Drilling ceramic tiles with diamond drills
When we originally set out to develop low cost drilling for hard porcelain tiles we never realized there would be side effects.
The side effects were – a) Perfect holes in ANY tile and b) Everlasting drills in soft ceramics
Seriously! – If you normally tile with the softer (standard) tiles then its now possible for you to own everlasting drills to produce perfect holes. And at £40 a set its really cheap. top quality work in the reach of all tilers for less than the cost of a curry!
Angela from 365drills.com sets up a demo of our porsadrill system. Main website
We discovered everlasting perfect drilling by accident when we did exhibition work. At the time it was not possible for us to drill porcelain all day because of the material cost plus a yawn inducing two minutes per hole.
We needed a fast way to show off our drill plate technology and demo to fast moving crowds. So for exhibition work we switched over to cheap 7p standard white ceramic tiles.
What we saw amazed not only the tilers at the stand but us as well. We could reproduce absolutely perfect holes in tiles again and again without a chip or dig in the glaze. And an even bigger surprise was that one diamond crown ate through hundreds of tiles without so much as a hint of going blunt all weekend.
In hindsight its easy to see why. Diamonds are so accurate they only nibble at a small section of tile. In contrast spear point drills swathe away from the center like a paddle swiping at the glaze leading to chipping. Tile hack saws are a crude instrument leaving rough edges. Diamond is also so hard the chances of it wearing out on thin glaze is impossible.
But the reason it took so long for the penny to drop was because we were totally focused at the top end. We assumed there was no market for our product on soft tile because standard tools would always be used on ceramics. So we ignored probably 90% of the tile market.
Tilers (of every level) should know our kit bores perfect holes into any tile. Why do we need to share that message? Well the point is that anything that helps raise the quality of finish is going to help you in your work. Once you tile an area the results of your labour are on display for everyone to see for years at a time. Your trade is the one thing people see day in day out. You are the finishers of projects for people. Your customers will be viewing your work and making comments to their friends and family about what you do for them. And so anything that can raise or improve your tecnique is going to go down very very well.
Have a look below at what we mean. This is a £39.99 pack of seven drills.
And this is a tile which will will put a hot and cold feed and a waste pipe into.
For a sink you need a waste pipe and the hot and cold feeds. This is the 16mm drill for a 15mm pipe.
The drill is locked in place by the drill plate. Just start drilling away at the tile
After a few seconds the glaze is broken and the diamonds are making short work of the soft back
A quick wipe of the sponge to show you there is not a chip in sight !
The first hole is done. This 15mm pipe is shown with good clearance. Copper pipe or plastic is fine too.
We started the waste pipe hole in the same way. You can see both holes are absolutley superb.
And this is the finished concept. There is a hot and cold 15mm feed. And a waste pipe. Not even a sign of damage.
How about this. The 30mm drill is wide enough for a shower head, body jet or 22mm pipe.
Have a look at the back of the tile. The drills dont “POP” out the back. The hole has strength because the drill has bored a tube rather than a cone. Lots of people rip out the back of tiles with angle grinders and then smash through from the front. Its a blunt instrument way of working. In contrast this tile is strong on the edge.
This is the front of the tile. Looks perfect as usual.
If you are a tiler then you should try a set of these drills and see what a difference they make to your workmanship.
Find our website http://www.365drills.com
Article (C) by Richard Hazell of 365Drills – If you want to copy in full or part please contact for permission first
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