Currently there is genunine difficulty drilling holes into very hard large porcelain tiles, granite, marble etc. Especially when the items have already been fitted.
Bathrooms need upto 30 holes drilling for loo roll holders, mirrors, shower doors, shower heads. taps, radiator pipes and such like.
I patented, built and developed a unique solution to the problem. The alternatives are ARMEG and RUBI but their drills cost many hundreds of pounds.
Instead we provide a low cost solution to the problem. For example less than =A340.
Its a diamond core drill. And a guide plate. The guide stops slipping.
And diamonds are the hardest substance so grind nicely.
Looks like an interesting solution. I found the conventional water cooled carbide bits (ARMEG etc) work, but are quite expensive at £1-£2 per hole given the relatively short life of the bit. How many holes would you expect to get out of one of your drills if you keep it cool and look after it?
John, if you look at the Drilling Service part of the web site (about 3/4 down the page, just below the maps) are pictures of the two types of lubrication needed.
It does not tell me how many holes you get out of each bit though. The solid carbide ones I have used in the past can end up doing a few as 10 holes per drill! (at ~£25 each)
There are two main solutions to drilling hard tile. The first is top end kits at =A3299 by Armeg and Rubi (see Screwfix catalogues etc) and then there is our solution at =A330-=A340.
We are mid market and aimed at tradesmen with no access to those top end kits. At =A340 our kits are an easily quantifiable cost that can be added to a customers invoice.
But the kits dont last forever. They just last one job. Say for a complete bathroom installation. So that way when an installer prices up a job using porcelain tiles they can know their drill costs in advance.
Each drill bit is capable of drilling ten holes in hard (very hard) materials but we cover ourselves and quote 2-6 on the back of the packs.
I have used one of their cutters of specific metric size to cut large holes in 10mm limestone tile plus one of the smaller mixed kits to cut various smaller holes.
They worked as billed and still seem to have life left. The holes were clean and the alignment jig, which is plastic with soft plastic pads on the back to stop it sliding, actually works well as described.
I also drilled some holes in some 30mm slate, equally effectively. Depending on the situation, I used a tray of water on the drill press or an 18v cordless drill freehand.
For doing 2-3 bathrooms, I think that it's a cost effective solution, especially because of the specific sizes. Most of the cheaper sets of cutters didn't have one within 5mm of the size I needed and I needed better accuracy.
I can't vouch for the behaviour of the products with ceramic glazed tiles or porcelain because I haven't tried.
Also in slight defense, Richard does appear to have his real name on his web site and makes the intellectual property claims about the jig and its use in this application, not the drills. He has posted here with his real name as well, so to that extent, and because the product does do as claimed (at least on the materials I drilled).
I don't think that regular readers of this newsgroup would expect me to say good words about something that didn't work as advertised or which didn't do a good precision job. Behind all of this, I don't have any reasons to believe that this is anything other than a genuine attempt to establish a small business.
However........ words for the wise....
Generally in UK.D-I-Y people will happily tolerate a commercial recommendation to buy from the business that they run provided that the person contributes other useful information and doesn't habitually push their product or service. Among the regular participants, these people, and what they do is quite well known and reasonably obvious to newcomers.
An occasional commercial message about something genuine, applicable and verifiable is usually OK as well as long as it's a one off.
The blurb was posted a few weeks ago and this is the second time. The result is that some participants begin to become irritated and others, noticing this, may avoid the company or product as a result.
At a third or subsequent attempt, I feel that I would have to be making comments along the lines of "good product", "not happy with the marketing".
Perhaps a better solution would be for a reference to be put into the tiling sections of the FAQ or Wiki. I think that that would provide greater longevity and I would be willing to vouch for the product on that basis.
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