What is the Difference in the Grits?

People often wonder about the different types of available grit. In this post, we will try to compare types of grits to the different types of sandpaper.

What is the difference in the grits?

Your choices include diamond bits in several different grits, Extra Fine, Fine, Medium, Coarse and Super Coarse. These are all relative terms. How fine is Fine? How coarse is coarse? Most people are familiar with sandpaper so we've compared international standards for diamond tools to common sandpaper grit. The table below compares diamond grit to sandpaper grit:

• Extra Fine diamond grit is comparable to 360 grit sandpaper.
• Fine diamond grit is comparable to 200 grit sandpaper.
• Medium diamond grit is comparable to 120 grit sandpaper.
• Coarse diamond grit is comparable to 95 grit sandpaper.
• Super Coarse diamond grit is comparable to 75 grit sandpaper.

We hope this helps. Most people will not see or notice a significant difference between medium and coarse grit diamond tools. For most applications we recommend that you order the coarser grit.

We hope this helps to clear up any confusion you may have had regarding the different types of grit. We only have three more posts until our tips and hints series!

Changing Collets

Good afternoon!  As promised, here is more helpful information about changing collets:

Changing Collets

The black nut on the end of the tool that you tighten to secure the bit is the collet nut. Loosen the collet nut until it comes off of your tool completely.

Directly underneath it is a little metal tube with 2,3, or 4 slits in the large end. This is the collet. These are interchangeable.

The hole down the center of the collet holds a drill bit with either a 1/16”, 3/32” or 1/8” shank. Collets are size specific. Larger bits will not fit into smaller collets and larger collets will not tighten enough to hold a smaller bit in place.

All Dremel® tools come with a 1/8" collet. If your Dremel® kit came with several collets you probably already have both the 1/16" and 3/32" collets. If so, you are already set to use bits with 1/16" and 3/32" shanks.

Most people save money by buying a 1/16” or 3/32” collet so they can use smaller, less expensive bits.

You can choose both 1/16" and 3/32" collets in our accessories section. Simply choose a 1/16" collet for bits with a 1/16" shank or 3/32" collet for bits with a 3/32" shank.

Even Dremel® brand diamond wheels and diamond points do not come on a 1/8" shank. They have a 3/32” shank. If you have used Dremel diamond bits before then you already have a 3/32” collet.

There are 2 older models of Dremel® tools that do not accept interchangeable collets.

Next time, I will discuss the different types of grits.

Which Bits Will Fit My Dremel® Tool?

Hello again! Today we will continue our series yet again. This post will answer a basic question that many people have inquired about in the past…

Which bits will fit my Dremel® tool?

Every diamond bit on our website with a 1/16", 3/32" or 1/8" shank will fit Dremel® rotary tools. You will need to make sure that your Dremel® tool has an adjustable chuck or that you have the right size collet to fit your drill bit.

If you have an adjustable chuck simply tighten or loosen the chuck until the shank of the bit slides into the chuck. Then, tighten the chuck until it holds the bit securely in place.

If you don’t have an adjustable chuck, then your Dremel tool uses collets. The collet is the metal tube that holds the bit in your Dremel® tool. These are interchangeable. Even Dremel® brand bits come in different 2 different shank sizes, 1/8" and 3/32". Just change the collet to fit the bit you are using.

Please feel free to ask us any questions you may have regarding any of the products on our website, www.diamondburs.net. 

How Do I Balance Speed, Pressure & Lubrication?

Happy Friday! As promised, today I will let you in on a few more tips and suggestions..

How do I balance speed, pressure and lubrication?

Unfortunately learning to balance drill speed, drill pressure, lubrication and your time is a learned skill. Learned from trial and error. It is best to start out with a very slow drill speed, very light pressure and lots of lubrication. Gradually increase all three until you reach the point where time spent drilling balances against the cost of more drill bits. Starting slow reduces risks and extends bit life. Always use more lubrication than you think you need.

Our blog series of our tips to help you get started is almost half way completed! If you want to go ahead and get started or order some new pieces, don’t forget to go to diamondburs.net or drillglass.com!

Should I Use Lubrication?

Hello diamond and glass drill bit enthusiasts! The weekend is almost here and I have some tips for you pertaining to the use of lubrication when using your drill bits:

Should I use lubrication?

Let’s start out with the legal stuff first. Please be careful using any electrically powered tool near water. Water or another lubricant should be used to cool and lubricate the tip of diamond bits. Lubrication reduces heat build-up, sort of like adding a little cold water to hot coffee to cool it. Water is usually used, because it is cheap and available.

Increase the amount of lubrication used with harder materials. If you are drilling fiberglass, a diamond bit can be used dry or with a very small amount of water. When drilling in glass, ceramics, or stone use enough water so that the “dust” from the hole is a very wet paste or wetter. The tip of the drill bit should always be wet. If you are drilling hard or abrasive material, use even more lubrication. If you can, have a small amount of lubricant constantly running over the drill tip and bore hole.

A Few Tips: Use a small hose or tube to run water onto the surface near the drill tip and bore hole. Some people place a plastic jug (milk jug) with a small hole near the bottom of it, next to the drill hole. As the water leaks out of the bottle, it provides continuous lubrication as you drill.

A better trick is to build a "dam" around the drill hole using modeling clay. Fill it with lubricant.

Or best yet, place the object being drilled into a shallow pan or tray then fill the pan with enough water to just cover the material. Don't make my mistake. Place a thin board or Styrofoam in the bottom of the pan or you will drill right through the pan bottom making a mess and causing you to wonder why you thought this was a good idea.

If you are drilling on a vertical surface use a hose or tube to run water to the drill tip. If that's not possible, have someone "mist" water onto the drill tip using a squirt bottle. (More legal stuff) Please be careful and use common sense around water if your tool is electrically powered.

There you have it! To continue with our series of tips, our next post will discuss how to balance the last three topics—Speed, power, and lubrication.

How Hard Should I Press?

Today, pressure will be our topic of interest. Here are a few of our suggestions:

How hard should I press?

Increasing the pressure on twist drills makes the bit drill faster. Not such a good idea with diamond bits. When you use diamond drill bits it is very important to use light to moderate pressureand to let the bit "drill at its own speed".

Increasing the drill pressure will only increase the friction and heat. This not only burns up the bit, but also increases your stress level, causing your face to turn red and steam to come out of your ears. Heat will also fracture or crack the material you're drilling. Again, everyone repeat after me; if your drill bit develops yellow, brown, blue or black “burn marks” around the tip slow down and lighten up.

If you are dilling a hole completely through an object, it is important to "lighten up" the pressure even more when the drill bit is about to break through. This reduces chipping on the backside of the object when the bit emerges from the back.

Better yet drill half way through, flip the material over, start a new hole on the backside and let them meet in the middle. Yes, I know this is "easier said than done". I have plenty of glass with holes that didn't quite match in the middle. It must be a faulty measuring tape!


I hope that any questions you had regarding pressure were answered in this post. Feel free to leave us a question in our comment box. Our next post will be all about incorporating some lubrication when drilling.