How to drill a hole in a glass jar

[Eric C Stoltzfus]

I am working on a project right now that would involve drilling a 3/4" hole in the bottom of a glass mason jar. I tried using a regular drill bit but the jar just broke. How do you drill a hole in a glass jar?

[Doug Dawson]

I am working on a project right now that would involve drilling a 3/4" hole in the bottom of a glass mason jar. I tried using a regular drill bit but the jar just broke. How do you drill a hole in a glass jar?

Very carefully with a diamond hole bit, angling it in to start and using plenty of water for lubricant.

[Bill Dufour]

Masonry bit. I would sit it on a soft rag or the lawn. Fill at least 1" deep with water for lube then drill from inside. No hammer drilling action.

[John Welty]

What I did
Go a big box store and get a diamond bit 3/4 inch, or a glass or tile cutting cutting bit. I used a bit for cutting granite. Put the jar you want a hole in in a bucket of water. You want to have the water cover the area you are going to drill to cool it as you drill. Drill semi slow , letting the bit do the work, don't force it through .
Good luck

[Steve Eure]

Another word of advise and caution. DO NOT use an electric drill to do this while drilling with water. Use a cordless drill and drill sloooooowly.
Also, when starting to drill, tilt the diamond bit at a slight angle to help get the hole started. Once you get a smiley faced looking groove in you glass, slowly straighten the bit to 90 degrees and continue drilling slowly with the gutting action under water. Starting at an angle helps the bit bite into the glass and helps to keep it from skating across.

[Bill Orbine]

You could take your mason jar to a glass place and..... might be cheaper and efficient!

[johnny means]

What this guy says. https://youtu.be/U_NtTBTGp20

[Günter VögelBerg]

Use a diamond hole saw and a drill press. Clamp your work piece to immobilize it. Make a "dam" around the edge of the hole with plumbers putty and put cutting fluid in it. I did a project that involved drilling through a dozen glass electrical insulators, which were about 3/4 inch thick, and using this method I believe I only broke one of them. I used my lathe chuck bolted to the drill press table as a clamp with a piece of bicycle inner tube between the chuck jaws and the glass.

[Larry Frank]

I agree with a diamond hole saw as they are pretty cheap. I recently drilled some glass on my drill press using about 50 rpm, light pressure, immersed in water, and be patient.

[Perry Holbrook]

Another option is to carve the hole with a simple sand blaster. It will not have a finished hole with square shoulders but if all you need is an access hole it is the quickest.

Just use some tape to cover the surrounding area, cut the tape off in the shape of your desired hole and blast away.

I've got a dedicated drill press set up for holes in glass. It uses diamond core bits with an attachment that pumps water thru the center of the hollow bit.

[Martin Wasner]

In an infinite universe, if you hit it just right with a hammer, you'll get exactly the hole you want.

I'd order an infinite number of jars.

Not helpful, just what flopped out of my head reading the thread title

[Wade Lippman]

Not saying this is right, but I've done it a couple times with nothing breaking.
Drill the smallest hole you can with a masonry drill. Then a larger one, and so on.
I used oil as a lube.

[Tom M King]

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rubi-3-4-in-Wet-Drill-Bit-5961/204074189

[Michael Costa]

Dremel glass cutting bit. High speed, very low pressure. It's a marathon, not a race. Take your time.