Masonry & Multi-Material Drill Bit

Choosing masonry drill bits

A masonry drill bit has a hard carbide cutting tip on a steel body with deep spiral grooves that carry the dust out of the hole. Our concrete and brick bits are hammer drill bits for a rotary hammer drill: the hammer action breaks up the material while the tip cuts, which is how they get through concrete and brick quickly.

Choose in three steps: the shank that fits your drill (SDS-Plus or SDS-Max), the cutter head for the material, then the diameter and length of the hole you need. For a fixing, the anchor or plug instructions give the drill diameter and hole depth.

• •SDS-Plus: a 10mm round shank with two grooves that lock it in the chuck and two that drive it. Made for hammer drills under 5kg, and the most widespread format.
• •SDS-Max: an 18mm shank with two grooves that lock it in the chuck and three that drive it, for hammer drills over 5kg and bigger, deeper holes.
• •No hammer drill? Our SDS-Plus adaptor has a 1/4 inch drive end, so SDS-Plus bits can run in an impact driver or drill driver. You lose the hammer action, so drilling concrete is slow: use a hammer drill for anchor holes.

Concrete, brick, stone or tile: which bit?

The maker rates each bit by material. "Made for" means it is the right tool for that material; "will also drill" means it does the job occasionally. None of these bits are for steel or iron.

2-cutter, 3-cutter or Y-cutter?

• •2-cutter: a slim head with large dust grooves, built for speed in concrete. It will also survive hitting reinforcement. Our widest range: 4 to 26mm.
• •3-cutter: three cutters of equal height around the head. More robust than a 2-cutter, with reverse-curved cutters that do not snag on reinforcing bar, and a long service life. Our SDS-Plus 3-cutter bits run from 5 to 16mm, the Jet-Trac Triplo 3-cutter bits come in 18 and 20mm, and the SDS-Max 3-cutter bits in 12 and 16mm.
• •Y-cutter: a robust multiple cutter for larger diameters, with enlarged dust grooves and angles set to cut vibration. Our SDS-Max Y-cutter bits run from 18 to 40mm.
• •6-cutter: our SDS-Max 6-cutter bits come in 16, 24, 28 and 35mm.

Masonry drill bit sizes

Bits are sold by diameter and length. The length is written as overall length over working length: a 10 x 160/100 bit is 10mm across, 160mm long, and drills up to 100mm deep. Choose a working length a little longer than the hole you need.

Hollow bits: drill without the dust

A hollow bit drills and removes the dust in one step: a vacuum connected to the bit draws the dust up through the bit from the tip as you drill. The maker states it removes 98% of the drilling dust, leaving a clean hole and a clean work area. That makes it well suited to chemical anchors, which need a clean hole to hold, as it saves cleaning the hole separately.

The hollow bits come with an adaptor for the vacuum hose, and spare adaptors are in the selector, sized by bit diameter: the SDS-Plus 6 to 10mm adaptor fits our 8 and 10mm hollow bits, the SDS-Plus 12 to 24mm adaptor fits the 12 to 18mm SDS-Plus hollow bits, and the SDS-Max 18 to 40mm adaptor fits the SDS-Max hollow bits. They suit popular hammer drills, used with an M-class vacuum that draws at least 40 litres a second at more than 230 mbar. We carry SDS-Plus hollow bits from 8 to 18mm and SDS-Max hollow bits from 18 to 32mm.

Diamond tile drill bits for wall and roof tiles

MFB diamond drill bits are made for wall tiles and roof tiles, for clean, accurate holes when fitting taps, pipes, rails and fixings through tiled surfaces. They come in 6, 8, 10, 12, 15 and 20mm and fit a 10mm drill chuck.

There are two ranges, told apart by overall length. One is 66mm long (90mm for the 20mm bit) with a 12mm working length. The other is shorter: 52mm for the 6 and 8mm bits, 62mm for the 10 and 12mm bits and 68mm for the 20mm bit. Drill tiles with the hammer action switched off.

For pre-drilling and countersinking timber decking, see our EZBIT countersink drill bits.

Drilling tips for concrete and masonry

1. Check for reinforcement with a detector before you start, and drill clear of it wherever possible. If you cannot avoid cutting reinforcement, consult a structural engineer first.
2. Check for pipes and cables. They usually run straight up and down from sockets and fittings, so do not drill directly above or below them.
3. Grease the shank of the bit before fitting it in the chuck. It extends the life of the drill.
4. Let the hammer do the work. Too much pressure, or holding the drill off-centre or at an angle, drops the drilling power.
5. Before setting a plug or anchor, blow the dust out of the hole or use a hollow bit, so the fixing reaches its holding value.
6. For lightweight vertically perforated brick, hollow blocks of lightweight concrete and solid blocks of lightweight or aerated concrete, the maker recommends rotary drilling: switch the hammer action off.

Masonry drill bits in Adelaide

Allmat supplies masonry drill bits, anchors and fixings to builders, concreters and trade across Adelaide and South Australia. Add the bits you need to a quote with the anchors and screws for the job, and we will price the lot.

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