How to drill a hole in marble worktops

When drill a hole in marble worktops, you must know that this natural stone is different from other materials like wood. This worktop surface is prone to cracking, so you need to be careful while drilling.

However, with the help of the right tools and a little patience, you can easily drill into marble without any cracking or splitting.

Steps to drill a hole in marble worktops:

Step 1: Clean the worktop surface properly. It should be free of clutter and debris when working on it. Also, wear your protective gear before beginning the procedure.

Step 2: The trickiest part of working on marble kitchen worktops is its smooth surface, which causes the drill bit to slip. So, you need to scratch its surface before drilling. You can have a masonry drill bit in hand and use its tip to scratch a pilot dimple on the worktop. Now attach that bit to a drill.

Step 3: Put the tip of a masonry bit in the small pilot dimple and slowly apply power pressure to the drill. Make sure the power is low, as you should not hurry during the process. However, put enough pressure so that the bit is touching the marble surface.

Step 4: Drilling into stones can create a lot of friction that heats the surface and may even burn out the drill bit. So, it’s best to keep the drill bit and the pilot dimple wet to avoid burn out.

Step 5: Start drilling gently. If the bit begins to bind, release some pressure. Now, continue at low pressure and speed until the desired depth is reached.

Which drill bit to use when drilling into marble?

The type of drill bit you need for marble depends on the quality, thickness and hardness of this natural stone. However, the following are the most commonly used drill bits for drilling marble:

• Diamond Tipped Bit: Just like regular bits that are used to drill through metals and wood, a diamond-tipped bit uses a combination of spiral channels to get rid of excess debris. But the only difference is that it’s tipped with diamond chunks. These bits are considered superior to carbide bits and utilized when drilling needs to be done on hardest, polished surfaces like marble.
• Carbide Tipped Bit: Unlike diamond tips, carbide-tipped bits use carbide on their drilling bit tip. These are also helpful in drilling the hardest materials like marbles and available in various sizes.
• Core Bit: Core bits or hole bits are specifically designed to drill bits with carbide or diamond tip. Instead of depending on the channel action, core bits feature a central pilot bit to hold it in place while its outer sections cut through the stone. These bits are ideal for drilling larger holes that are above 1/2-inch.
• Spade Bit: These bits are used only for the soft type of marble kitchen worktops like tumbled marble. These are just like the spade bits used for drilling through wood, except these bits are tipped in carbide or diamond. Since spade bit is weaker compared to traditional bits, you cannot use it to drill through harder types of marble; otherwise, its spade section could bend under the pressure.

Conclusion:

If you’re aware of the right tools and accessories that work well with marble worktops, you can easily drill a hole in marble without any hassle. You may even consult professional worktop fabricators to help you with drilling this stone.