1. What Materials Can I Use My Diamond Drill Bits On?
Diamond drill bits are perfect for drilling holes through glass, sea glass, stone, gemstones, ceramic, porcelain, shell, bone and very hard wood. Glass, sea glass, beach glass, fused glass, Stone, gemstones, rock, pebbles Ceramic, porcelain, tiles, glazed pottery, plates Shell, antler, bone, fossil, very hard wood. For jewellery making purposes and precision holes we recommend using the small diamond drill bits which have a solid, flat end, or tip, as mentioned above. These are available in sizes as small as 0.75mm. For drilling holes in plates, fused glass and dense, hard sea glass we recommend using a small diamond core drill. These are available in sizes from as small as 1mm. DO NOT use diamond drill bits on metal or soft wood. These materials are too soft and will cause the diamonds on your drill bit to clog up. When drilling holes in soft metals and wood use High Speed Steel drill bits (HSS) and for drilling holes in hard metals use Carbide Drill Bits. Diamond is the hardest material and therefore, anything else can be cut or drilled with it. If you are cutting or drilling through very hard materials such as Sapphire then bear in mind you will need a lot of patience and perhaps more drill bits than you would if you were drilling a hole through glass or Opal.
2. How Long Will My Drill Bit Last? How Many Holes will One Drill Bit Make?
Your diamond drill bits lifetime will depend on certain factors: speed, lubricant, pressure and the density of the material you're using. Unfortunately this is a 'How-Long-Is-A-Piece-Of-String' type of question as we have no way of knowing what components make up your material. If you're drilling through sea glass for instance these may be thousands of years old and we don't know the source of the glass. That said, some have achieved more than 250 holes in sea glass from just one bit! The same applies for drilling holes in china plates, we can estimate you may be able to drill 15 holes with one drill bit, maybe more, but it's difficult to really know the answer. Take a look at a chart of Mohs Mineral Scale of Hardness to see the comparisons between different materials. Be aware that drilling through hard gemstones can take a long time, be patient, you'll get there in the end. If you're drilling though pebbles, they can often be made up of various minerals and some pebbles have flint or quartz flecks in them. These will be incredibly tough to drill through so when picking your beach pebbles try to go for one's without any white or speckled bits in them. To gain maximum life from your drill bit and to prevent your material from cracking ensure you use little to no pressure, keep the speed on the slowest setting of your drill and always keep your material and drill bit cool with plenty of water.
3. How Do I Attach Diamond Drill Bits to My Drill? Will They Fit my Drill?
Very small diamond drill bits ranging in sizes between 0.75mm - 3mm won't fit into a rotary drill or DIY drill without the appropriate collet or chuck to hold them. Dremel do a couple of attachments which will fix to your drill: The Dremel Collet Nut Kit and the Dremel Multi Chuck. A set such as the Diamond Drill Bits Set for your Dremel Tool includes the Dremel multi chuck along with two small diamond drill bits and two small core drills - well worth it if you're just starting out and want to test both types of diamond drill bits. Roughly about half of the diamond drill bit shank should be in your drill, leaving half of the working end of your drill bit exposed. Bottle Neck Diamond Core Drills as mentioned in the above section on 'What Are Diamond Core Drills?' have a 2.35mm shank and are therefore suitable to use in your Dremel type drill without the need for an extra attachment. These are very popular with cold-working glass artists.
4. What Speed Should I Use My Drill Bits At?
Use your diamond drill bits at slow speeds, especially when making the initial hole. This will prevent any breakages of your material and help maintain the life of your drill bit. The lowest setting on your drill is advisable to use but if you are drilling a hole all the way through your material and you do speed up, take care to make sure you slow down when approaching the exit hole to prevent any cracks forming. Maintaining a slow speed when drilling will help prevent damage to your material and help to make your drill bits last longer.
