Tile drills

Tile drills
£119,942,364.76 A0364DW
PROJECT TWO
This is for those of you who DONT have access to a mini grinder then you can use the drill bits to grind the lines
Reults are not as neat. But it does the job.
You can grind the back and meet in the middle.
Ok so its not elegant but its precission drilling. And it fits. And it didnt break.
On the left is the result without a mini grinder. On the right with a mini grinder
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
This is a tile we drilled using an 8mm diamond drill. We slightly overbored it to slip in a 6 or 7mm rawl plug. In this photo you can see a traditional drill bit in the orange drill pack. These are spade drills and they work from the centre out.
The spade rips the tile to form an ever wider circle until it pushes through the glaze. We however use a diamond cone. The cone only remove the outer edge of the 8mm hole making it a less agressive process. Diamond drills for use with fixtures and fitting are a gentle solution.
This is the hollow core going into the tile. Its about the size of a bic biro.
The advantage of this is less chipping of the tile in such a small area. You can see below the hole is perfect and the rawl plug just slides in.
OK so perhaps on first impressions the rawl plug is looking a bit lost in the tile but the idea is not to put pressure on the tile with the fitting. You can crack it. What we want is the substrate behind to take the weight of the fitting which could be a bathroom cabinet for example.
Here you can see the screw pushes in. Already the jaws of the plug are opening to fit the space.
The rawl plug would by now be slotted into the substrate at the back of the tile. Either ply, wood, breeze block or brick. Its the back of the tile that should bear the weight.
Also look closely at all the holes in this picture to see totally perfect holes. Even at the back.
Keeping a 365 drill bit cool is easy
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Every installer has a bucket and sponge to hand on site. Make use of what is already there…. |
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THREE EASY STEPS:
Simple…. Your wet sponge held underneath the crown will cool it by preventing heat build up. It also collects the dust keeping your worksite clean! |
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Q: I see other systems cool their drills with pressurized water containers, hosepipes, water delivery systems like arbors, plus hi-tec water jets and delivery pumps.
So where is your equipment? Do I have to buy extra things? A: Why bother to buy expensive and cumbersome pressurized bottles, water sprays, jets, pumps, feed lines when you already have a bucket of water and a sponge to hand. Secondary water systems waste your time filling tanks with fresh water, setting them up, storage and of course cost money.. If you love gadgets and gizmos – fine. Remember you are drilling a hole not performing major heart surgery. Dont forget the more water you stream onto a site equals the more mess you make and need to clear up ! Water damage during construction is harmful and wasteful. Q: Do I need any water? A: Yes you need SOME but will be surprised how little is actually required. Just a splash per hole is enough. : 1.You need water to: Remove the heat that will build up in the diamond crown. Cold diamond crowns work better to a maximum of luke warm. Hot drilling is bad news for its lifespan… however holding a wet sponge under the crown delivers enough water to keep it cool. Its that easy! 2. You need water to: Reduce dust. When you drill the hole (actually you grind the hole) fine particles of porcelain form. With water jet systems the dust is forced to stream down the wall over a large surface area. If the floor or work area is not yet water tight this mix of water and spoil can be difficult and time consuming to collect. In any case collection of the water is an additonal step. Porcelain dust is so fine it gets caught in wooden floors, plasterboard, floor joists and makes a general mess over a wide area. However if you hold a wet sponge directly under the diamond crown as you drill then not only do you lubricate and cool the crown, but the spoil actually collects in the sponge. You gain total control of the drill site. To manage the spoil simply stop drilling, drop the sponge into your water bucket and squeeze it out! REAL LIFE EXAMPLE: The point is magnified the higher up the wall you drill. Example: Imagine you are fitting a window blind to a tiled wall and need to drill four holes. To reach you stand on your stepladder with the drill slightly above your head. Think about the water jet example. You have the inital burden of raising all the equipment to the correct level to reach the drill site. Things like water delivery hose pipes, heavy water pressurised container, the water jets, heavy drills, arbors as well as other stuff like mops and buckets just to drill a hole. And dont forget you have to pump the handle to pressurise the container as you drill… But imagine also the water stream coming down the wall, down your arms or over your head as you drill. Its messy. And uncomfortable. In contrast standing on a stepladder with a lightweight battery drill and a small wet sponge with total control over water loss is much much more comfortable and simple. |
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Q: Why do other systems spray a continuous jet of water?
A: Those systems rely on a pilot drill or central “carbide steel pilot” to guide the core. PROBLEM! The pilot is made of carbide so burns out quickly if heated. The pilot will blunt if it gets hot. To prevent burnout a water jet must be used continuously. This requires a pressurized container full of fresh water. A pipe feed control system. A water delivery jet. |
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Q: Are there obvious advantages for PORSADRILL and the 365drill kit ?
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