How do you drill holes in tiles without cracking them ?

[JDarvall]

Hello,

I've got 7 holes, about 1" diameter, to drill into tiles.

I bought a bit specially for the job, but its failing. Or me ?....its one of those things that has a masonary bit (1/4") in the middle of a cyclinder thats lined with diamond dust or something like that.

I've tried drilling, as lightly as possible, whilst running a trickle of water over it to keep it cool, on cardboard....and still the tiles cracks suddenly, usually near to finish. Frustrating.

So, its too brittle. Is there any technique that may help ? ...some little thing that may solve this problem ?

Or, is my only solution to get them professionally drilled ?

Thanks

[rick_rine]

I have had success drilling holes in tiles with a standard masonary bit but do not have the drill on hammer . My main experience has been for tap fittings etc and then I drill a series of holes in a circle and chip them out . Easy
Rick

[echnidna]

I have done it like Rick.
I have also used a grit edged hacksaw blade, Drill a hole through, thread the blade in and cut whatever shape you want.

[leeton]

I have found success in not going through the whole tile from one side, drill half way, then turn it over and come in from the other side...give it a try...may do the trick

[Ivan in Oz]

You might try drilling from the unglazed side.................
I was going to say "from the rear" but I know what you lot are like, lately,
I thought better of it; for a while

Also form a dam with Plasticine [or chewing Gum] and retain the water in the Damn.
Somewhere back in the past dim years gone by, I recall using Kero.
Yes! I know kero is good for some 'soft' metals also

[johnc]

Try the above, just make sure you don't press down on the drill, just let its own weight do the job on a slow speed. A slight rock can help speed things up a bit, but if the tiles are porcelain you can toss this and all the above straight out the window. Ceramic suits the above for the very tough porcelain clays you need special diamond bits which you can sometimes pick up on ebay.


John.

[maglite]

Try sticking some reasonably heavy duty tape over the area that you wish to drill.
Dont drill on hammer until you are thru the tile....if at all.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Copper tube.

I use offcuts of various sizes from air-con installs, which I notch around one end with a hacksaw to create "teeth." These will usually fit straight iiton my drill-press chuck, but for larger diameters (like your 1") I make a simple jam-chuck. Ivan's already mentioned the next step: a circle of plasticine around the future hole and fill 'er with kero. To reduce breakout I'd drill from the front to the back using a rubber mat on the drill-press table. Drilled slowly, but with fairly firm pressure. Keep the kero level topped up... and remember not to smoke.

The whole process can be sped up quite a bit by using a cutiing agent. Whatever's available'll do; valve lapping compound, lapidary cutting paste, even fine grain sand in some cases. In a pinch I won't turn my nose up at certain harsh, abrasive kitchen cleaners although I don't recommend any product containing bleach if you like your tools.

[JDarvall]

Ta Fella's. I'll give it a go.

[Wildman]

I have no problems using a tungsten carbide hole saw 32mm with a masonry drill bit in the middle, did 9 holes in wall tiles and one in porcelain floor tiles dry on the front lawn. Some of these holes were within 15mm of the edge of the tile and it went through without issue, not a single breakage. I drilled them all from the glazed side. The only stuff up I had was not taking off my titanium wedding ring, scratched a black mark into the glaze that was not removable. Luckily it was a tile not the basin or toilet pan.....

Cheers
Ben

[savage]

If all of the above fail, go to your local tile shop ( one of the larger ones ) and buy a tile hole cutter. I did this after a few different ways of trying and it was the best, I kick myself for not spending the few bucks (short at the time ), but what I wasted in tiles and time it would have been done quickly and properly.
savage(Eric)

[Termite]

If all of the above fail, go to your local tile shop ( one of the larger ones ) and buy a tile hole cutter.

Even better, mark where you want the holes and get them to drill them.

[Arron]

If you can tolerate a fairly rough hole, for example if it is to be covered by a flange, then make 4 cuts in a square shape from the rear of the tile with an angle grinder. Knock out the piece where they intersect, and you will have a square 1" hole. The tile will be a bit weak around the hole but I've never seen that matter.

Arron

[jimc]

diamond hole saw, slow speed on the drill press , lots of water and patience.

thats all you need and you will cut as many holes as you want...just remember lots of water and patience.

[elphingirl]

I had a funny experience drilling holes into some porcelain tiles. After the initial two holes taking about 5 minutes each, and using a diamond tipped bit, I discovered a 'sweet spot'; a particular drill speed (on for 10 seconds, then 10 seconds in cold water to cool the bit). I also rinsed the hole frequently to get rid of the sediment. I was able to drill a hole ini 40 seconds, and got 7 or 8 holes out of one bit.

Cheers, Justine