Which drill for which material? An overview

Whether you're a DIY enthusiast, professional, or somewhere in between – a new project ideally begins with a planning phase. During this time, you check, for example, whether you have the material in stock or need to order supplies, watch tutorials on YouTube for obscure procedures that you want to tackle this time, perhaps acquire one or two urgently needed new accessories for your drill, and determine whether you actually possess the right drill bit types that you need for the planned material.

We can't assist you with all of these steps (you'll have to watch the tutorial videos yourself), but we're happy to help you with the selection of drill bits at least. This is just as complex as it is important for your project to succeed – but don't worry, with our overview you'll manage it easily. And if you notice gaps in your stock afterwards, then take a look at our twist drill bit section in the BAER online shop!

Drill bit types are differentiated according to the materials that can be machined

There are many attributes by which you can distinguish drill bits – from shank shape to the flute twist – but the classification that you'll find in most cases is based at the top level on the material in which you can use the tool. Although universal drill bits also exist that cover a wide range of materials, most tools are specialised in order to be as precise as possible when drilling. Choosing the right drill bit is crucial to the success of your drilling work.

Finding the right drill bit for your application

So let's take a look at the most common materials you'll encounter in your day-to-day work and see which drill bit is used for each application.

Drilling in wood

As a natural material, wood can sometimes be unpredictable and, depending on the type, can also have considerable hardness. Wood drill bits are designed to drill holes in wood-based materials. You can particularly recognise the wood drill bits by the centre point, which allows precise alignment and makes pre-marking unnecessary.

Since wood is a comparatively soft material, you can certainly achieve success here with other twist drill bits and in exceptional cases even create a borehole with the metal drill bit. Especially if you work with wood frequently, this should not be the rule, however, as the cutting edges of wood drill bits are longer at the outer edge to cut the edge of the borehole first when drilling and to ensure a clean borehole.

For wood there are also specialists: auger bits are optimal for very deep holes, Forstner bits are suitable for clean, large counterbores. Especially in furniture making, it can be worthwhile to search through the entire product range of wood drill bits for helpful tools.

Drilling in stone, concrete and masonry

Concrete and stone drill bits or stone drill bits are suitable for drilling in hard materials such as concrete and stone, which must be broken rather than machined. For this purpose, stone drill bits have a brazed hard metal plate at their conical tip. In such cases, a cordless drill won't get you very far – you'll need heavy-duty equipment such as a percussion drill or a rotary hammer.

When a hole needs to be drilled in very hard material, you cannot avoid using these special drills for stone and concrete, so do not even attempt it, as it will only damage your tool. With stone and concrete, impact force (percussion) is required, whereas with wood and metal, only the correct pressure for steady chip evacuation is important – these drill types are therefore not interchangeable in any way.

Drilling into Metals

Metal drill bits are specially designed for drilling into machinable materials such as metals. However, metal is also a category that encompasses such diverse materials as iron, steel, copper, brass and aluminium. Accordingly, the range of metal drill bits is very broad.

What unites them all is the fact that they have neither a metal plate nor a centre point, which is how you can clearly identify the metal drill bit. This also means that you must centre punch the metal before drilling in order to produce a precise and straight hole without any problems. Centre punching on metals prevents the drill bit from slipping. (If you would like to skip this step, take a look at our TurboCentrix twist drill bits with innovative step point, but just in passing …)

Depending on the application, you can choose universal metal drill bits that are suitable for most common metals, or – especially in harder cases such as stainless steel – specialist drill bits that are specifically designed for a particular type of metal. In all cases, the rule is: cooling is essential when drilling in metal to extend the service life of the drill bit.

HSS drills: These are the differences in the base materials for tools

The HSS drill (High Speed Steel) is the standard for metal machining. Depending on the application, different alloys, surface treatments or manufacturing processes are used to produce the optimal drill. It is important to weigh the respective advantages and disadvantages against each other to find the perfect solution for each application.

For example, HSS-G (ground) offers higher precision and tool life time than HSS-R (rolled). HSS-E or HSS-Co with cobalt alloy is ideal for stainless steel and tough, hard metals. A TiN/TiAlN coating provides wear protection and longer durability for drills. In this way, tools can be manufactured for a wide range of applications through the competent combination of different factors.

Find twist drill bits for all your drilling work in the BAER online shop!

Are you now looking for the perfect twist drill bit for your project? Then browse our online shop! Our products are organised into clear categories, so you can always see immediately which tool is suitable for which material or special application. You can find your perfect twist drill bit particularly easily using our integrated tool finder. And if you need help with your selection, our customer service team is of course happy to assist you.