE thread edgagment % is lower to the diameter of the hole. MCMASTER-CARR carries everything you will need. Also, sheet metal Step-Drill bits can be handy for chamfering edges, or even drilling holes, preffereably single cut bit.

[@nectar9403]

This is the most helpful comment. 😊 acrylic bit, and drill from both sides. Smoove holes.

[@imboredidid1]

great advice! idk how more people havent suggested using the 60 degree bits. they are literally made for plastic/acrylic. McMaster-Carr is exactly where I got everything I needed!

[@hegga_nm]

That's a damn good result for doing it by hand! Two things I've learned from drilling into acrylic is that drilling the hole starting with small pilot one and increasing the bit size few times in between, combined with taping over the spot you are drilling into with painters tape etc. will help a lot to prevent cracking.

[@Thurgosh_OG]

Taping over with clear tape is better as you can still see what's going on.

[@hegga_nm]

@@Thurgosh_OG agree for visibility but I prefer painter's tape over clear tape as some clear tapes can leave residue, specially if you leave it on for some time.

[@Tigrha]

i´d do just the same thing .. i did some drilling into acrylic not long ago with hand drill and using same thing (slowly increasing hole size) i managed to drill holes without need for any "cooling" the difference of those two drills is just too big to consider it safe especially when you manage the pressure by hand (its easy to push just a bit too much)

[@markhackett2302]

@@Thurgosh_OG Opaque material-like tape is less prone to cracking, though. Just paint on top of it where you are going to drill, not on the acrylic underneath the tape.

[@krillen64]

I really enjoy videos like this from time to time. It's nice cause it's not the normal for the channel and a nice throwback to how they were when it was just you.

[@MrRock861261]

Use a drill bit slightly smaller then your finished hole once halfway though flip the part and go from the backside and it wont crack. Also tape the front of it and drill though the tape it will stop the recutting/chipping

[@infinitywulf]

This right here, learned that back in the day cutting a fan hole in my acrylic side panel.

[@ItsAMeAndrew]

Tape is the way, i have had no issues drilling though acrylic when using tape on the area you want to drill through

[@peterleblanc661]

For thin acrylic get yourself a step drill bit. That solved all my problems cracking 1/8 and 1/4 acrylic. Also very handy tool to have in the kit for many other things as well.

[@Denastus]

Does water help with cracking? I've seen videos where people submerge acrylic in water to prevent cracking.

[@marcogenovesi8570]

@@Denastus water acts as lubricant (also oil is fine) and this helps when drilling to keep the bit from seizing. If the bit seizes the motor will break the acrylic

[@hquest]

Or just progressively increase the size of the drill bit, while watering for lubrication. You can't do a 3mm (1/8") hole then step up to a 13mm (1/2") without cracking the heck out of it.

[@dobermanownerforlife3902]

​@@hquest run the drill in reverse. Scrape the plastic away, don't cut it.

[@jeroenk3570]

Yes, a step drill is the way, it doesn't "bite"as much. And a drill press and a proper 1/4 BSP19 tap with tap wrench.

[@michaelp5470]

Jay, if you warm up the acrylic to around 120 degrees you lessen the chance of cracking and spidering. Also, once you begin to drill through, flip it over and finish drilling on that side. You'll have a better surface to use the tap that way. Clear epoxy is a great friend too when it comes to covering cracks and spiders up.

[@waynelove6851]

Hi Jay & Co. good to see a lot of people trying to help.. I have spent 30 years (yes i''m old) working with acrlic switch boards in the marine industry. A simple solution to drilling a hole is to put the drill in reverse at high speed. The drill bit tip heats up and punches a nice neat hole with no chance of cracking, good luck

[@michaelcard1973]

They do make specific drill bits for Acrylic.

[@M.Ramakers]

I'm still waiting for Phill to edit his face onto a fill port and make it a Phill port 😂

[@jaybird0312]

Hahaha, good one XD

[@imboredidid1]

after having to drill into several different thicknesses of acrylic plates for my wall mounted PC, here are some tips that I found out along the way: 1. get plastic/acrylic drill bits! having the sharp 60 degree bits makes a world of difference for any hole over 1/8in. 2. like you mentioned, a drill press will greatly help as does the water for lubrication/heat dissipation 3. instead of clamping directly onto wood, I used a thick piece of spare acrylic for the backing. when going from one material to another, the different densities can cause the drill bit speed to change drastically and suddenly. I actually cracked the acrylic practice a few times because of this. so why not use the same material as backing? this fixed the issues I was having at least. 4. T-handle for tapping, you said it yourself Jay. 5. no notes on your counter sink work, that looked perfect! Best of luck, can't wait for the next update!

