Drill Bits

Masonry Drill Bits And Ceramic Tile

It doesn’t matter if drilling into ceramic tile is something that you will only need to do one time or on a regular basis, masonry drill bits might be a tool that you will need to own.  While there are some other options available, such as an annular cutter, your best bet always comes from being prepared with any tools you may need for a project.  There are several issues that you may encounter while working with ceramic.  To give you a better idea about what kinds of tools you may need, here is a quick look at some of the most common problems and why they exist.

There are two primary problems that people will run into when dealing with ceramic tile.  The first is that during the drilling process they will shatter the tile.  Tiles don’t often just crack.  They either make it through the process without a problem or they shatter.  Another common problem is that the drill bit will start to smoke because of the friction that it creates.  In fact, sometimes your drill bit can turn bright, cherry red.  In order to handle the obstacles that go hand in hand with ceramic, most people turn to either masonry drill bits or an annular cutter.

It is important to remember that ceramic tiles are artificial.  You cannot find “ceramic” in the natural environment.  However, just like the natural environment, some ceramic is denser and tougher than others.  For example, real porcelain can be incredibly difficult to work with.  Porcelain is hard to deal with for a few different reasons.  The first is that it has a much higher silica content than regular clay-based tile.  Additionally, it is normally fired in a kiln at a much higher temperature, for a much longer amount of time.  Finally, the high silica content will make cutting it with a snapper tile cutter nearly impossible because it cannot withstand the pressure.  This is why masonry drill bits are essential to the success of working with ceramic.

The key to dealing with tile all lies within the first few centimeters.  Most ceramic tiles are made out of clay with a thin silica glaze.  Once you get through the silica, getting through the rest of the clay is a snap.  The carbide tip is what makes masonry drill bits so much more effective.  When using masonry bits on silica it is important to start off at very low drill speeds, otherwise you will shatter it.  By using a drill that spins too fast or by applying too much pressure, you can end up without a hole..as well as some ugly scratches.

For the most part, masonry drill bits should be considered essential for anyone who will be working with ceramic tile.  It doesn’t matter if it is all porcelain or clay with a silica glaze.  However, if you find yourself in a situation where you need to drill larger holes than you have bits for, then consider using a diamond tip annular cutter.  This will allow you to create a larger hole, without shattering the tile.

For more information on masonry drill bits and annular cutter, visit hermanscentral.com

Range of Drill Bits

Grill Daddy GB91062S Grill Cleaning Tool $9.99 Steams baked on food and grease away as you brush. Easy to use, preheat, brush, rinse, and sterilize. Leaves grill spotless and sanitary. Specially designed stainless steel bristles clean in between grill grates and surfaces. Safe to use on steel, iron, and porcelain grills, hot or cold. Removable brush attachments for easy dishwasher cleaning. Built to last. The only cleaning tool you’ll ever nee…

No Weld Homebrew Kettle Valve Conversion Kit – Brass $23.50 Put a brass valve in the bottom of your homebrew kettle easily with this brass conversion kit! It’s designed especially for your homebrew beer equipment, so you can safely and easily empty the hot wort from your brew kettle directly into the fermentation vessel or through a wort chiller. The best part is, you don’t even have to do any welding! All you need is a 7/8-inch metal cutting drill bit to …

Multi-purpose Drill Scissor Knife Plane Chisel Sharpener $49.99 Overall dimension: 7-1/2″ X 6″ X 5-1/2″ , Cord length: 5Ft 7-1/2″…

Saint-Saens – Samson et Dalila / Domingo, Borodina, Leiferkus, Fink, Levine, Metropolitan Opera $10.98 SAINT-SAENS:SAMSON ET DALILA – DVD Movie…

Gyros 45-11276 Carbon Steel Wire Gauge Drill Bit #76 – Vial/12 $10.49 Gyros Carbon Steel Drills are flexible, extremely sharp and economically priced. They are ideal for drilling wood and plastic. These drills can be used in hand and motorized tools….

Wire Gauge Drill Bit #65 – Carbon Steel – Vial/12 $10.49 Gyros Carbon Steel Drills are flexible, extremely sharp and economically priced. They are ideal for drilling wood and plastic. These drills can be used in hand and motorized tools….

Wire Running As Easy As That: A Series of Training Tapes, Presented By Roy Bowling “This is the NTSC format 7VHS. Playable with multisystem VHS players and Televisions in the world.” [from the experience] “Take an entertaining and uncomplicated journey into the profession of running wire. Whatever type of wire installation you do, this series of videos contains all the information you need to hide wire professionally and save time and labor costs. Roy Bowling, a master of wire i…

Drillbit Taylor (Unrated Extended Survival Edition) $1.75 Like Owen Wilson himself, Drillbit Taylor has a loose, shaggy-dog appeal. Wilson plays a homeless ex-soldier who wants to emigrate illegally to Canada–and when three misfit high-school students hire him to protect them from bullies, he sets out to fleece them for the money he needs to get away. Naturally, this being a formulaic crowd-pleaser, he bonds with the kids and discovers that maybe his li…

Drillbit Taylor (Widescreen Edition) $1.82 Like Owen Wilson himself, Drillbit Taylor has a loose, shaggy-dog appeal. Wilson plays a homeless ex-soldier who wants to emigrate illegally to Canada–and when three misfit high-school students hire him to protect them from bullies, he sets out to fleece them for the money he needs to get away. Naturally, this being a formulaic crowd-pleaser, he bonds with the kids and discovers that maybe his li…

Drillbit Taylor (Extended Survival Edition) [Blu-ray] $6.36 Like Owen Wilson himself, Drillbit Taylor has a loose, shaggy-dog appeal. Wilson plays a homeless ex-soldier who wants to emigrate illegally to Canada–and when three misfit high-school students hire him to protect them from bullies, he sets out to fleece them for the money he needs to get away. Naturally, this being a formulaic crowd-pleaser, he bonds with the kids and discovers that maybe his li…