I have a great flower pot and I want to use it, however there is no drain hole in the bottom. Is there a way to drill a hole in the bottom without cracking or breaking the entire pot? The material is brown, I think it was hand crafted. I had purchased it at a craft show.
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I drilled quite a few of them, (clay pots) using a masonry bit, available in many sizes, and just going slow and using a few drops of water where I was drilling.
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There is a ceramic drill bit that is used for ceramic tile that’s works very well.There is always the possibility that you might crack it, especially if it was not fired right.
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You should be able to do this with a diamond or carbide tip drill. When drilling take your time! Let the drill cut for you do not put a lot of pressure on the drill. To much pressure will cause heat and you will crack it. Take your time when doing this and get a good drill.
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There are special drill bits for drilling holes in ceramic and glass. These are readily available at most hardware stores. They have a flat pointed blade on a round shaft and are a very hard material (carbide?). You must be very careful to allow the drill to do all the work, not pressing too hard as it goes through the material. I also find that using a very slow speed is helpful to control the cutting. It will seem as though the drill bit is simply scraping the ceramic from the sides of the hole as it goes through. These drill bits are exactly the right tool for the job, and you should be able to do what you want with one of them, but even with care you may find that your handmade pot has a flaw under the surface and there is some risk that it will break.
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Use ordinary masonry drill bit and run it very slow with few drops of water, or you can use a sharp object and slowly ream it by hand again using few drops of water. Be careful if the base is thich (about 1/8″ or more), try boring the hole half way on both sides, otherwise the pot can chip off.