How to drill correctly with a drill: metal, concrete, tile, wood

In the repair industry, the ability to drill correctly is one of the basic skills. In addition to the general rules, it is important to take into account all the nuances when working with a specific material: concrete, tile, metal, etc. All issues related to drilling will be covered in this article.

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General principles of drilling + (Video)

As already mentioned, drilling is the most common activity for a repairman, and therefore it is important to immediately learn a few basic rules associated with this activity.

Use of suitable tools. There are many drills, each of which is designed for a specific type of material. Therefore, you should not try to drill concrete with a wood drill and vice versa. It is also important to consider the conditions in which the tool will be used. For example, industrial drills cannot be used for interior repairs (this is simply unsafe). It is also important to take into account resistance to moisture: for outdoor work you will need a tool of class IP34 if the climate in the area is humid and IP32 if you have to work in good weather. IPX2/ can be used indoors
Correct markup. Before starting any work, it is important to carefully and accurately mark the drilling locations with a marker. You can also put paper tape under the marker to prevent the drill from slipping on the material.
Selecting the required drilling speed. Here everything depends equally on both the material and the diameter of the blade. If we are talking about very thin drills (with a diameter of less than 3 mm), then you need to work at low speeds, less than four hundred per minute. For other drills, the following rule applies: the thinner the drill, the higher the drilling speed required.

It is also important to ensure that the handle is securely attached to the shaft of the hand drill. The drill must also not be allowed to skew.

Preparing for work

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Proper preparation should be made before starting work. To determine whether a tool is ready to perform tasks, there are several conditions:

When the drill is started using the power cord, it must be connected to the mains;
If it operates using a battery, it must be connected and charged;
A drill is inserted and fixed inside the drill.

To check the functionality of the drill, you need to click on the power button. If the chuck rotates fast enough, there is enough charge and you can start working. If it rotates very slowly, then the battery is discharged and needs to be recharged.

Subtleties of drilling for various materials

How to drill metal correctly + (Video)

The first thing to start with is the selection of drills. They are distinguished by a sharp edge designed to allow the drill to easily penetrate the metal. Regular metal drills are good for not too hard metals like copper or aluminum, but for something harder (for example, stainless steel) you need to take products made of titanium carbide or chrome-vanadium alloy.

We should also talk about optimal speeds. A common mistake beginners make is using too many turns. In fact, for hard metals, medium speeds are used: for example, brass one centimeter thick will be optimally drilled at a speed of 2000-2500 rpm.

There are a few more points to cover. So:

If a thin iron plate needs to be drilled, it must be secured between two pieces of wood. This is done so that the sheet of metal does not tear off.
It is necessary to use lubricating oil from time to time to cool the drill and facilitate the drilling process.
If you need to make a hole in the pipe, it must be securely fastened. To prevent the pipe from being flattened by the drill, a piece of hard wood should be placed inside.

If you follow these simple rules, then even a beginner will be able to perform high-quality drilling.

How to drill concrete walls + (Video)

In everyday life, you have to drill into walls most often, because without this it is impossible to hang a shelf, a cabinet, or install a cornice. Of course, it is better to use a hammer drill or impact drill for this purpose. These tools are powerful enough to handle hard materials like concrete or brick. However, if the wall thickness does not exceed 10-12 cm, then you can get by with a regular drill. But you shouldn’t take risks if you only have a low-power tool at your disposal - if it comes into contact with concrete, it can simply break. If the drill is selected correctly, then the following tips will be useful:

Before starting work, you should make sure that there are no pipes or other communication systems in the drilling area.
The drills used for such work must be made of hard metals or alloys. The best option would be diamond-coated drills.
If during drilling you come across too dense areas of concrete, they need to be punched out using a small hammer and a pin (punch).

Although it is generally possible to drill through a concrete wall with a drill, it should still be done with caution. Otherwise, the damage can be quite serious. It is better to use specialized tools for this.

How to work with tiles using a drill + (Video)

Often people who do not have extensive experience in the field of repairs are afraid to drill into such a fragile material as tiles. However, this can become an urgent necessity, because you need something to attach various cabinets and shelves in the kitchen, bathroom or toilet. Alas, in many respects the condition of the tile after drilling is determined not by the master who takes up the drill, but by the one who laid the tile. A competent tiler lays the tiles so that no voids form between the tiles and the wall. In this case, careful drilling will not harm the tile in any way. If there are “air pockets” between the wall and the tile, then most likely the tile will crack.

