Realize a masonry drill would do it, but is there a drill bit which would do a tidier job without breaking the stone around the hole? Someone mentioned Diamond drill bits, anyone confirm this?
ryanm2,
May 8, 6:11am
a core drill would do the tidiest job - what sort of diameter are we talking?
mm12345,
May 8, 6:11am
You can get various diamond "core" drill bits from about 10mm size up at the local hardware shop etc., from about $15 each. They are best used wet and at moderate speed - or they'll overheat quite quickly. A small squeeze bottle with water is all I've needed. I've used them to drill neat holes in thick glass (to make holes for table-lamp cords), as well as for work with concrete.
ambo11,
May 8, 6:15am
Cheers, only talking 6mm, maybe 10mm max. and will be taking it slowly. Thanks!
mm12345,
May 8, 6:18am
Good luck. If you want a neat hole both sides, measure carefully and drill from both sides. If that's not possible, then once you're getting close to through to the other side, work very slowly and carefully with minimum pressure, or you'll blow a ragged hole in the other side.
ambo11,
May 8, 6:21am
Cheers for that.
mm12345,
May 8, 6:26am
Forgot to say that if it doesn't come with instructions, then to "centre" a hole with a hand-held drill, don't start with it dead upright to the stone - or it will skip around and make a mess. Start on about a 45 deg angle and let the bit carve a small arc at first, then gradually move the angle of attack until you're drilling straight down. I expect that this problem would be sorted if you had a good drill press and some way to very firmly secure the stone.
ambo11,
May 8, 6:32am
x1
Thanks, I was actually wondering about that. Have a drill press, but will experiment as some rocks won't fit in the drill press. might make a big clamp and use the power drill. Diamond core bits are cheap as chips on ebay and Aliexpress, so can sacrifice a few playing around. Cheers
mm12345,
May 8, 6:46am
http://www.holer.co.nz/ I'd suggest them rather than ebay etc. Diamond masonry tools I've bought from them have been good quality and much less expensive than Mitre 10 etc. Helpful knowledgeable staff too.
stevo2,
May 8, 7:46am
River stone is EXTREMELY hard to drill into. Seriously harder than concrete. I built this table for a client earlier in the year and had a core driller drill 3 150mm dia holes 500mm deep into the rock. It took him 2 x 9 hour days. I drilled 20 x 14mm dia holes into the bottom of the rock and killed 2 Hilti SDS bits in the process. Drill slowly and use HEAPS of water as the bit will heat up quickly. Good luck https://trademe.tmcdn.co.nz/photoserver/full/381365315.jpg
happychappy50,
May 8, 8:47am
Hop into a tile shop,I had an issue a few months ago with drilling some extremely hard tiles to mount a heated towel rail. Burnt out 3 diamond drills so found these improved bits . Holes were 5 mm I used a spray bottle with water to cool the bit easy peasy.
pozzie-nz,
Jan 14, 10:02pm
100% for the cool Table
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