Always set your power tool to the rotary mode only. Never apply the impact mode, as using this mode will damage the drill bit and the tile. You should set your power tool to gear 1 to prevent the drill bit from overheating.
If you’re using a corded tool, in addition to setting it to gear 1, you also need to control the speed by pushing the trigger halfway only in order not to go over 500 rpm (as, otherwise, it will go up to 1000 rpm). If you’re using a cordless tool, you don’t need to control the speed through the trigger once the tool is set to gear 1, due to cordless tools’ lower rpm limit. If your tool doesn’t have gears, keep the speed at low rpm (max. 500 rpm), using the trigger.
Make sure you apply sufficient, but not excessive pressure (15-20 kg is recommended). You should hear a scraping or screeching noise when the drill bit starts removing the material. This normally confirms you’ve applied the right amount of pressure, the drill bit is working correctly and you can carry on drilling.
Cooling is not required.
Adding a little bit of ‘wobbling’ motion when drilling in hard tiles can help you gain speed and extend the drill bit’s lifetime.
Once you’ve drilled through the tile, switch to a concrete drill bit to tackle the material under the tile (concrete, brick). Make sure you’ve changed the power tool settings to the impact mode and gear 2 before starting to drill with a concrete drill bit. For this specific application, consider our set including HEX-9 HardCeramic and CYL-3 (2608900596) drill bits.
When drilling into hard tiles with diameters of 10 mm or larger, we recommend pre-drilling with smaller diameters (6, 7 or 8 mm).