8 Best Drill Bit Sharpeners - drill bits hss steel

We’ve put together a buying guide to explain more about tile cutters and what they do, hopefully answering any questions you might have. But if you already know you want a tile cutter and just want recommendations on what to buy, scroll down to see our selection.

These bits perform double duty as they drill a pilot hole and countersink the hole at the same time. This ensures that the fastener head sits just below the surface of the wood.

Along with straight cuts, the cutter is capable of cutting diagonally as well as producing bevels (20mm maximum cutting capacity at a 90-degree bevel). It also has a 45-degree mitre guide for internal and external corner joints. The cutter has a foldable carry handle that’s probably most useful for smaller hands and a cleverly designed magnetic safety switch to prevent the machine accidentally turning on when you plug it into a power source.

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This wood drilling bit’s distinguishing feature is in the name. The sharp point on a brad point bit helps position the bit for a precise hole. These bits don’t walk on you when you start a hole. This makes this the right wood drilling bit for when you need a truly accurate start.

Key specs – Size: 186.5 (H) × 445mm (W); Power: Electric; Wheel material: 115mm diamond blade; Suitable for: Tiles up to 20mm thick/ceramic, quarry, terracotta, slate, porcelain, marble, granite and limestone

Often confused with a Forstner bit, self-feeding bits include a threaded tip like the auger bit. This pulls the bit through the wood. These bits are meant for holes that go all the way through the wood. This is exactly the right type of wood drilling bit when you want to make a lot of larger holes for rough-in. Typically, self-feed bits are used for boring larger holes.

This is the type of bit that probably comes to mind first when you hear “drill bit.” It’s the most common type of bit and used for general purposes around the jobsite and home. Softwood can get stuck in the flutes, so gently remove it with a brush or by blowing it off.

Porcelain – The other most common type of tile is porcelain, popular for its ability to emulate natural stone, brick or wood. This equally durable tile is all-purpose and even suitable to use outside, as it won’t freeze, fade or crack.

As we mentioned above, twist drill bits (or “twist bits”) can range in price from affordable black oxide coated bits to expensive carbide bits used in milling. When it comes to choosing a drill bit for your wood project, a nice set of high-speed steel (HSS) bits should do just fine.

Although there are a wealth of different types of tile available, these are the most common and widely used around the house:

Spade bits have a broad, flat area for boring larger diameter holes in wood. The spade bit has no flutes so you may have to back off the bit as you go when drilling deeper holes. While a traditional spade bit has a perfectly flat face, products like the Bosch Daredevil spade bit feature a self-feed tip and a slightly curved face.

Before we get to drill bit types, you should be familiar with the various treatments drill bit manufacturers use to increase bit life and reduce friction. Drill bits are made from steel, high-speed steel (HSS)—which is steel alloyed with tungsten and/or molybdenum, HSS with a cobalt alloy, HSS with titanium coating, HSS with black oxide coating, or carbide tipped.

There are numerous options on the market when it comes to choosing a tile cutter, but your key consideration should be the type and thickness of the tile you’re going to cut.

We’ve got tile cutters in our review priced from £14 to £70 and these different models will have different features that may or may not be useful to you. Our guide should give you plenty of options, whatever your budget.

Using the cutter is simple: using a metal ruler to keep things straight, mark the tile with the scorer. Then insert the tile in the jaws of the cutter, aligning the scored mark with the centre of the tool, and squeeze to snap the tile in two. You might hear these types of cutters also referred to as ‘snappers’ for obvious reasons!

Look around any home and you’re bound to find tiles. Bathrooms, kitchens and many other locations generally use tiles to provide a hard-wearing finish to your home. Tiles are made from refined clay, meaning they’re tough and need specialist tools to cut. The best tile cutters on the market make trimming tiles an easy job and can save a lot of time along the way.

Price: £15 | Buy now from Screwfix Screwfix’s tile cutter is remarkably well priced, while still allowing you to cut tiles up to 330mm in length. This cutter also uses a simple “score and snap” technique, but with a large handle (unlike the Vitrex above) that’s used to score and then apply the snapper to the tile.

