Tile drills - just what are they for?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Been tiling the bathroom with porcelain tiles. The sort that can be used for floors and walls. Being a bathroom lots of holes needed for fittings - so bought one of those expensive tile drills - the type with a sort of welded on tip and no flutes. And found it about the most useless drill I've ever bought. Drilling into walls restricts the amount of pressure you can apply - but all this thing did was act as an efficient heat generator. And I was using it at the recommended speed. Spent as much time dipping it in water to keep it cool as actually drilling. Then bought one of those newish universal drills - basically just an ordinary one with a fancy tip (and price to match) which did the job reasonably quickly.

[sm_jamieson]

They are fine for ceramic tiles with clay insides. Once you are through the glaze they grind their way through easily. But porcelain may be a different matter. Simon.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Use a diamond core drill on stone/ceramic. Surprisngly cheap.

[John Rumm]

If you mean the spear headed things, then yup they are useless or hard tiles. OK on cast iron though.

The ones with a triangle of solid carbide on the end are ok, but must be used with a constant water cooling spray.

The Bosch multimaterial bits will do hardish tiles when new.

[John]

Even a carbide drill can lose its sharpness and then it just creates heat. Access to a diamond grinding wheel will enable them to be resharpened if you know the technique.

[Paul D.Smith]

Having a single hole to drill once, on tiles that I didn't care about, and being a tight-wad, I tried a standard masonry drill in non-hammer mode and gentle pressure. It worked fine and I've done the same ever since. I wondered at the time what a "proper" tile drill was for!

Paul DS.

[John Rumm]

Try drilling a "proper" tile and you find out!

(drilling ordinary clay tiles is a world apart from porcelain ones)

[Rob]

Same here - I tried the tip (haha) at:

the drill bit simply folded 90 degrees under my (not inconsiderable) weight, slipped, and scratched the tile. Tried again with a masonry bit and masking tape - straight through.

Rob

[Huge]

The tiles I put up in my bathroom, I think it took me about an hour to drill 4 holes for a "tidy" in the shower. Bloody things. Shan't use those again.

[Dave Liquorice]

Plant spray and just keep drilling trying to balance the properties of lubricant, grinding paste and coolant. Mind I've not knowingly tackled porclein

I've been impressed by those as well, no need to change bits as you go from tile/plasterboard into the timber studwork. And they center well if you make a mark in the glaze with a center punch (or similar).

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Nor me - but I've always managed ordinary tiles with a masonry drill but no hammer action and slow speed with plenty pressure. That didn't work on these tiles. So I'm not quite clear what the purpose of these special tile drills is - or is it like these special paints they sell for everything?

Yes - I was happy with it. Apart from the price. ;-)

[Dave Liquorice]

I don't remember the set of three (5, 6 & 7mm B&D "Piranaha")I brought being particulary pricey, probably less than a tenner from B&Q. The tip is a slighly flattened bell curve.

[John Rumm]

I thought that was simply the name B&D gave to their ordinary masonry bits?

[Dave Liquorice]

Donno, what shape are Dave's tips? Ordinary masonary bits are 110 deg(I think) pyramids.