Drilling into tile taking way too long, am I using the right drill?

[Croydon86]

Hi all

I have a lot of bathroom furniture to fit onto a tiled bathroom. The tiles are ceramic.

I have already drilled a few holes in the tiles but each hole takes ages to drill! I haven't timed it but roughly around 10-20 mins per hole. (Each hole is 8mm).

I have two drills.

One is this basic 18v cordless green Bosch drill with 1.5Ah battery (this one Dead link removed by Admin 26/01/2022 ).

The other drill is a very old Black & Decker corded hammer drill. I can't find the exact model but is almost identical to this.. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203595473949 ... 1000008005. It is 350w and has one speed.

I have a good selection of drill bits (carbide-tipped bits, ceramic tile bits, blue bosch multi-purpose bits, masonry) so I don't think this is where the problem lies.

Currently i'm using the Bosch cordless to pierce the ceramic tile glaze with the carbide-tipped ceramic tile bits but then drilling through the entire tile takes ages, so I then switch to the corded Black and Decker drill (ensuring hammer is switched off). I get a lot more power with this but even then it seems to take a long time until I'm actually through to the other side. Then drilling through the actual masonry (behind the tiles) is very quick.

So my question... is this just how long it takes to drill through a ceramic tile or should I upgrade my hardware?

I know drilling into a porcelain tile is tough but didn't think ceramic would take this long!

[Someone-Else]

I would say both.
I have drilled holes in our bathroom tiles in minutes, I compared your drill to mine.

Yours:

Blows per Minute: 20250 bpm
Maximum Torque: 38 Nm
Maximum Diameter (Masonry): 10 mm
Maximum Diameter (Wood): 30 mm
Maximum Diameter (Steel): 10 mm
Brushless: No
No Load Speed: 0 - 400/1350 rpm


Mine:

2 x 2.0Ah Li-Ion Batteries
90min Charge Time
Max. Torque: 65Nm
15 Torque Settings + Drill + Hammer Drill
13mm Keyless Chuck
2-Speed Variable & Reverse
All-Metal Gearing
Brake
LED Work Light
Spindle Lock


The higher the torque the more "umph" (Technical term that is) it has.
I have no doubt other drills are even better, but yours seems to be at the low end of the market.

Mine is This one

But wait and see what others say.

[arco_iris]

I know you SAY the tiles are ceramic not porcelain, but, in my experience.....

Porcelain is much like glass, it needs a diamond drill bit on a slowish speed and sprayed with water from a mister bottle - I use an empty glass cleaner bottle from SWMBO's cupboard.

Ceramic tiles on the other hand are extremely soft once you've broken the glaze (as you say you have) and will drill much the same, or easier, as the masonry behind, even using the hammer settiing.

I think your problem is the bit, not the power tool. Try the water spray, as a lubricant.

[Croydon86]

I would say both.
I have drilled holes in our bathroom tiles in minutes, I compared your drill to mine.

Yours:

Blows per Minute: 20250 bpm
Maximum Torque: 38 Nm
Maximum Diameter (Masonry): 10 mm
Maximum Diameter (Wood): 30 mm
Maximum Diameter (Steel): 10 mm
Brushless: No
No Load Speed: 0 - 400/1350 rpm


Mine:

2 x 2.0Ah Li-Ion Batteries
90min Charge Time
Max. Torque: 65Nm
15 Torque Settings + Drill + Hammer Drill
13mm Keyless Chuck
2-Speed Variable & Reverse
All-Metal Gearing
Brake
LED Work Light
Spindle Lock


The higher the torque the more "umph" (Technical term that is) it has.
I have no doubt other drills are even better, but yours seems to be at the low end of the market.

Mine is [url=<span class="skimlinks-unlinked">https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-dcd77 ... 68fx</span>] This one [/url]

But wait and see what others say.

Thanks for the response and your drill comparison breakdown.

Yeh I agree my drill is definitely basic. It was the first drill I ever bought, had it for years and it's served me well although I keep hoping it secretly dies so I can justify getting a more powerful one.

Although this scenario may well be a good justification to upgrade but just want to be sure it's the drill and not just how it's supposed to be. Everywhere I read online, they do say to go at slow speeds and let the drill bit do the work, but it doesn't really say how long it should take. I don't want to buy a new drill and then for it to be the same.

Also what drill bits are you using? Is it the spear/spade shaped ones?

[Croydon86]

I know you SAY the tiles are ceramic not porcelain, but, in my experience.....

Porcelain is much like glass, it needs a diamond drill bit on a slowish speed and sprayed with water from a mister bottle - I use an empty glass cleaner bottle from SWMBO's cupboard.

