Drilling Through Ceramic Plates

Drill carbide drill bits tape water bottle safety glasses foam and ear protection not pictured.

Drilling through ceramic plates. Cover the place on the ceramic plate where you want to drill a hole with a strip of masking tape then mark the exact point for the hole with a pencil dot on the tape. Drilling through porcelain can seem like a daunting task but with the right tools and a few key techniques you can easily drill through porcelain for all of your crafting needs. Often referred to as china porcelain is a type of ceramic that is hard and brittle making it more difficult and fragile to work with than most other materials. The masking tape will prevent the drill bit from slipping when you begin drilling though it.

Glass tile is used more as an accent and has only been around for 15 years or so. You can buy specialty bits for drilling through ceramic but a regular masonry bit will also do the job. Place your plates on a towel and start the drill somewhere between 1000 and 1500 rpm and angle your drill on the masking tape to begin the drilling whilst at the same time squeezing water from your sponge directly onto the drilling process. These bits are more refined and far better able to bore through the ceramic structure without cracking it than regular bits.

In most cases a carbide tipped masonry drill bit check my recommendations is your best option when drilling through ceramic tile. 2 spray water on the piece before drilling. Unlike a wood bit a masonry bit has a triangular head that comes to point but not a sharp one. Glazed ceramic tile is the most common what you ll find in almost every older home and the easiest to drill through.

1 all the tools needed for drilling through fired ceramic. My pot was pretty thin so we were able to easily drill through it in one go. If your pot is quite thick make sure to blow off the ceramic dust as it piles up. Woodrow author of a nights shadows diary on amazon co uk.

It s made from high speed steel which is more heat resistant than the high carbon steel used in most wood drilling bits. It took only about 10 seconds total. 3 use the drill at a slow and steady pace. Porcelain tile looks a lot like regular ceramic tile but it s much harder.

Place a flat piece of scrap wood on your work bench or the surface underneath the plate.