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drill into mirror?

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lakkdainen:
Thanks for all your thoughts on the weird ideas post.  :)

I think what I'd like to try is making the control panel surface a mirror.  I have no clue how to drill the holes in it though.  Can you drill into glass?  Maybe if it was between two sheets of wood it wouldn't crack?

Another way would be to chrome a surface somehow.  I know there are chrome paints, but I don't know if it is possible to get a mirror quality shine.

Thoughts?

Lilwolf:
I STRONGLY recommend not doing this.

why?

When you drill anything (especially something as fragile as mirror/glass) you actually are breaking it into a millions of small pieces.... BUT YOUR BREAKING IT!  

Yes, every small piece of dust will be 7 years bad luck.  In just a few minutes you can doom your entire existance on this planet... for what?  A cool control panel???  Is this really worth it?  Woudln't a wood control panel with a silvery laminent really do?  Do you really need the full mirror and all it's evil sadistic bad luck to go with it?  Consider your children!  Some will definately rub off on them as you walk buy a stack of books and your bad luck could knock them to the floor and mixing up all their homework!  Think of the horrors they will have to come up with asking friends not to come to their house because their afraid of what might happen!  Think of your segnificant other!  Some personal times might be very...well down right DANGEROUS if done with someone with enought bad luck... you could sprain something!

But other then that... I have no idea how to drill throught glass.  I would say very slow and very carefully!

;D

ArcadeFX:
You can buy mirrored acrylic at most hardware stores.  The Home Depot sells it where I live.  Then you can just drill and cut as normal.

Frobozz:
Yea, I'd recommend getting a mirror-substitute, since the problem with mirrors is the glass.  

If you're brave though, you need a special diamond chip grinding bit and a drill-press (hand drills won't do it unless you're REALLY good).  It literally grinds away the glass.  You have to go slow and gentle and wash the area with something for lubrication.   Note, the bit will have a taper, and will cut a slightly conical hole.

I doubt they have anything to cut large button holes though.

RandyT:
Go with the acrylic.

But if you REALLY want to drill through glass, you need diamond impregnated bronze tooling.  You can get "core" drilling tools at whatever diameter you want, but you will need to flood the area with coolant and use a drill press at high spindle speeds/slow feed rates.

It's messy, expensive and best left to professionals, but if you have the piece you want cut with the layout, you can probably have a local glass shop do it for you.

RandyT

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