In order to properly drill through the tiles, you need to take a drill, masking tape, or a hammer drill (or a powerful drill with drill bits for concrete). Next you will need to perform the following steps:

The drilling location is marked with a piece of masking tape and a marker. The tape is here to prevent the nail from sliding on the surface of the tile.
Drilling is carried out strictly perpendicular to the material. The number of revolutions should increase gradually: from the minimum possible to 150-200 revolutions per minute. This way you can avoid damage to both the material and the tool.
It is important to ensure that the drill does not overheat. If smoke starts coming out, the drill needs to be cooled down immediately.

Once the holes are made, you can insert dowels into them. This is done with a hammer.

Drilling cast iron - how to do it correctly + (Video)

Cast iron is a fairly hard material, so drilling it is very, very difficult. In addition, cast iron products are fragile, so it is important not to crumble them. Like other materials, cast iron has its own subtleties when it comes to drilling.

There's no rush. This is perhaps the most important rule when working with cast iron. Everything must be done slowly, with extreme care and attention.
The drill must be made of a very hard and durable alloy, in addition, it must be perfectly sharpened. To prevent cast iron from crumbling, you need to take drills with an angle of 114-119 degrees.
It is unacceptable for the drill to overheat. Sometimes they don’t pay attention to the fact that the instrument is overheated. And this can lead to poor quality work or even breakdown.

How to carefully drill through wood + (Video)

Wood is one of the “easiest” materials when working with a drill. However, there are some subtleties here too.

The drilling speed directly depends on the type of wood. Loose, not too hard types of wood will be suitable even for a low-power device. Of course, the expected diameter of the hole also plays a role - the larger it is, the more powerful the drill is needed.
In order to make large holes, you need to use special core drills. Their diameter can exceed 120 mm. As for depth, on average crowns are suitable for materials up to 20-22 mm thick, but there are also special models that can cope with thicknesses of more than 60 mm.
If you need to make a blind hole rather than a through hole, then Forstner drills, which are available in diameters from 1 to 5 cm, are perfect for this.

We should also talk about drilling timber. Although it is convenient to fix it for further drilling, the large thickness of the material creates certain difficulties. Drilling timber for further fastening in the dowel holes. For a standard beam 18 cm thick, it would be best to take a drill with a diameter of 25 mm and a length of 36 cm. You will need to drill slowly, at low speeds. In terms of power, a 1300-1500 W drill is perfect. If the beam is not very long, then two holes on each side will be enough. If the length of the beam for the dowels is long enough, then it will be necessary to make an additional hole in the center. After the holes are made, you can drive the dowels into them using a hammer or small sledgehammer.

Safety precautions

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Compliance with these rules ensures that the work will be successfully carried out without harm to human health

Before any work, it is important to inspect the surface. If a small element is being drilled, then most likely it will need to be secured in a special vice

For example, if we are talking about timber. Never place a work element in a poorly fixed spindle.

There should be no hanging ends on the worker's overalls. The shirt is usually tucked into the trousers. Under no circumstances should clothing be cleaned during work, as this can lead to serious consequences. Masters use protective glasses - masks to protect the skin of the face and eyes.

To prevent the tool from slipping out of your hands while working, you must wear gloves. If the drill is massive, then it is best to carry out work with rubber gloves. They not only help ensure that the instrument does not slip out of your hands, but also prevent various injuries to the skin of the hands.

Be sure to hold the tool with both hands. Do not work while standing on stairs or other poorly secured surfaces. Do not use blunt equipment, this leads to an increase in construction time. Do not insert or remove a drill using an adjustable wrench as this will damage the chuck and tool. Do not use the drill in snow or rain, even light rain - this can lead to a short circuit and electric shock.

Whatever work needs to be done with a drill, it is important to remember that the quality of the work performed directly depends on taking into account the features of drilling. The main thing is to believe in yourself and not stray from the planned work plan.

If you don’t have a drilling machine at home or at least a stand for a drill, then drilling an even perpendicular hole is quite a difficult task. To do this, you will need special devices, for example, a jig for drilling holes, but you can’t buy such a device everywhere, or you need to make a vertical hole at 90 degrees urgently. Let's find out how at home you can easily drill a perpendicular hole using a regular hand drill.

The first device for evenly drilling holes is quite simple - it’s a pair of pieces of wood fastened together with a tenon and an iron construction fastening angle glued to the inside, that’s all, I further refined it with stain and varnished it since this is a device I use quite often.