[@tristanxxxx]

Fantastic as always. Jay takes us through the trial and error so that our first time goes that much smoother. Thanks guys, these kinds of videos are both entertaining AND highly useful. When I do eventually do this myself, I'll have a lot more confidence having watched/studied this video.

[@jameslewis2635]

Jay, I would suggest buying a drill-press conversion kit. In your line of work a drill press is not an every day piece of equipment so a larger floor standing one would be unused most of the time. However you can get conversion kits that let you mount a hand drill in a structure essentially making it a drill press. I could see that being a useful piece of gear for case modding.

[@WelshProgrammer]

I have a mini one for my Dremel too 😂

[@DBRONCOSfan]

I have a Ryobi bench drill press. Was 200 bucks, works great. Drilled all the holes for a staircase railing. Speed might be a problem though. Without modifying pulleys, 630rpm is as low as she goes. Lube may help and a light hand on the downforce.

[@jondonnelly4831]

He has plenty of room and budget.

[@ETEcco]

Harbor freight sells drill presses for like $150.

[@marklange8369]

Home Depot has portable multi angle drill guide that gives you drill press precision using standard corded and non corded hand drills for under $40.

[@gimpxors3]

Others will have Ideas but to add in my experience, I've built multiple acrylic display cases where I've had to drill and weld them. There's special drill bits to use with acrylic. The ones I've used with great results has a tip that looks like an arrow head. Before drilling I spray some WD-40 spray for lubricant and cooling. What is going to crack the acrylic is the friction created as the bit constantly slips and adds little shocks which can produce small fractures in the plastic. WD-40 does a great job at reducing the friction. Drill at a slow/medium speed. You also don't have to worry about pressing down to hard, as long as you aren't putting all your weight on it, applying arm pressure is fine.

[@malkyprijemny7077]

Gimpxors3:.... "WD40 for Cooling" meanwhile, big part of petroleum inside:... "Waiting for little bit more pressure to burn this fuckin house down"

[@gimpxors3]

@@malkyprijemny7077 I mean I'm a chemical engineer, you aren't going to burn the house down or anything with using wd-40 to drill through acrylic. Decent meme reply but doesn't hold any weight in reality. I've also used it to cut acrylic with jigsaw where I've melted the acrylic from heating up the blade too much. Still nowhere near enough to ignite WD-40.... It's fine.

[@Born_Stellar]

i've never had to lube acrylic to get good holes or cuts. you just need the correct tools.

[@tcs007]

Easiest way to drill through plastic is with a bit with no flutes (Step bit works well) and heat up the bit with a torch- melt your way through it. Much cleaner and it wont chip or crack the plastic.

[@dobermanownerforlife3902]

Or just drill in reverse. Heat is created. Running in reverse scrapes the plastic instead of cutting it.

[@darikwillson9182]

I used to work in an acrylic fab shop. We would dull the "bite" of the drill bits parallel to the length of the bit. We used 135 degree bits. This prevents the bit from grabbing and tearing out the acrylic. We drilled from 1/8" up to 5/8" with no pilot holes. Perfect holes with hand drills, no tear out, no going super slow. Also, use a liquid plastic polish as a lubricant for tapping the holes. Oil = no good for acrylic. Amazon has straight (not tapered) g1/4 taps for under $10 US.

[@mrfawkes9110]

Bradpoint drills are the secret to good clean holes in acrylic. Apply masking tape and go slowly with a high spindle speed. Use water, not oil, for cooling. Working your way up in sizes(like everyone has suggested) will often lead to out of round holes at best and cracking at worse.

[@AlphaMachina]

Couldn't you just have made the return also have a fill port in it? Like, run the return and then put a T splitter in it facing up, so when you take the top of, you can just fill it through that. Would that work?

[@Lessenjr]

I was thinking the same thing, then I realized he's got more fans above and no reasonable access.

[@AlphaMachina]

@@Lessenjr That's true. Kind of boxed in.