Ceramic tiles on the other hand are extremely soft once you've broken the glaze (as you say you have) and will drill much the same, or easier, as the masonry behind, even using the hammer settiing.

I think your problem is the bit, not the power tool. Try the water spray, as a lubricant.

You may be on to something. I have drilled into ceramic before and it certainly wasn't this difficult, but I'm 95% sure it can't be porcelain. It's a new bathroom and even if they were labelled wrongly at the the tile shop, I'm sure my builder would have commented on them being porcelain when he fitted the bathroom. He specifically made a point of me avoiding porcelain for the walls as they're a nightmare to cut.

In fact, I'll ask him how he found drilling into these tiles to see if they were harder than normal or just that my hardware is lacking.

[dewaltdisney]

On an ordinary tile, I used the arrowhead tile drills to cut just through the glaze, using a slow blipping action. I go through masking tape to stop drill skid and use a masonry nail to tap gently to give a small dink as a start point. Once through the glaze, the biscuit of the tile is quite easy to go through and then the wall may need the hammer action. I suspect your drill bit is blunt, push the boat out and buy a new one.

DWD

[arco_iris]

I've always thought that arrow-head bits were for glass (e.g. a bottle made into a lamp), though no reason why they wouldn't penetrate a glazed tile as DWD says.

As for the masking tape, that's dodgy, though the nail trick is more sensible. For drilling porcelain tiles, such as fixing a WC, I make a plywood template first then the diamond bit, as these are square ended.

There are of course varying qualities of ceramic tiles, maybe you've just got some extremely hard ones - were they a lot of money? I used some cheapo ceramic tiles on a floor, nightmare - they chip soooo easily when something heavy is dropped on them, never again.

[Croydon86]

Ok I'm going to get a new set of drill bits and then see how that goes. Will report back

These bits from screwfix have good reviews - https://www.screwfix.com/p/glass-drill- ... tid=409731

@arco_iris no the tiles were very cheap. I think like £8/m.

Going back to the original question, after doing a bit more research I don't think the drill is the problem. As I only need a slow speed, my cordless Bosch drill should be more than sufficient.

[arco_iris]

These bits from screwfix have good reviews

Go back to your link's Reviews tab, click "Sort By" then "Rating Low to High". Some are quite recent, think again.

[Croydon86]

These bits from screwfix have good reviews

Go back to your link's Reviews tab, click "Sort By" then "Rating Low to High". Some are quite recent, think again.

Well yes if you sort 'low to high' you will of course have lots of negative.

However if you sort 'newest first', there seem to be a lot more positive for every negative. I'm willing to take a punt on these unless someone can recommend a better drill bit.

[ayjay]

I'm willing to take a punt on these unless someone can recommend a better drill bit.

Other than for Porcelain tiles, I've never used anything but a sharp masonry bit on Ceramic tiles.

[arco_iris]

Well yes if you sort 'low to high' you will of course have lots of negative.

However if you sort 'newest first', there seem to be a lot more positive for every negative.

So, why do you think reviews are sorted high to low by default? Not everything that company sells is top-notch, they only want to make a profit, just sayin' don't believe all you read on the interweb.

That goes for 99% of stuff online.

Regards, Sceptic.

[Croydon86]

Well yes if you sort 'low to high' you will of course have lots of negative.

However if you sort 'newest first', there seem to be a lot more positive for every negative.

So, why do you think reviews are sorted high to low by default? Not everything that company sells is top-notch, they only want to make a profit, just sayin' don't believe all you read on the interweb.

That goes for 99% of stuff online.

Regards, Sceptic.

Strange response.

I'm aware the reviews are sorted high to low by default. I changed this order to 'NEWEST FIRST' to get a more accurate feel for the product. The majority of these are positive.

[London mike 61]

This is just my personal choice based on what gets the job done with good results and with minimum fuss , but I like to use the Bosch multi material drill bits. The reasons are they are sharp and stay sharp because they are hardened in a way that ordinary masonry drill bits seem soft by comparison and wear out too quickly IMO.

I would start the initial hole with a small sized bit ( much like a tile/glass bit ) then the size you want.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-straig ... -pcs/95958

https://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-expert ... 75mm/898ky

Mike

[etaf]

Just a Diyer, but had to make a few holes in ceramic tiles , and was quite easy - I also have the DCD778 cordless drill
i used this for the Waste
https://www.screwfix.com/p/tile-holesaw-44mm/1104v
Can find the ones for the Pipework, but again would be screwfix
But for the Screw holes for the Towel rail, Toilet holder etc - I used a 6mm RUBI DIAMOND TILE drill.
very easy to drill out on ceramic tiles,
I also got a new blade for the tile cutter , from screwfix and again ceramic tiles very easy to cut
I have also used Porcelain and they are very hard to cut.