Drilling into cement. What did I do wrong?

[chris142]

We are fixing up an outdoor shed. One important thing I need to do is to screw the metal thresh hold down so the bottom on the door will seal and keep mice out.

Went to HD and bought the plastic gizmo's you put in the holes and a 1/4 Masonry bit. Went home and tried to drill.

Got about 1/2 inch into the first hole which went very fast, it stopped drilling. Pulled the bit out and the end was blue and very hot. Now it wont drill at all so I somehow burned the bit up already. Don't feel like making another 1.5 round trip hr drive to the hardware store today so I quit for the day.

Where did I go wrong?

 

[purplezr2]

Guess you went to fast rpm wise

 

[Warrenator]

Probably drilled too fast, try using a slower speed and also does not hurt to have water dripping into the hole, or drill dry but pull the bit out every 10 seconds or so and dunk in a cup of water. Masonry bits can sometimes be resharpened. Or buy new ones, they're cheap.

 

[Strouty]

Did the tip look deformed at all? You could also have hit rebar or mesh. It does sound like you were drilling too fast. If you have a grinder you could attempt to put an edge back on it, what do you have to lose?

 

[chris142]

It only drilled about 5 seconds before it stopped drilling. My drill only has 2 speeds. On and off

 

[raiderhillbilly]

A hammer drill would do a much better job and they run at lower RPMs. It is hard to drill concrete well with a regular drill.

 

[Rookie2]

you could have hit a stone in the concrete (as said with rebar). with out a hammer drill your just going to get frustrated and burn up a lot of drillbits.

can you borrow one ?

 

[Techie1961]

I wonder if the carbide insert is even still there. It might have broken off and you are using the steel only.

 

[James-W]

A hammer drill is the tool you really need for drilling concrete. Another possibility is that the drill bit you bought wasn't very good, or it was defective. It could also be as has been mentioned, you may have hit some rebar or some wire mesh.

 

[chris142]

Masonry bit in concrete? Seriously? You need as hammer drill and concrete bit.

Do you mean to tell me that the guy @ HD sold me the wrong kind of bit?

 

[strength_and_power]

Plastic anchors in an oversize hole is probably not the best way to go. I would look at using Tapcons. They are usually blue in color and you need to use the Tapcon drill bit for the size you are using.
If you were using a straight drill, you were probably going too fast. A hammer drill would be the next option. Hammer drill will have a regular chuck with chuck key and can be used for wood, steel etc when switched out of hammer mode. The best option for drilling holes in concrete is to use a rotary hammer. These spin a lot slower but have a lot more impact. They typically use an SDS drive which requires a bit with an SDS shank. Bosch makes SDS bits as small as 3/16", maybe 1/8" up to an inch or so. I use a rotary hammer with a 3/8" bit almost daily for work ( anchoring safes) and I replace the bit every 9-12 months. The rotary hammer can usually be set to just "hammer" and you can buy flat chisel bits with the SDS shank and use it to chip out tile. Once you use a rotary hammer for drilling concrete you will never want to go back to a hammer drill and you will wonder why you didn't get one sooner. Since you are just anchoring a threshold with probably 4 holes, the $200-250 with a bit makes for some expensive holes but you will still have the rotary hammer to use after and who doesn't need more toys?
As a last resort, however you get the holes drilled, if the plastic anchor doesn't work, just pound some wood into the hole and use a wood screw.

 

[CNGsaves]

It's little strange that you had any problem at all . . you know drilling into powder !!

That cement powder couldn't have been that tough on bit !!

Seriously, I'd drip water in concrete hole next time and take a break while drilling if you thought bit was getting too hot.

 

[FullRaceMerc]

How old of concrete is it? I've hit some stuff that was poured in the 40s that is much harder than anything before or since. That stuff is hard on bits & tkes awhile.

Some of those HD bits are junk. Slower speed, cooling water, & a hammer drill all help, but if the bit is junk it loses its tip & won't drill.

 

[Justanoldguy]

It's little strange that you had any problem at all . . you know drilling into powder !!

That cement powder couldn't have been that tough on bit !!

Seriously, I'd drip water in concrete hole next time and take a break while drilling if you thought bit was getting too hot.

ditto to the cement.

 

[mnavillus]

Hammer drill and concrete bit! problem solved!

 

[DekeT]

Construction adhesive.

 

[BuickFarmer]

Construction adhesive.

Exactly!!

 

[APEowner]

My drill only has 2 speeds. On and off

Without knowing what bit you were using it's hard to say if that was a factor but bit speed is a major issue. You're going to go through a lot of drill bits if you try and use that drill.

