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Why are we toasting holesaw bits on granite faucet holes? We haven’t done alot a of granite, as we have been mostly involved in Engineered stone. We’ve got that product down pretty well, however when we are drilling faucet holes in granite onsite, we are using the “cup” to hold water and keep adding water to the cup as we drill. The water is boiling hot and the bit is glowing with heat.
What are we doing wrong?
Can someone provide me the bit and tool they use to cut faucet holes?
Thanks.
Brady
Sounds like to much speed and (or) the bit is worn out, no Diamond where you need it to cut the hole. Also the Diamond is electroplated to the bit, if you get the bit Red Hot the Diamond will lose the bond to the steel and break or fall off.
thanks Dani!
I think this is what we have learned today…too fast. We are used to cutting Quartz and it cuts alot easier!
Brady
We use bits like these to drill in granite or quartz.
GranQuartz Core BitIf you’re heating the bit up to the point of boiling the water then you’re glazing over the bit. Basically you’re heating up the metal and that is letting the diamonds release from the matrix before new ones are exposed. At that point you’re attempting to cut granite with a smooth piece of metal.
Take the bit that you have and drill a couple holes in a sandy stone, concrete, or a cinder block. That will remove the bare metal and expose more diamonds.
At that point I would try to reduce the speed of the grinder, increase the pressure that you’re using, and increase the amount of water if possible. Whenever we can we drill holes in the shop so that we can use a hose to supply water.
If you’re trying to drill into a super hard granite you may even want to re-dress the bit (drill into some concrete) when you’re half way through the material just in case the bit is starting to glaze.
Take your time. You can’t really think about engineered stone and granite the same way when you drill faucets on site. ES is a breeze to punch holes in.
If the bit gets red hot, you should have stopped a while ago. YOu also have to be careful not to heat the stone up so much it generates a hairline crack back to the sink.
Posted By Topshop on 03 Dec 2010 02:19 PM
I have used ice cubes inside the core bit to help keep it cool.
Sometimes us northerners will pack the core bit with snow. I guess it just matters what is available at the time.
I’ve watch my stone guys drill a few holes in quartz and granite… both times I was amazed at how it just went through like butter, actually seemed faster than my solid surface holes…
It also really depends on what(who’s) bit you are running. I find that if you buy the dry cutting bits and use them with some water they cut nice and last nearly forever.
You’re going to burn up that polisher pretty quick drill core holes with it. The gears inside don’t handle the torque very well. We picked up a pneumatic grinder a while back and it is great for stuff like that.
At our place we have order numbers for all of our granite orders. We are currently on order 01-4365. That means that we have produced 4365 orders. That part is the fact, the guess though is that half of those orders have needed holes drilled. We have 2 polishers that worked without fail for the entire time. We have gone through countless grinders though. So if by quickly you mean more than years and years… And I might need to check my physics on this one, but it takes less torque to spin something 1 3/8 diameter than it does 4 inches in diameter.
nssthan:
Brady started this thread looking for a method by which to drill faucet holes in a customer’s home. I appreciate your video, but even using a pneumatic polisher and water, practically impossible in a customers home, you took 45 seconds to drill a 1 3/8″ hole. The Rotozip ExCore I linked to has a video showing the same hole drilled dry, a vac attachment would allow in-home use, in fifteen seconds.
Joe
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