How to Avoid Breaking Drill Bits

Here is one of the main issues for those who use a drill during activities of drilling metals but also of some building materials: the breaking of drill bits. Certainly, this doesn't happen easily if professional tools are used, but one should never ignore the risk of possible damage. The problem, sometimes, doesn't depend on a worn-out or misused bit, but on the type of material being drilled.

If it's too hard, there can be problems for certain tools. What are the procedures to reduce and eliminate this common DIY error? Here are some tips to increase safety during drilling and work better on the compatibility between drill and material to reduce the risk of breaking bits during drilling concrete, steel, and stone.

Why Do Drill Bits Break? Here Are the Causes

Drill bits operate on specific products. There are models for metal, others for stone or wood. And here is one of the causes of a bit breaking: you are using a tool to drill a material that you shouldn't be working on. Only universal bits (like Krino's MultiK) can move on different surfaces: otherwise, you need to use tools for specific jobs.

Drill bits break because of overheating: excessive rotation speed or lack of lubrication can cause the bit to break. Then there are all the causes related to incorrect feed in relation to the drilling activity: applying excessive pressure is a common DIY mistake; the same applies when talking about incorrect inclination during the operation.

The last two causes that can lead to a drill bit breaking: it's no longer sharp and the chuck has difficulties, doesn't close properly, or allows the bit to oscillate dangerously. Creating problems for safety during drilling.

How Do You Avoid Breaking Drill Bits?

Once you've identified the causes of a drill bit breaking, it will be easy to define good practices to avoid such problems. The fundamental solution to avoid inconvenience: buy quality bits dedicated to individual activities. So, in your workshop there should be kits for drilling metal and for making holes in wood.

If needed, buy bits for building materials like stone, reinforced concrete, and marble. Remember that there are also tools for ceramic and porcelain stoneware. Select the right bit for the specific material and, above all, make sure you use the right lubricant if required: this small attention reduces friction and overheating, thus preventing bit breakage. It must be added, however, that in some cases excessive stress must be handled with bits with specific characteristics.

For this reason, in many cases we set aside the classic HSS steel – always valid, mind you – in favor of cobalt bits (like Krino's 8%) that offer greater heat resistance and thus deformations that lead to breakage.

We can prefer drill bits coated with titanium: they are perfect for handling high temperatures. To deepen, you can take a look at the guide that explains what are the ideal bits for drilling hard metal, to be read together with the tutorial for choosing the best drill bits. Another cause that leads to bit breakage: misuse of the drilling tool.

Careful Use of Tools to Avoid Breakage

Often, drill bits break because the tools have problems. If the chuck is damaged, it can create imprecise movement that leads to bit breakage (here is a guide for changing this element). A good practice to avoid damage is the ability to keep the drill always perpendicular, without tilting the bit and forcing the metal: when possible, you can think about careful use of the bench drill that avoids unnecessary stress that could break the bit.

What Are the Most Resistant Drill Bits?

Let's start with the assumption that you don't always need bits capable of resisting great stimuli: often, it's enough to just work well with appropriate tools. So, using bits for wood, for metals, and for building materials at the right time.

If you're looking for extra resistance, for heavy work, you can choose the best material for drill bits: in tungsten carbide (widia) that offers very high resistance to wear, heat, and breakage but not to side impacts. Alternatively? What do we have?

You can use HSS bits coated with TiN (titanium nitride) or cobalt, but for specific use with percussion drills for reinforced concrete and stone, there are SDS Plus or SDS Max bits. In any case, regardless of the model, remember to sharpen the bits regularly.