Drilling into granite?

[genEus]

I picked up a huge granite boulder yesterday from a local nursery and I was thinking of burrowing a hole in it, to make a sort of a tunnel in it.

Has anyone drilled into granite before or is it not an easy thing to do?

 

[spiff]

It is with the right equipment. You might want to rent a Hilti drill from HQ or Home Depot. (think around 40bucks a day, much less for the hour- they supply the bits)

Your run of the mill impact drill, like one that costs less that 300 bucks, would take all day.

Or if you're not going for perfect holes, an impact chisel with an air compressor would be the way to go.

 

[sailing_derrick]

how big is huge??? Granite is extremely hard but it is not imposible to drill a hole in it, depending on what size hole u want and the size of the rock you can either use a jack hammer or a masonry drill. How do i know this u may ask, well my father is a miner and often encounters nasty granite

 

[genEus]

OK, I think between those two posts I've been dissuaded enough I'll just throw it in like it is and hope it looks pretty. If not, out it goes!

 

[Dr Joe]

Put something under it to eliminate pressure points on the bottom glass!

 

[Nic]

a good drill bit (MK diamond) will go through granite very easy with a good drill... hilti or eibenstock etc....

 

[fishysmell]

For clean holes you'll need diamond tipped bits, holesaws etc and constant water flow for cooling.

 

[chesterthehero]

how big is huge?

like... "o my back hurts that thing was heavy"... or.. "the guy driving the flatbed was a really good driver.. much better than the crane guy"

 

[genEus]

how big is huge?

like... "o my back hurts that thing was heavy"... or.. "the guy driving the flatbed was a really good driver.. much better than the crane guy"

It took me a couple seconds to understand the comparison but I thought it was really funny once I got what you meant by the flatbed and the crane guys.

Yeah... huge - it probably weighs 10-15 pounds, so it's huge by 20gal tank standards, not by monster fish standards.

Anyways, I just threw it in(*) as it is and I think it looks gorgeous. I had no idea how easy or hard it would be to drill granite but once I saw the replies I decided against it. Too much hassle.

------------------
(*)carefully lowered it

 

[chesterthehero]

hehehe good deal.. post some pics!!!
no point screwing up a nice rock if yer not sure you will like it once its done..

its not hard to drill rocks that size.. but it all depends on your comfort level when it comes to powertools...


and dont forget dr joe... hes a smart fella.. i think i remember he suggesting egg crate or mousepads (yes the computer kind) to someone else..

Put something under it to eliminate pressure points on the bottom glass!