Key Specs – Size: 340 × 305mm (table size); Power: Electric; Wheel Material: 110mm diamond blade; Suitable for: Tiles up to 23mm thick / Ceramic, quarry, terracotta, slate, porcelain, marble, granite, and limestone.

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Drill bits appropriate for wood drilling are steel, HSS, titanium coated, and black oxide coated. Those other bits work best for metals. We’ve written about black oxide coating and have reviewed the best drill bits as well as the best drill bits for metal.

You can also do diagonal cuts up to 230mm at a 45-degree angle, and the cutting wheel and breaker bar are both replaceable.

We found the instructions on the box extremely clear (probably the best of all the cutters we tested) and the cutter produced a clean cut repeatedly. However, it could benefit from slightly better-oiled runners, and it didn’t feel particularly substantial.

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Key specs – Size: 200mm; Power: Manual; Wheel material: Tungsten carbide; Suitable for: Ceramic, marble, quarry, terracotta and slate tiles up to 10mm thick

This is one of the noisier tile cutters we’ve come across, but it does its job extremely well. Do make sure to keep water in the reservoir and clean the bed from time to time to ensure its smooth running.

A few users have noted that the breaker bar can lightly mark tiles, so we would recommend using masking tape to protect the tile before cutting.

Key specs – Size: 465 (L) × 140mm (W); Power: Manual; Wheel material: Tungsten carbide; Suitable for: Tiles up to 10mm thick/ceramic tiles

A related bit to the installer bit is the flex bit which just uses a flexible shaft to let you get into tight spaces as needed. These can exist in lengths up to 72-inches.

It might sound obvious, but we use tiles to test our tile cutters. We assess each cutter in a variety of ways, looking at ease of use, strength (how easily they snip through our chosen tiles), as well as what types of tiles they can cut. We give extra points to any tile cutters that can perform angled cuts and make a note of those that can only do straight line cuts. We also look at value for money – though tile cutters only perform one job, they’re not all created equal. Our roundup ensures you’re getting the best cutters for your money, no matter your budget or needs.

Self-feed bits can be a tad more aggressive than other large-diameter wood bits. They can also use either one or two cutting heads in addition to the perimeter cutting teeth. Check out our review of the Milwaukee self-feed bits and the Diablo SPEEDemon self-feed bits.

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You’ll immediately notice a threaded tip on auger bits. This type of wood drilling bit uses the tip to quickly pull the bit through the wood. Auger bits maintain a constant flute throughout the length of the bit. These bits challenge cordless drills because they “force” the drill to maintain speed throughout the hole due to the self-feed tip.

These odd-looking bits bore through wood or create flat-bottomed holes if the hole doesn’t go all the way through the piece. Use them when setting up cabinet hinges or similar applications.

The Vitrex handheld tile cutter is 200mm in length and manufactured from drop-forged steel with a 15mm offset jaw and a tungsten carbide cutting wheel. The cutting wheel is quite small, and there’s no mention of it on the packaging, but you can be assured it is there! It may be small, but it’s tough – you can use them on ceramic, marble, quarry, terracotta, and slate tiles.

Price: £33 | Buy now from Toolstation Vitrex’s heavy-duty tile cutter is a bit of a beast, capable of cutting tiles up to 500mm square and 12mm thick. You’ve also got the option to make diagonal cuts on tiles up to 360mm.

Ceramic – Ceramic tiles are extremely durable, making them a common choice for the home. They can be used in just about any room of the house, particularly kitchens and bathrooms, and come in hundreds of different styles.

We did notice that we sometimes got an uneven break at the far end of the tile with larger tiles, so we’d recommend only using these cutters with smaller tiles.

Tile cutters are either manual or electric, with a variety of different features included. You’ll also find different tile cutters are recommended for different types of tile. It can be a mind-boggling choice, but our simple guide to the best tile cutters will make things easier.

