Advice on drilling acrylic holes for screws.

[KingNeptunesBounty]

So I have been thinking about undertaking some acrylic projects for my first saltwater aquarium setup. Working with acrylic is a straight forward process but I cannot seem to find anything on drilling holes in Acrylic with threads for plastic screws. I know I can make keyhole slots and us Plastic thumb screws with plastic nuts on the other end but I was curious if their was something more stable. Any thoughts on this process?

 

[ecvernon]

I think you may want to drill and tap the hole so you can screw things in. i did this to add a ph probe holder to my calcium reactor

 

[SevTT]

So I have been thinking about undertaking some acrylic projects for my first saltwater aquarium setup. Working with acrylic is a straight forward process but I cannot seem to find anything on drilling holes in Acrylic with threads for plastic screws. I know I can make keyhole slots and us Plastic thumb screws with plastic nuts on the other end but I was curious if their was something more stable. Any thoughts on this process?

What you want is called a 'tap', and is commonly available as a 'tap set' or 'tap and die' set. It lets you thread the holes very professionally and is moderately easy to use. (But practice a bit first. )

 

[lemonyx]

This is old, but just my .02, always use the correct "pilot" bit to drill the hole with, use a wood boring drill bit that has spurs on the business end called brad point http://www.traditionalwoodworker.com/images/Twinland-Bradpoint-sm.jpg
as these drill the best and no grabbing. For a 1/4" x 20" size thumbscrew use a 13/64" brad point bit, then you can chuck your "tap" into your drill driver and go at it- slow speed.

I do it all the time