[@wofdtechnicianhdk-valand-s2484]

Recommended drill bits for drilling acrylic are spade drill bits with pre cutters. Never had any trouble with cracking using those. Make sure you have a flat surface underneath that you can drill into, and clamp the acrylic to it so it can not move when drilling (using something soft inbetween, like leather, so the clamp don't scratch it) . Then drill as straight as possible, preferably with a drill press. The rpm should not be too high, otherwise friction can melt the acrylic. A laser cutter is otherwise an excellent tool for acrylic.

[@jimbosun2]

Brilliant. Love new tools and going through the process of learning what tools are needed.😎

[@MartinBalle7]

A tip would be to flip the part when you half way through and finishing the hole for the other side. That would give you a smaller risk of chipping the plastic. Another tip when you get the drill press is to start the tap in the chuck and turning it by hand that way it start straight and you can finish it with a tap wrench 🛠️

[@xomom4543]

you should try it with a forstner or spade bit to see if you might get better results next time around

[@Pr0toc01]

For drilling something like acrylic, a STEP Drill bit is the weapon of choice. The water is a good call to keep it cool. What really gets you is that the acrylic will heat up as your drilling. This can cause the material to grab the drill bit causing the bit to rip out chunks.

[@eclsnowman]

If you want to drill acrylic, and you don't mind modifying the bit... grind the tip at a lower angle like 60deg (aka pointy tip). A standard 118deg chisel point drill bit isn't great for acrylic, especially when it breaks through the back.

[@siddheshsharma2560]

"Terrible" is optimistic

[@Noob._gamer]

Leave pc gaming it's the end only cloud gaming is our future not pc or gpus . Consumer market will end. No laptops no hardware No consoles only cloud pc , cloud gaming, and phone's are our future . Hii Indian bro

[@siddheshsharma2560]

@@Noob._gamer hello bro!

[@scarecrow5848]

​@@Noob._gamer your comment is wrong in literally every way. Go back and actually do some research.

[@dobermanownerforlife3902]

​@@Noob._gamer is that why every cloud service has died?

[@David-yx3bd]

The reason these videos do so well is because they are quite literally what the PC space is supposed to be: Look. Cool stuff. Screwing around and having fun with tech. Not smashing whatever the latest low hanging fruit is to get drama clicks.

[@jeremiahwilliamson6025]

So I work in aerospace field and we hand drill in acrylic all the time. We use reamer's to open holes to their final demotions. Also, they have guide bushings that will allow you to hand drill perfect perpendicular holes.

[@dobermanownerforlife3902]

To drill plastic sheeting use standard drill bit and run in reverse. Use the heat build up to slowely work your way through. Cracking comes from the edges catching. In reverse you are scraping and not cutting.

[@matthewday7565]

Brought back memories, metalwork at school.... Drilling acrylic disks to make a handle for a hammer, using a bit something like that size in the drill press, wasn't going very fast and the next guy was giving me the hurry up, so I added a little more pressure and the drill bit just exploded. Fortunately, I wasn't one that needed to be nagged to put the shield down, so it just clattered the shield

[@chemmustang656]

Years ago I helped a fried of mine put together a plexiglass subwoofer box. We found out quickly that using a steady stream of water when drilling holes prevented it from cracking and chipping. We found that oil worked also, but it's rather messy. Besides helping to lubricate while drilling the water helps to dissipate the heat generated by the drill bit which, from my understanding, is what will cause plexiglass, and acrylic, to crack.

[@xDownSetx]

The results were really great at the end! Look at grabbing some v-drill and tap guides, they will help you keep things square. I had great results mixing Dawn dish soap with water while drilling and tapping my block.

[@AzraelsTear]

I have machined many types of plastics over the years, it can be tricky. Solid work holding, even pressure, constant speed and coolant on the cutter all help. Good luck on this adventure.

[@ZoeyR86]

some things to know. use a Sharp high speed steel not coated drill bit. warm up the acrylic to apx 90~120 F this with help get it closer to GTT (glass transition temp) giving it a bit more flexibility to handle the shock load from drilling and tapping. warm the tools to around the same temp and go slow. don't let the tools heat up to much or it will gum up grab and break it. use 3in1 oil when tapping.

[@ZoeyR86]

3rd option is reach out I live in chino hills as well and have multiple CNC machines we can make all the custom distro's and blocks you want. I have 3d scanning tools as well so we can get a perfect fit username = email

[@YoloVib3s]

Jay 10,20,30,40 & 50mm G1/4 extensions are a life saver. Also use painters tape on the front and back of the acrylic before drilling to prevent cracking. Remove the tape after you tap & counter sink the hole.