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Key specs – Size: 680 (L) × 170mm (W); Power: Manual; Wheel material: Tungsten carbide; Suitable for: Tiles up to 12mm thick. Not suitable for porcelain tiles

Most of us are guilty of using the wrong tool for the job—either out of necessity or laziness. Still, there’s something satisfying about using the right tool for the job. Often, using the right tool helps bring about the best possible result. When drilling, accessories matter—possibly even more than the tool you choose. Knowing the various types of wood drilling bits and how to use the right one can really increase both speed and quality.

We found that this cutter produced smoother cuts than any of the manual tile cutters. However, despite the claim that the water re-circulation system ensures a clean workstation, we found that the cutter did produce a fair amount of mess. We’d therefore recommend using it either outside or in an area that’s easy to sweep up.

Granite – This is another natural stone, though one that’s cheaper than marble. However, it’s also prone to staining and needs a penetrative sealant to protect it.

Price: £46 | Buy now from Toolstation Don’t be fooled by the price of the QEP tile cutter – this little cutter packs a big punch! Cutting to a depth of 23mm, it works with most common tiles and you can also use it with a dedicated porcelain blade (it’s supplied with a general purpose blade).

The Mac Allister tile cutter is a great electric option. There are probably better tile cutters out there, but you’ll be looking at professional grade models costing upwards of £700, so this is excellent for consumers dealing with a variety of tiles, including ceramic, quarry, terracotta, slate, porcelain, marble, granite and limestone.

The cutter has a nice sturdy construction and is made from steel. It’s easy to use and even comes with an integral angle cutting guide. As with other similar cutters, you’ll need to mark a line on the tile where you want to cut. Then place the tile on the cutter bed and line up the mark with the centre point indicator. Applying light pressure to the handle, push down and score the tile once. Lastly, position the breaker bar to sit on top of the tile and push down gently to crack the tile.

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A hole saw uses a pilot twist bit to guide a large diameter rotary saw that removes a plug from the wood. This allows conduit or wires to pass through. You also use these bits when drilling out locksets for doors. You can find hole saws for both wood and metal.

One of the most useful features of the QEP cutter is a fixed extension table that allows you to keep your tiles in place while you’re cutting them. We also really liked the mitre and parallel guides – these made this a particularly easy cutter to cut straight lines with. The finish is extremely clean and it’s also easy to cut angles and bevels.

Just as the name implies, these long, skinny “bell hanger” wood drilling bits are used for electricians pulling wires or performing similar installation work. In addition to their long length, installer bits often feature a hole near the front of the bit for use with pulling wire.

By now we think it’s clear when and how to use the right wood drilling bit.  Have anything to add from your experience? Sound off on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to let us know what you think!

Wood species are divided into the two general categories of softwoods and hardwoods, but there is also much hardness variation within those categories. The wood type makes a significant difference in bit choice. Drilling a soft pine will be much easier on a drill bit than drilling a hard hickory. You can drill softer wood with steel (although we’d recommend HSS for any job) but as the hardness increases, it must be matched by bit hardness. This means a titanium or black oxide coating is appropriate for hardwood.

Marble – Marble tiles are a more costly purchase, but they can add elegance and depth to a room. However, they require a lot of upkeep to keep pristine and are susceptible to scratches and stains, meaning a sealant is essential.

Glass – Glass tiles offer a clean aesthetic and are extremely stain resistant. However, they are far more fragile than ceramic and porcelain, and can easily chip along the edges.

The purpose of the hole affects bit choice. Will the hole accommodate an anchor to hold a picture, will it be used for wire or conduit, does the fastener that goes in it need to be countersunk?

Again, using the cutter is simple: mark the tile and insert it into the cutter in line with the guide. Lower the handle to bring the scorer into contact with the tile, and push or pull the handle to score once along the line. Finally, lower the handle fully so that the snapper touches the tile and apply pressure to snap the tile in two.

Price: £14 | Buy now from Wickes If you’re looking for a “no fuss” pair of handheld tile cutters, Vitrex’s cutter is a great choice. With a simple “score and snap’ action, these cutters are simple to use and don’t require any setting up at all.

Cement – Cement tiles have been around since the 19th century and are extremely versatile. Unfortunately, they’re not easy to lay and need to be resealed at least once a month.