drilling holes in ceramic

[barry martin]

Shag:

SD> Hi. I am need to drill four holes in the ceramic tile in my bathroom to SD> hand a toilet paper dispenser? What is the best type of bit, carbide or SD> masonry? If these are not the best choice, what is? Thanks.

Probably have your project done by now -- I had some computer problems as have been off-line for a while.

Mounted towel bars on ceramic tile some time back. Used masking tape to mark where I wanted to drill, then took an awl and tapped that to maybe get a slight depression. Started off with the smallest bit I had and applied light pressure to the drill to get a hole started. (Seemed like nothing was happening for the longest time.) Got a depression started, increased the bit size by two, enlarged the depression some (another 5-10 minutes of drilling), increased the bit size again until I got to the size hole I needed.

- ¯ barry.martinþATþthesafebbs.zeppole.com ®

• This isn't an office. It's Hell with fluorescent lighting.

[Roger]

I use a bit from HD designed for ceramic tile and glass, it has a longer and sharper silicon carbide blade tip than the std masonry bit. Use wide masking tape to mark on, then use carbide awl to mark entry point, and nick the tile, so the drill doesn't wander. Use medium speed on the drill, with moderate pressure, pulling out when too hot, for cool off periods.