[@zertoil]

Normally when working with something that you don't want tear out in wood, or cracking in acrylic, you go half way then flip over the piece and drill from the other side. Presto, no cracking or tear out. So the moment you get that extra bite, stop, flip it, drill from the other side. Also, slap on some tape on the opposite side of the drilling. That will help retain the water. Lastly, use no slip tool drawer liner material between the bench and acrylic. That will help with and additional vibration absorption. Plus it helps to use a nice sharp carbide drill bit.

[@aleksandrbmelnikov]

Here's an idea that might help. Thread the inside of thick walled acrylic tubing. Slice off ~1 см to create a threaded bushing. Sand and polish flat sides. Make O-ring seat on one side. Then use acrylic bonder to attach outside hole made through tank wall. Acrylic bonder does not glue parts, but chemically welds them, and dries perfectly clear. You could even make the new port long as you want. While at it, redo all ports you will be using to make them stronger.

[@bukithd]

Jay's favorite build method: Pick every component that ~almost~ fits together perfectly.

[@kewing827]

A trick to drilling things that you don't want to chip on the backside. If you can flip the material over to drill from both directions do that - drill just over halfway thru and then flip the material over and drill from the opposite side. It drastically reduces that chance of chipping and cracking from the drill blowing out the opposite side from where you start. Also, tape on both sides helps to provide additional surface tension/strength to avoid that chipping and cracking.

[@xmacleod]

I have the same FLT360 reservoir in my computer. My top radiator is an AlphaCool crossflow, and the outlet is a bit past the reservoir. I have a tube coming straight down from it and making a 90 back while also a 90 to that bottom inlet (the one on the right). It's basically a quarter-spiral that I bent freehand. I'm happy with it. I've gotten nothing but compliments on it.

[@onedsc1]

Amazing .. love this Jay please more of this

[@reesesman8821]

I've been pretty nervous to try new things lately but you've really been inspiring me on that front. If you can make mistakes and Try and over come them I can too

[@AlkDarksniper]

Hi Jay, for drilling acrylic, you have to use a dull drill bit. Start with an 1/8 diameter and work the way up to the proper size, and use mid-high speed

[@conserve_liberalism]

I've seen a jeweler on YT use a neat trick while wet drilling. If you want to keep a steady small stream use a disposable water bottle and pin prick it. Opening the cap and aim it at your drill bit. When you're done, cap it again and the vacuum will kill the stream. Refill as needed.

[@blackmetalchemist]

Watching the fabulousness of the jank, but professionalizing it, brought great enjoyment.

[@tobiasgiering6537]

I made a port in my FLT 120. I used a steel drill bit, but new steel drill bits are too sharp and will brake the edges of your hole out. A tip i found was to drill in a concrete block first to dull the edges of the drill bit. worked perfectly.

[@dnn1158]

Really nice you getting a drill press. Here's my tips to machine this as a machinist that worked almost daily in plastic for the last decade 1: mix about 20% wd40 into the water to use as coolant/lupricate 2: if you can adjust rpm on the drill press, make it go around 100rpm/min 3: have a small wood piece or something below, similar to how you used the desk in this video 4: small pressure like you did follow those steps and it's pretty hard to screw it up :)

[@Kingxeyesore]

Create a pool of water around the drill site using a ring of putty/clay or duct seal. Works like a charm. Learned it drilling into aquariums.

[@FuzzyBrunty]

i enjoy how relateable Jay is. "This is where it would be good if i had a..." in which other tech youtubers got machines for literally everything.

[@flikflak24]

You could also just use a annular cutter of the right size or plastic drill bit ( yes they make drills made specifically for plastic ( they are sharper and way looser/less helix ) I used some myself at work )

[@sparkyenergia]

It's been a minute since I drilled into perspex. You can buy dedicated perspex bits. The tip angle is different to regular bits. However they were quite expensive 15 years ago when I looked. What you can do, is buy a set of the cheapest crappy high speed steel (HSS) and then just bore them full depth into a piece of concrete. I did this, it worked remarkably well. I still have the set of 'perspex bits' I made this way.

[@Asniper]

Love these styles of videos with thought process and problem solving

[@AtariBorn]

When drilling in acrylic, always run you drill bit in reverse, to tap your hole. It takes longer but you're guaranteed no cracks or shattering. Once your hole is drilled, run the bit forward to ream the hole out.

