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I have always been unwilling to drill into ceramic tiles for fear of cracking them. But tomorrow, I am having a tile wall demolished, so I figured today I would get some drilling practice in while the stakes are zero.

I bought a "Glass & Tile Drill" drill bit (Sutton Tools, carbide tip with copper brazing) for the job. YouTube told me to use a moderate speed and a steady pressure.

The first few holes were easy. I felt so silly never trying this before.

By hole 6, I was noticing it was more effort. I had some difficulty with the 7th hole. It felt like the bit was just spinning and making no progress - that it was blunt already.

Is that normal? Should I be budgeting for a new drill bit every half-dozen holes? Am I doing something wrong that made it blunten faster? Or am I on the wrong track entirely?

Oddthinking
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    Were you drilling dry or wet? How much time elapsed between holes? What size bit? What kind of drill? – bishop Sep 19 '21 at 02:36
  • @bishop: Dry. First 5 were almost immediate, and then I gave the bit a little time to cool. 6.5mm. What kind of drill? Corded, not hammer. Does that answer that question? – Oddthinking Sep 19 '21 at 02:40
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    @Oddthinking Too little cooling, too much heat. – vidarlo Sep 19 '21 at 08:02
  • @vidarlo: wanna make that an answer? Does that cause permanent bluntness or just temporary ineffectiveness? – Oddthinking Sep 19 '21 at 09:33
  • I’ll let @vidario answer, but should also note that there’s a vast range in tile materials/hardness. It does sound like too fast/too hot, but it’s entirely possible you did everything right and it’s just hard tile. – Aloysius Defenestrate Sep 19 '21 at 14:10
  • Agree, some tiles are just drill bit killers. Porcelain in particular, I would budget a new drill bit for each job. – handyman Sep 21 '21 at 21:08

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