Which Drill Bits Should I Buy?

Gambler

I’ve been using a cordless drill with no problems for a good few years now. When we moved to our new house I realised the outside walls were more solid so I picked up a cheap corded hammer drill from Homebase.

A lot easier with the extra power but I’ve managed to ruin the point on both 6mm masonry drill bits that I had.

Can anybody recommend replacement drill bits please?

Ebe_Scrooge

If it's ordinary brick that you're drilling into, then any standard masonry bit should be OK. I would avoid buying very cheap bits - e.g. an assortment of 50 bits for a fiver, these will not last long at all. Better to buy a single bit of the size you require, will probably cost about £3 or so and should last for ages.

If you're drilling into very hard concrete or "blue" bricks then you may well find that an ordinary drill is not up to the job. In this case you'll need to look at SDS drills and bits. Very good for heavy duty work, but it does mean a comparatively heavy initial outlay.

The only other thing to consider is, if you're blunting drill bits, there's not any steel reinforcing rods hidden inside the brickwork ? If so, this will ruin even the best drill bits.

andrew-b

I agree...avoid cheap selections of drill bits. Better to buy single branded ones. I'm currently using a small selection of Black&Decker Piranha masonry drill bits that seem to be ok for reasonable price. I made a mistake of buying a selection of drill bits from aldi in the past for a couple of quid...wood and hss bits aren't so bad but the masonry ones seem to burn out in first use!

jockster211

I do lots of drilling in masonry, brick, tiles, etc. Screwfix do a set of 5 DeWalt bits for under £8. Worth every penny;) .

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/88598/Drill-Bits/Drill-Bit-Sets/Masonry-Sets/DeWalt-Extreme-2-Masonry-Drill-Bit-Set-5-Pc

Jockster

latecomer

I recently bought the above set from Screwfix and have had no problems with them at all. The cheap drills I had lying around lasted about 1 hole each and hence went in the bucket.

andrew-b

jockster211 wrote: »

I do lots of drilling in masonry, brick, tiles, etc. Screwfix do a set of 5 DeWalt bits for under £8. Worth every penny;) .

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/88598/Drill-Bits/Drill-Bit-Sets/Masonry-Sets/DeWalt-Extreme-2-Masonry-Drill-Bit-Set-5-Pc

Jockster

Looks a good deal...especially if you order online via quidco for 7% cashback plus use a 10% code as part of a bigger order too (there's been 10% codes all month - another seems to be issued the day before the last one expires at the moment!). I'm about to place an order with them as i've also got a £20 off £100 voucher so i should save a fair bit! Thanks for the recommendation though i might chuck some in my basket myself.

jockster211

latecomer wrote: »

I recently bought the above set from Screwfix and have had no problems with them at all. The cheap drills I had lying around lasted about 1 hole each and hence went in the bucket.

Just a quick note to say that any drill bit will blunt quickly if used incorrectly (latecomer - I'm not saying you did;) ). My 'lad' took a new deWalt bit & drilled a hole into tile at full speed:mad: , result was one drill bit fit for SFA.

The tougher the material (tile, porcelain, Engineering brick, etc) drill at slow speed, and have a little water to cool the bit down frequently. Result is your bits will last much longer:T .

Jockster

beaker141

Regarding drill sets - has anyone ever found a use for a masonry bit less than 6mm !!!

I tidied my bits up and had loads of really small ones left over from various sets - typically though I can never find the 6.5mm one I always use when I need it.

What should you need to drill class B red engineering bricks ? I always find them very tough so must be doing something wrong.

latecomer

jockster211 wrote: »

Just a quick note to say that any drill bit will blunt quickly if used incorrectly (latecomer - I'm not saying you did;) ).

Very good point. With a decent drill and drill bit you shouldn't need to force it to drill and doing so will give the same result as using the cheap drill bits.

andrew-b

jockster211 wrote: »

Just a quick note to say that any drill bit will blunt quickly if used incorrectly

Indeed...i wrongly used one of my B&D masonry bits to channel out a wall by using the side of it to join up holes drilled into the blockwork:



..it will still drill a hole too!

Andy

latecomer

:rotfl:

Thats a seriously abused drill bit