Tilemax Drill Bits – Porcelain – Forgemaster / Faithfull

If you’ve ever tried to put a standard masonry bit through a porcelain tile, you’ll know how that ends. Smoke, a skated bit, and a scratch where the hole should be. These Tilemax porcelain drill bits are built for exactly that job, and they handle it without a water bottle or a prayer.

The business end is a diamond ground tungsten carbide tip. Diamond grinding gives it the bite needed to start on a glazed surface, and the carbide behind it takes the punishment once you’re through the glaze and into the dense body of the tile. The tip is brazed on using a method that keeps it attached even in the hardest material, so you’re not left fishing a loose carbide chip out of a half-finished hole.

The shank is triangular rather than round. Plenty of bits spin in the chuck when the going gets tough. This one grips, which means drive stays constant and the bit doesn’t seize or slip at the wrong moment. The flutes are cut to move dust out of the hole as you go, so it doesn’t pack in and bind. Heat treatment on the body helps the bit last longer, and the sand blasted finish adds a bit more durability to the surface.

Where Tilemax Porcelain Drill Bits Get Used

These are made for drilling tile: porcelain, granite, marble and ceramic. They’re rated for porcelain class 5, which is about as hard as tile gets before you’re into specialist territory. Typical jobs include fitting towel rails, shower fittings, soap dishes, mixer taps and wall-hung units on finished tiled walls, or drilling floor tiles for fixings and pipework.

Run them in a standard drill driver at a slow speed. That’s the key bit, and it’s why no water cooling is needed. The slow speed keeps the tip cool enough to do its job, so you can drill dry. Fast speeds just cook the diamond and shorten the life of the bit. If you’re after a clean hole rather than a cracked tile, patience wins every time.

Picking The Right Size

The range runs from 4mm up to 10mm, in lengths of 85mm, 100mm and 120mm. The 4 x 85mm is a pilot drill. It’s mainly there as a starter for the larger sizes, so you can open a small hole first and step up without the bigger bit wandering across the glaze. For most wall plug and screw fixings through tile, the 6mm and 8mm are the usual choices. The 10 x 120mm gives you the reach and diameter for heavier fixings or pipework penetrations where a chunky hole is needed.

The longer lengths are useful when you’re drilling through a tile and a layer of adhesive or backing board and need to reach into the substrate behind. Check the size you need before you start, because swapping between bits mid-job on a tiled wall is a good way to introduce errors you can’t undo.

Each bit is sold individually, so you can pick up exactly the size you need without buying a set where half the sizes never leave the case. Buy a few of the common sizes if you’re tiling or fitting out regularly. One slipped bit through a £40 porcelain tile costs far more than a spare drill bit.