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drilling cast stone -- diamond or carbide

17 years ago

Can you use a carbide bit to drill cast stone -- to drill holes for the posts of my cast iron railings.... after my steps were rebuilt. The treads are cast stone.

Or does it have to be a diamond bit.

The Cast stone has reinforced steel in it.

thanks.

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Comments (8)

formulaross
17 years ago
I would treat cast stone like a countertop fabricator treats a granite countertop; check with them on what they use. My guess is a diamond bit, but I could be wrong.
Jon1270
17 years ago
What exactly is meant by "cast stone?" Are we talking about concrete, or something more exotic?
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Riverstones can be all different sorts of stone, so you don't really know how hard a material you're trying to cut. A few stones can be cut with ordinary drill bits, but more likely you'll need a harder cutting edge. Two kinds are commonly available at your hardware store or big box - masonry bits intended for concrete, or glass/tile drills. Failing those, perhaps carbide burrs or diamond bits, which are more expensive and harder to find. The holes these bits make aren't terribly precise, so I imagine you'll need to use epoxy to anchor the threaded inserts; even if you could achieve a friction fit, you'd probably split the stones with the pressure. If you're making a lot of these and your hardware store is far away, buy several drills and plan to return the extras; the carbide cutting edges tends to chip off easily so they may not last long. I'd drill the softest-seeming stones first, then do battle with the harder ones, and yes, keeping the bit cool with a squirt bottle of water is a great idea.
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kudzu9
17 years ago
In my area cast stone is concrete and carbide works fine.
brickeyee
17 years ago
Diamond tooling is great for stone, and even concret.
Right up till you hit some metal.
The diamonds are stripped off the tool and it is ruined. One of those little problems with diamond tooling.
Carbide should do fine.
dickross
17 years ago
Carbide drills are fine for concrete...right up till you hit a chunk of quartz. The quartz will nicely polish the end of your drill. A hammer drill will go thru it. I've used diamond tools a fair bit on stone, never hit any metal. But i know they sometimes use diamond grinding equipment on steel, so must be possible to cut steel with diamond tools.
I have used some "cast stone" that was a mixture of ground limestone and resin. Steel drills would work fine but dull after a few holes. Carbide drills last much longer, but the cheap variety available at Evil Orange are not very sharp and don't cut very neat holes. I just resharpend a steel bit every 5-6 holes.
brickeyee
17 years ago
Diamond tooling for grinding steel is very differnet than diamond tooling for stone.
Soft steel is not worked with diamond tooling, only hardened steel.
If you hit steel with a typical stone tool it quickly gums on the diamonds, and then starts stripping them from the matrix (typically nickel).
bus_driver
17 years ago
Earlier a hammer drill was mentioned. There is also a rotary hammer. Often they look about the same and the casual observer would notice little difference when they are operating. The hammer drill is by far the slower because it strikes gentle blows on the bit, The rotary hammer hits far harder and penetrates much faster. I have both types- guess which stays in the box most of the time. Most rotary hammers use the SDS spline bit retaining system, I have not seen a hammer drill that does.
diamond_blades_yahoo_com
17 years ago
I would recommend using a Diamond Tipped Core Bit (Long Hollow Tube with Diamond Segments on the tip for drilling holes).

There are specific Core Bits for use on Reinforced Concrete (Concrete with Rebar, etc.) which should work great for your specific task. I don't suggest using carbide for drilling through reinforced concrete.

Remember if you do choose to use a core bit, make sure you specify that you need a Wet Cutting Laser Welded Core Bit for Reinforced Concrete. You may have to rent the equipment for the special drill required. (The drill must rotate ONLY, no hammer drills when using diamond core bits!)

Here is a link that might be useful: Diamond Blade

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