 

[04fivefour]

Hammer drill is a worlds difference. It goes like a hot knife through butter.

 

[bigroomboy]

You can't drill concrete without hammer! The impact breaks up a bit of concrete and the rotation just helps remove the waste. Hammer is OK for soft materials but for hard concrete SDS is night and day. If all you have is a non hammer drill go buy a half decent SDS and never look back for concrete and stone drilling.

 

[Lightman]

Hand operated "star" drill, dont know if they are that small? Used a 3/8 before, doesnt take that long, go slow lots of taps.

 

[iminocca]

These work great!
http://t.harborfreight.com/1-18-in-10-amp-heavy-duty-sds-variable-speed-rotary-hammer-69274.html
Less than $80 with a coupon and a well made tool. I like Bosch bits, they hold up well and make nice holes.

If this isn't in budget, then I vote for construction adhesive also.

 

[dogdog]

If it is only a few off holes that you needed, there is no needed to go all out for sds max or spline bits to anticipate a bolder busting task.
Even though I have the sds max and plenty of those 4 cutter bits. Unless I have a lot of holes to drill, I have always just drill my concrete / mason holes with a good size drill slow speed and plenty of water to cool the bit.... you can afford a squirt bottle, just stop often and pull out to squirt water and let the debris out so it won't jam up the drill causing more heat. Once you let the bit turn blue, think the cutting edge and the temper is pretty much lost for those bits. If you have large deep holes and needed plenty of holes drilled often, yea SDS Max with a SDS Max to SDS plus adapter. and sds max to drill chuck adapter.
I think the spline ones are for jobs that sds max can't handle.

BTW I find that HF ones are ****.

 

[duneslider]

I generally have use the tapcons to install thresholds. A hammer setting on a cordless drill usually works plenty good for the special bit with the tapcons. If you don't have a drill with hammer setting then use a slow speed and go slow like others have mentioned. Keep the bit cool.

 

[mobiledynamics]

I have 3 various hammers in my mix....Tec 7, Tec 70 and a Bosch Breaker.

BUT did you guys read the OP. He's working with a 1/4" bit. ANY decent bit should have worked.

OP, I think you either pushed too hard, went too fast and just burned off your bit in your ~regular~ drill.
Let the bit do the work. Don't go crazy pushing it it. If you want, take a small bucket of water. Depending on how many holes you need to make, which does not sound like alot, dip the bit in the water to cool it off.

 

[alex1017]

www.drillbitwarehouse.com

 

[MoonRise]

BUT did you guys read the OP. He's working with a 1/4" bit. ANY decent bit should have worked.

OP, I think you either pushed too hard, went too fast and just burned off your bit in your ~regular~ drill.
Let the bit do the work. Don't go crazy pushing it it. If you want, take a small bucket of water. Depending on how many holes you need to make, which does not sound like alot, dip the bit in the water to cool it off.

Have (in an earlier non-enlightened period of my life ) attempted to drill various small sized holes into various masonry substances (concrete, brick, concrete block aka CMU, etc).

Even using a slow-speed 1/2 inch drill (no hammer mode, not a hammer-drill, but enough torque to throw you through the air and/or break your wrist/arm if the bit jammed up) and various quality carbide tipped masonry bits, success was varied.

Forget trying to use a 'regular' 3/8 inch or 1/4 inch drill, those just turn waaaay too fast for successful drilling into masonry. BTDT, finally went out and bought the hammer drill (years ago).

A 1/2" hammer drill works much better. The hammering action breaks up the masonry and the drill action removes the masonry dust and crumbs.

The SDS (regular or Plus or Max) machines and bits are 'better' at the hammering action because the bit is allowed to 'slide' fore and aft a little from the hammering mechanism and not have the entire tool and/or chuck slamming back and forth (as much).

But you don't 'need' an SDS-type system (or you shouldn't ) to drill some 1/4" holes in concrete.

Get (buy, borrow, rent) at least a hammer drill and make short work of the job.

IMNSHO.

 

[Gotcha640]

I've used a powder hammer (.22 shell fires a nail) for that. No second chances though! Or adhesive, as mentioned.

 

[Cougar]

Was the drill in forward or reverse?
Watched someone trying to drill a hole, he says this damn drill doesn't work. Took the drill put it in forward, good as new.
Or maybe just a bad bit. I've drilled plenty of small holes without a hammer drill.
If the bit get too hot and you dunk it in water you could fracture the carbide.