Can I Drill Glass Without Using Water?

Yes, you can drill glass without using water, but you probably shouldn’t. I agree, setting up a water bath or a spray bottle can be a pain and it can make drilling messier.

You can drill “dry” with any diamond drill bit. But, the bit will burn up - Guaranteed!

Diamonds are incredibly hard. Much harder than the glass, tile or stone that you’re drilling. However, the friction created by drilling heats up the glass or tile and the diamond bit. So hot that they can actually turn red and glow.

We’ve had customers tell us that they use WD-40, brake fluid, mineral oil, antifreeze and kerosene as coolant/lubricants. All are interesting choices but none work as well as water with a drop or two of dishwashing soap. Not enough soap to make it sudsy, but just enough to break the surface tension of the water.  

Water is also the easiest to clean up afterwards. Have you ever tried getting WD-40 out of a glass block or a wine bottle? You don’t want to!

Using a water bath or spray will pay off. You trade 30 seconds of extra drilling time for a bit that will last two or three times as long. It’s a bargain. You don’t want your drill bits to end up like the picture above.

You can download a free copy of “How to Drill Glass, Tile and Stone” by clicking here.

How Fast Should I Drill?

One of the most common questions we receive from our customers regards the speed of your drilling:
“I’m drilling glass, how fast should I drill?” or “I read that I can drill at 450,000 revolutions per minute (RPM). My Dremel tool will only go to 35,000 RPM.  Can I still drill glass?”

You can find all sorts of information and more importantly, misinformation on the web about drilling glass, tile and stone.

The right drilling speed for one application doesn’t always carry over to another. Circumstances, materials and tools all make a difference. Your family dentist uses diamond drill bits in his dental drill at extremely high speeds up to 450,000 RPM.

We recommend a much, much slower drill speed for sea glass, shells, tile, etc. If you’re drilling small holes, only about 1500-3000 RPM.

Diamond core bits for drilling wine bottles, glass bottles and glass block, even slower. Usually in the range of 600-1000 RPM. That’s usually the slowest setting on a drill press. Or, about one-quarter to one-half of the top speed of a hand-held power drill.

By using a slower drill speed and lots of coolant, you minimize the amount of heat created from friction. Your bits will last considerably longer than drilling at a high speed.

True; you will drill holes faster at high speeds, but only a little faster and you will wear out the bits 10 times as fast because of the extra heat.

So, what if your drill, rotary tool or air tool doesn’t have a speed that slow?

Then we adjust to the tool. Use an “up and down” motion while drilling. Drill for 4-5 seconds, then lift up for 4-5 seconds to let coolant flood the drill hole and allow the bit to cool. Then, drill for 4-5 seconds, and lift up. You’ll minimize the heat from friction, just like drilling at a slower speed.

Many of the bits that are returned to us as "defective" have black, brown, blue and yellow "burn" marks on them. This is actually the result of too much heat from drilling too fast. We honor the guarantee, but very few of the bits are actually defective. Most were accidentally misused. It's a new experience for most of our customers. Drilling glass is a little bit different than drilling into a wooden 2 by 4. 

For more detailed information about drilling, download your copy of our FREE drilling guide by clicking here.

Good luck with your project! Let us know of any topics or questions you would like us to cover in future blog posts. And as always, we love project photos from our customers.

Can My Diamond Drill Bits Be Sharpened?

We’ve had several customers ask if their diamond drill bits can be sharpened. To find an answer, we asked two of our suppliers about re-coating worn out diamond drill bits. Unfortunately, they can’t be re-coated.

Both manufacturers gave the same answer: Making new diamond drill bits is an almost totally automated process. Computer controlled machinery shapes the stainless steel. Then, the stainless steel blanks are electroplated with the diamond coating.

Scraping the remaining diamond coating off of a used diamond drill bit, so that it’s clean enough to be re-coated, is a manual process. Additionally, it is labor intensive and costly.

In other words, it’s cheaper to make a new blank than it is to clean a used one.

Now the good news! Even if your diamond drill bits can’t be re-coated, they can be cleaned.

