NeWcS
Well-Known Member
So I for one love this hobby because I love DIY and I love grass. I have made all sorts of systems(bubble cloner(pictured), Aero cloner, DWC, Etc.) I always find it to be a pain in the ass making holes in plastic for net pots and whatnot. I know they make drill bits for making holes in things but they seem costly and I have never seen one for say a 6" net pot.
So in the past I would always use a drill bit or a dremal to make holes in things. Again for small holes a drill worked fine and the dremal worked for bigger holes. My dremal skills aren't something I would use to enter a contest if you know what I'm saying. It worked but pretty sloppy.
So I figured out a better way for me to do it. Heat+metal+Plastic=hole. I have in the past used a soldering iron to make holes but it's lame. It will work but not ideal.
So what I did when I made my first cloner; I wanted to put 2" holes in it for netpot's or inserts. So I went to the dollar store and picked up some metal cookie cutters. They came with plastic on them so be sure to take the plastic off. Sometimes you can find them as big as you need. Sometimes you'll need to make your own, I use coat hangers. Just form them to the size you want, Place the hanger on a hot ass stove, let it heat up and drop it onto your bucket lid or whatever, where you want the holes. It does take time to make several holes as you have to reheat the 'circle' for each hole. But if you just need a 6" holes in a bucket lid to drop a net pot into or a few small holes it's no big deal.
If you'd like to make a bunch of holes and are willing to put in the time I would suggest doing it on a camping stove outside. Melted plastic smells like crap and probably not the safest thing to breath in.
If you're an industry grower and build all your own gear than spending the money for a proper drill bit would prob. be best. But for the grower who just needs a few holes made it works pretty good.
Thank you for reading.
So in the past I would always use a drill bit or a dremal to make holes in things. Again for small holes a drill worked fine and the dremal worked for bigger holes. My dremal skills aren't something I would use to enter a contest if you know what I'm saying. It worked but pretty sloppy.
So I figured out a better way for me to do it. Heat+metal+Plastic=hole. I have in the past used a soldering iron to make holes but it's lame. It will work but not ideal.
So what I did when I made my first cloner; I wanted to put 2" holes in it for netpot's or inserts. So I went to the dollar store and picked up some metal cookie cutters. They came with plastic on them so be sure to take the plastic off. Sometimes you can find them as big as you need. Sometimes you'll need to make your own, I use coat hangers. Just form them to the size you want, Place the hanger on a hot ass stove, let it heat up and drop it onto your bucket lid or whatever, where you want the holes. It does take time to make several holes as you have to reheat the 'circle' for each hole. But if you just need a 6" holes in a bucket lid to drop a net pot into or a few small holes it's no big deal.
If you'd like to make a bunch of holes and are willing to put in the time I would suggest doing it on a camping stove outside. Melted plastic smells like crap and probably not the safest thing to breath in.
If you're an industry grower and build all your own gear than spending the money for a proper drill bit would prob. be best. But for the grower who just needs a few holes made it works pretty good.
Thank you for reading.