[@shryko]

one trick I learned in shop class... use masking tape to mark where you want to drill, and it helps for smaller size drill bits avoiding both skipping and chipping.

[@mjktrash]

One VERY big tip to drilling material like this where a drill press is critical, by snugging the quill down on the press with the quill lock, it prevents the drill from "over-feeding" on its own (from the spiral of the drill bit). It's a huge improvement in drilling quality.

[@DesignsByIFR]

High speeds drill bits, not too much pressure, you can start with a small pilot hole and get bigger or use some WD40 as lube. Having some supporting material below like a spare bit of wood always helps as well

[@nbest]

At HomeD they have a drill stand for electric drills. I use mine for 3d model drilling. It gives a stable base for an electric drill with a pull down lever so you can keep consistent pressure

[@MattStofko]

I've used the combo of a Bitspower air exhaust fitting with a 3-way splitter to solve the problem of only have one top port in a distro plate. I kept the air exaust fitting off when filling, and then used it to close the top port in the 3-way (which was attached to the distro plate).

[@3ujin]

what a task to go through for watercooling setups.. you gotta have a lot of love and passion to do this and maintain it

[@foxpopuli6982]

Jay, you're the best mix of tech tuber, AvE, and This Old Tony I love it! Keep on going, and collaborate with some of the guys that know the stuff you want to learn.

[@breaux2806]

Best tip I can give for drilling acrylic is to use diamond hole saws. They kind of sand away the material instead of cutting. You can go fast with water as a lubricant but if you run out of lubricant it will start to melt. It never chips the acrylic like a drill bit

[@tomaszodwald]

How about 3D printing a template for a drill to sit in? You'd get a perfect 90 degrees and it won't wobble that much.

[@AnnoyingRash]

These videos are awsome! Modding and just coming up with solutions

[@aliasmarkus]

Clearly there were no mistakes made in the production of this video! However, there were lots of "Learning Opportunities"!!! Love your work Jay. I love that you're not affraid to 'Give it a go". With an attitude like that you could almost pass as a Aussie! 🤣

[@ajslim79]

there are special drillbits for glass, that go very well with acrylic

[@coulomjo]

I love that kind of content. Keep em coming!

[@craig7264]

When I have done it before I start with a small drill bit then I use the next size up until I have the right size hole. You are going from a small drill bit to a big drill bit which will chip the acrylic. It may take several drill bits to get the correct hole you want but its works.

[@Surms41]

You really think out what you're saying. As you explain the 90 on the bottom, and the fitting on the right to drain off the fitting around the rad, I thought that as I was watching. lol. Smart jay, love ya!

[@leppychaun]

The lazy suzzane ..... omg never thought about that !!! Def getting one before my next build or upgrade !!

[@briancollins7296]

i got one of those amazon drill press stands that you put a hammer drill into, and i mounted it to 3/4" steel pipe (had to shave down from 27mm to 25mm, not easy to do) so i can move it between benchtop size to a 5' floor stand. on top of that, i can then take it all apart to store in minimal space, because my workshop is whenever the landlady has her vehicle out of the garage.

[@kenanthony2962]

I just checked out the video today. I would recommend a stepped drill and water is always good to use on acrylic or plastic. Good job on your test plate keep it up you will get better at it in time

[@engineerz_hero6771]

You could use cutting oil. I use Oatey with steel projects so it should keep the acrylic cool. I would also suggest gradually increasing size of the bit till you reach final diameter

[@Marc-Andre_G]

You can also use 1 or 2 smaller drill bits before finishing with your 7/16

[@RetinaBurner]

After drilling the pilot hole, drill halfway through, then flip the work and finish the drill from the other side. This will minimize the risk or tear-out, and also give a cleaner result. Also, gradually increasing the drill size will help with preventing tear-out as well. Perhaps a stepped drill bit set might be a good investment along with the drill press.

[@8523wsxc]

Use soap water when drilling into acrylic glass to prevent overheating which leads to melted material. Metal drill bit is fine, leave masking film on. Start with a small drill and fast rotation speed and work your way up to the diameter you need while lowering speed.