Many times the diamond bits are still on the drill bit. Not worn down, just covered up. Drilling glass and tile creates a very fine glass dust that coats and “glazes over” the diamonds on the drill bit.  Using a cleaning stone or the bristle ends of a small wire brush can remove the glazing and re-expose the diamond particles. Not sharpening, but uncovering the diamond coating for many more uses.

You should clean your diamond drill bits after every third hole, or more often as needed.

This is a good idea for both glass drill bits and diamond core bits.

After the bits are worn out, the stainless steel is recyclable if your community has a metal and plastics recycling program.

Clean them - You’ll be glad you did.

Do It Yourself - Wine Bottle Light

So, now that you have all the information that you need to get started drilling glass, what kind of projects should you take on? If you haven't heard of Pinterest, it is a virtual pinboard that allows Dyou to search for many different types of do-it-yourself projects. We had to receive an invitation to join, so feel free to reach out to us if you need an invite. It begins to get fun when your friends join you, as you can share your pinboard of ideas with your friends on the website.


One project that we found worthy of showcasing, is the DIY Wine Bottle Light:

 

This idea, which was found on Pinterest, is a project created by Wit & Whistle that shows you how to complete this simple, yet interesting piece. The only things you need to create this are:

• An empty wine bottle
• A strand of Christmas lights
• A drill
• One of our 1/2" glass drill bits
• Masking tape
• Goggles and gloves, just as a safety precaution

This is a great project for beginners, without the look of being too simple. Check out the project steps by clicking here. And don't forget to take pictures of your finished product and share them with us on our Facebook page. Don't be shy!

Don't Do This!

It's finally here! Our last blog post in our current series. Before you start drilling away, make sure you read the following post in order to prolong the life of your diamond drill bits.

Don't do this!

There are two things that we do not recommend doing with your diamond bits.

Never:

• Use diamond bits with impact type "hammer drills". The impact will bend the tips.

In addition:

• Diamond bits are not recommended for steel or other ferrous metals. You will get much better results using carbide bits on iron, steel and other ferrous alloys.

Let's start drilling. Choose from below or from the navigation bar on the left.

Glass Drill Bits Dremel Drill Bits Beach & Sea Glass

Egg Carving Tile Drill Bits Jeweler's Bits

I hope that you found our Tips and Tricks blog series to be helpful and informative. We would be happy to assist you with anything else, so feel free to drop whatever questions you may have through our comments section or our Facebook Page.

How Long Will They Last?

Our second-to-last blog post of the series focuses on the estimated life of a diamond bit.

How Long Will They Last?

This is the question our customers ask most often and the one we can't answer.

The hardness and abrasiveness of the material being drilled, the tool speed, the pressure used and the amount and type of lubrication affect the life span of all diamond bits, ours and all others. Even materials that appear similar have varying degrees of hardness and abrasiveness. It is impossible to estimate the life of a diamond bit. On some thin, soft materials a diamond bit may last for 50-100 holes or more, while on some thick, very hard or very abrasive materials the life many be only 1-3 holes or less.

It may be difficult to determine how long each individual diamond bit will last for each individual user, but you can always visit http://www.diamondburs.net/ to obtain a wide variety of bits. And as always, each order comes with free shipping.

How Do I Start a Hole?

One of the most important pieces of information to know when drilling is how to begin a hole. Follow our tips to help you become an expert driller:

How Do I Start a Hole?

The best way to prevent the bit from skipping or walking when you're starting a hole is to use a drill press. This holds the bit firmly in place. Use a vise or some other system to hold your work firmly in place under the drill press.

If you can't use a drill press, keep the bit from walking or skipping by making a pilot hole in a piece of wood or plastic using the diamond drill or another bit. 1/8" thick wood, 1/8" Plexiglas or even cardboard will work. Place this "template board" on the material being drilled, with the pilot hole above your target spot. This will keep the diamond bit centered in place while you start the hole with your hand drill or rotary tool.

Stay tuned for our next post about the life span of a diamond bit. As always, feel free to leave us any questions or comments either here or on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/diamondburs.