Yes doing it for the love of Pioneer and you who also love vintage audio. My name is Rick and I live in Minnenoplace, MN. eBay name colormesound. One day I needed a replacement glass for a Pioneer SX-1250. The glass cost a buck to be cut to size by a friend of mine who owns a hardware store. I worked for him for a few years as a teenager, learned to cut glass, I was horrible at first but learned the technic. When I bought the pre cut glass I checked 5 different glass shops, to drill a hole would cost me $40 a hole minimum. I ordered 1 and the job was awful. Chipped and scratched around the hole. Granted the chips could not be seen because the large tuner knob covered the chips but the scratches were seen outside the tuner knob. I bought two cut glasses for my beloved SX-1250. I tried the hole saws and they suck, jump around and busted the first piece of glass. I bought two more cut glass piece's and $80 worth of bits for glass and ceramics. These bits are good for about 15-18 holes. Then the drill time goes from 10 minutes to 20 minutes for 1 hole. Yeah I tryed water, oil, silicone spray, synthetic oil as a lubricant putting a bead of caulk around the drill point to hold the lubricants in place and the drill time took 30-40 minutes. Drill them dry at about 500 rpms and with new bits it takes from 10-12 minutes using a 1/8 inch pilot hole, 1/4 inch, then 1/2 inch and finally a 5/8 inch bite. Do not use cheap glass or ceramic hole saws from hardware stores or above mentioned stores, they are not round or true and rip the glass apart, aka China bits. I will continue to try new things to make this a faster and more economical process. The smoked glass I sell for a custom look costs me $4.77 each, they are thicker and have beveled edges, better craftsmanship and 8 mm thicker. That means I can apply more pressure on the glass and drill time is faster.
My packing is awesome, new box (25" X 6" X 6"). I use new bubble wrap and the latest rice based peanuts. Have not had a single glass broken yet, over 100 shipped.
Yeah Mark and others are correct thanks Mark, after all is spent I'm making about $12 bucks per dial glass before my time. I needed one new glass, took a chance and wow, so many audiophile friends wanted glass for Pioneers. I think the best advice I can give is if you ship a Pioneer, remove the tuning knob before shipping, it's solid aluminum and a small bump in shipping will break the glass. Meant to say earlier that of the 5 glass made, I put the other cut and drilled glass on eBay and it sold within a hour. I figured at that time I'm not alone. I can do this, yes I want to make a few bucks at the same time make these stereo's missing one part look good again while they sing. I remember seeing Pioneer, Sansui Marantz etc in Musicland, Audio King and a fire sale company called Banks as a kid. I was drooling, loved this awesome audio gear that cost as much as a 2year old car. You all be well, Rick