[@SSYoung125]

Drilling Plexiglass is SOOOO hard. I feel your pain. If you need to cut plexi I recommend a grinder not a circular saw or reciprocal saw. I was one of maintenance employees that had to Plexiglass my work during covid. 2 museums 2 restaurants, 1 garden center, 1 petting zoo

[@DinoAlibasic]

This video was so helpful, I've learned that I need to keep clean and wet my holes, thanks Jay! Jokes aside, You did a great job drilling that last one, I could not tell the difference if it was blind picking

[@redthorne2836]

This was a great video, just like the other one. The occasional unique perspective and shooting style is quite enjoyable.

[@JETWTF]

Sandwich your part between two sacrificial sheets of acrylic(prevents chipping on both sides of the hole) and step up the drill bits from pilot to finish rather than directly from pilot to finish, every other bit used in the index will do it. Going from pilot direct to full size is the same as skipping the pilot hole, stepping up you remove less material each time but much cleaner and less risk of cracking.

[@alexmind9804]

Thank you Jay. I learned skills from the moment I subscribed this channel. You always do great jobs.

[@karduar]

I really like these less produced more rambling thinking Jay moments. Thanks for the behind the scenes bud. Hope your feeling better.

[@Jalahr77]

Use a spade bit or a brad point bit to score the outside diameter of the hole. Nice and clean. Make sure you drill over a piece of scrap wood so you don't get tearout on the underside.

[@FARBerserker]

for liquid coolant, mineral oil works pretty well usually. and then when you are done making the hole, maybe melt the inside a bit to make it smoother before threading it?

[@surpriserom]

Well, you can drill full reverse, it is used for wood to prevent chipping and you can try doing the hole from both side as it chip when you have a really thin width left, when you drill from both side, it goes through in middle of material so you are not putting pressure on the thin part.

[@AeroEngr69]

Sandwich the acrylic between two thicker rigid pieces of wood (drilling through the top piece, through the acrylic, and into the bottom piece). This provides support for the entire surface area and helps to greatly reduce cracking potential. Then use a small 1/16" bit to start the center and slowly work your way up changing sizes by about 1/32" at a time. Also, reduce your cutting speed to only a few hundred RPM's. Spinning the bit that fast will create hot spots and cracking. Cooling agents / lubricant aren't required. Edit: You also don't need to put much of a chamfer on the hole. The o-ring will seal regardless. So don't worry too much about that. The chamfer is there to relieve internal and external stress to prevent material failure.

[@nickdrozd]

I noticed that putting a piece of wood above and under the acrylic helps a lot with chips and whatnot. especially on a drill press.

[@Ruinedmovie]

@JayzTwoCents Most of the problems with the drill bit was it is that metal/wood bit. They are a 15-degree tip grind, and plastic bits have a 60-degree grind. They look like pencils really, they cut differently shaving the work and they reduce tear-out. IF you do get a drill press which will help, the correct bits will help even more. But you will probably have to go online for them. Most big box stores will not carry them.

[@TheBitKrieger]

Apparently you have a vastly different definition of "horribly wrong" - dude, this is really good! Without a drill press? Good job!

[@raycymbalisty5503]

if you use a ceramic porcelin spade bit it works great on acrylic even on plexi i used them all the time when drilling into wall tile and floor tile installing hand rails and sorts

[@andrewscotti1136]

two tips, for a dry method use painters tape over your hole are.. also if you have a tray or pan large enough submerge the whole piece by at least 1/2 inch and drill it out while underwater.

[@pandoo____]

Acrylic cuts well using a brad point drill bit from my experience. Its the type of drill bit used for woodworking.

[@dedr4m]

I have a few tips for you on drilling those holes in thick acrylic: 1 - Warm up the plastic to at least 80C but below the melting point and below the warping point, this reduces chipping as the plastic is more softened by the drill friction at that point. 2 - use some form of lubricant, ideally a gel type, but don't use petroleum jelly stuff, the naphtha and (forgets name of other chemical range mid typing) will etch into the plastic giving a matte opaque finish if lucky, dissolved plastic if unlucky (If Polystyrene based "acrylic" glass.) 3 - a nice sharp drill bit, make sure it's the sharpest one you got, the sort of HSS for metal drilling, but hasn't been used for metals, that's the bit you'd need. Hopes you find these tips and hopes this helps.

[@Yock1980]

When drilling acrylic you put it between two pieces of wood and make sure they are tightly pressed against the acrylic. Depending on hole size you ofc. start with a smaller drill bit.

[@CaraesNaur]

After drilling the pilot hole, drill half way through from both sides with the larger bits, stepping up through the sizes if necessary.