Drilax 4 Inch Diamond Hole Saw Kit | 1-1/8" Depth | Tile & Glass Hole Saw with Locator Guide & Water Coolant Function | for Ceramic, Porcelain, Stone, Tile, Glass

As my Amazon user name may suggest, I work as an installer of ceramic tile and stone. I have been fortunate enough in recent years to work with many clients specifying high end materials in large scale custom installations. More and more, these jobs entail the use of large format porcelain ceramic floor and wall tiles. I love the look of these behemoth tiles (commonly 12 x 24 or larger) but they certainly present some challenges when striving for a neat, clean installation. The job I am currently finishing is a good example of these challenges, as the design features 12 x 24 shower walls in two showers with large, custom niches in both. Heavy gauge (3/8") tiles of this size can be very tough to work with, due in large part to the internal stresses which accumulate within the tiles themselves as they are double fired. Attempting to cut anywhere near the edges very often ends in failure as the internal stresses relieve themselves with a sudden, uncontrolled crack. Even harder still is the job of cutting a large diameter hole to accommodate a shower control valve. I have always used a 4" diamond edged wheel in an angle grinder to make these cutouts in the past. I've had instances where I've had two or three tiles break before I have finally gotten the piece right. That can get expensive, and I have adopted the policy of not making any more than three attempts without at least taking a break and/ or trying something different. On this particular job, after breaking a record four tiles attempting to make that large hole, I looked online for an alternative. This 4 1/2" hole saw is exactly the right diameter to accommodate the shower valve seal that comes with the Schluter Shower System, which I try to use in every shower I do. It came in two days, and the price was significantly less than I pay for similar bits of much lesser diameter. I was skeptical. I am very practiced in using hole saws in tile, so the set up for me was easy. There is no central pilot drill in these bits, so one must use other methods to keep the bit from wandering whilst starting the hole. You also must use a low RPM drill and keep the work and the bit wet. Go slowly. Long story short....it worked flawlessly on the very first attempt. Neat edged hole through rock hard porcelain tile very near to the edge of a 12 x 24 tile. Highly recommended.

Used to cut a 4" hole in a 6' x 3' 3/8" porcelain tile for the shower mixing valve... Worked great - secured the hole guide with 2 pieces of wood clamped to the tile, the guide does not hold water on it's own, so just ran a hose on low slowly over the cutting area during cutting. Cut a practice hole first... looks like the hold saw diamond bits are still in good shape (I did it slow & steady, maybe 3-5 mins per hole), so will keep to use again!

I bought these to bore holes in 1.25" granite slabs. So far I have gotten two holes out of my first hole saw and while it is still cutting, it is cutting pretty slow at this point. If you are cutting tile or veneer stone, these are great, just keep water running on it and it'll cut perfectly. For granite slabs, I'm not sure I can recommend it unless you are ok spending on the order of 16 to 25 dollars per hole on hole saws and just assuming you'll be throwing them out. My only real complaint is that the advertised 1.25 max hole depth is not quite accurate. I'm finding that it bottoms out around 1-1.125" deep and I have to knock the core slug out from below (prevents edge tearout) and continue cutting. Not the end of the world, just slightly annoying. The hole saw did have a bit of a wobble to it like the shank was slightly bent but honestly I think it may have helped it cut and eject the debris better by applying a slight pumping motion to the water in the cut. I am buying another few of these as well as a cheaper brand (also on Amazon) to see if I can find out what the best bang for buck is on granite. My recommendation for getting these started is to line scrap lumber up at 90 degree angles right on the edge of the hole and clamp it to the work, as I've shown in one of my pictures. This gives you something to rest the hole saw against in both axes while you get it started instead of it trying to scoot around and scratching up your workpiece.

Totally worth the price! I chucked it in my Makita 18 volt drill and set the speed on low. I almost forgot to use water but remembered just in time. Since I was drilling tile that I had set over the drain the previous day, I was able to slowly pour the water around the saw as I went. It worked best for me to hold the drill steady with both hands at the start and spin the saw slowly until it scored a nice groove in the tile. With the saw set in the groove, I then sped the drill up and applied firm but not hard pressure, intermittently stopping to pour more water. The saw is very grippy and quickly ground a perfect circle through the tile. I was impressed! Time will tell how many uses I get out of it, but hopefully it holds up well. Even if it only lasts for five drain cuts it's worth the price to me. Too often I see poorly cut drains with jagged angular edges that ruin the look of an otherwise fine tile job. This saw leaves a very clean, proffesional result.

Worked great, great service

Easy to cut though tile

Remodeling a Shower with a porcelain tile surround. Needed to cut a hole for the shower handle. Most tile hole saws this size were twice the price or more. Since I only needed one cut, I figured this would do. And it did the job fine. But after only 1.5 cuts (I broke the first tile applying too much pressure on an uneven surface) I noticed the abrasive already seemed to be coming off. Used with water per instructions. The foam alignment jig was a plus for cutting the hole and aligning the hole with the handle

I ordered this item as another reviewer had said they had used it to cut tile for their shower mixer that had a Schluter seal; exactly my situation. I am tiling with 12" x 24" tiles and where the mixer was set spanned two tiles - just barely - you can see in the picture. I used a scrap of 1" plywood to make a guide by tracing around the edge of the drill bit and then using a jigsaw to cut out the circle (used a drill to make the initial hole). I then set up the two tiles using tile spacers and plumbers putty in what will be the grout line. I used more putty to secure the wood guide to the tile, and then duck taped it down as well. I filled the guide with water and started drilling. I made the guide just a hair too large so the drill was not as steady as I would have liked - I think that's where the chip you can see in the photo came from. Also because of the grout line - even though I had the plumbers putty - the water leaked out and so I ended up using a pitcher of water and pouring it while I drilled. I'm thrilled with the result. Had used an angle grinder for around the toilet and this was leagues easier and did a much better job.