Have your drill set to hammer, place the masonry drill bit where you want the hole and turn the drill chuck by hand a few times. If you are using a decent drill bit this will cut through the glaze and provide a dent in the tile to hold the bit in place while you drill.

Tape of some sort over area to drill I always use celotape use a good drill bit nice and sharp and for first hole smaller than the size you need it drill a pilot hole first then drill required size. When drilling don't press to hard or force drill nice and slowly and as slow as possible drill speed. Always used this method and always worked for me.

Exactly what I have to do today ,towel rail in the bathroom for 'er indoors. What I do is mark where the holes are to go with felt tip pen then I use a wood drill with a sharp point and tap a small hole to break the glazing , this is enough for a small masonry drill to get a start. Easy.

Exactly what I have to do today ,towel rail in the bathroom for 'er indoors. What I do is mark where the holes are to go with felt tip pen then I use a wood drill with a sharp point and tap a small hole to break the glazing , this is enough for a small masonry drill to get a start. Easy.

It is more of a rack than a rail, I think. When in the railway station, rails can be seen, but when in the John one is more apt to discover racks.

I have spent literally years drilling holes in all kinds of materials, for all kinds of purposes. One job was drilling holes in the bottoms of nuclear submarines.
Here is a link for a video that I think does a really good job of putting the above suggestions into a simple and useful tutorial:

https://youtu.be/NpEPVLOX4Gc

I think a pilot hole will not be necessary for the usual towel bar installation.
Good luck, and enjoy!

It is so easy just use a masonary nail or sharp centre punch, mark the spot and give it a slight tap just enough to get through the glaze then using a masonary bit drill through the tile non hammer mode when you get to the concrete switch to hammer mode, stay away from edge of tiles and joints and not to close to corners

Agree, been doing it this way for 53 years with never a problem..........the slightest tap on the centre punch will not break the tile even if there is an air pocket behind it.

Never broken a tile yet!!

get a piece of plywood and pre - drill a suitable hole. hold it against the tile and then use a standard masonry drill bit through that hole. start at a slow speed. use a water spray bottle to lightly keep the drill bit wet and cool. after a few moments you will feel it 'drop' through the hardened surface of the tile, after that it's just like drilling into concrete.

I just use a masonry bit, do not use a old worn one, switch to hammer drill and just start slow!

Get someone to hold a vacuum cleaner hose about an inch from where you are drilling, that masonry dust travels everywhere.

Exactly what I have to do today ,towel rail in the bathroom for 'er indoors. What I do is mark where the holes are to go with felt tip pen then I use a wood drill with a sharp point and tap a small hole to break the glazing , this is enough for a small masonry drill to get a start. Easy.

It is more of a rack than a rail, I think. When in the railway station, rails can be seen, but when in the John one is more apt to discover racks.

The OP suggests a towel bar. Hmmm. A bar is where folk drink and a rack is full of shells or above a train seat. As for a John ; John was one of Jesus' disciples . Ask any Brit. what a towel rail is. Can I take it you are American ? I nearly said yank but that is something else once again. Oh oh I have just bought my chrome towel rail 139B , bit hot in the hong nam but it must get fitted. Bye.

Exactly what I have to do today ,towel rail in the bathroom for 'er indoors. What I do is mark where the holes are to go with felt tip pen then I use a wood drill with a sharp point and tap a small hole to break the glazing , this is enough for a small masonry drill to get a start. Easy.

It is more of a rack than a rail, I think. When in the railway station, rails can be seen, but when in the John one is more apt to discover racks.

The OP suggests a towel bar. Hmmm. A bar is where folk drink and a rack is full of shells or above a train seat. As for a John ; John was one of Jesus' disciples . Ask any Brit. what a towel rail is. Can I take it you are American ? I nearly said yank but that is something else once again. Oh oh I have just bought my chrome towel rail 139B , bit hot in the hong nam but it must get fitted. Bye.

Yep during the World War II and after we probably gave food to your family

Towel Bar Towel Rail only fool will care

But the food was taken and eaten

Get someone to hold a vacuum cleaner hose about an inch from where you are drilling, that masonry dust travels everywhere.

Guaranteed to have your vacume cleaner screaming loudly (and ready to die soon) if you drill many more than a dozen holes.

Hit the tile with a big pointy nail to break the glaze (just a pinhole)

drill the hole with the thinnest drill gradually up sizing to the

desired width usually 6mm or 8mm.

When drilling through the tile go very slowly (low rpm) a cordless

drill is good, to cut through the glaze, this way you won't crack

the tile, to whom do i send the invoice.

Hang the towel on the door knob. Works for me

Yeah ... this works very well if you like the musty smell of mildew caused by a too-slowly drying towel.

Hmmmmmm, fink I could make a few quid if I made a vid.....?

Easy there Tonto... have you made your correct tire pressure video yet?

borrow a wood pecker for a day

Not sure about tile but know those wood peckers in Denver made a lot of holes in sisters fireplace chimney. Amazing how powerful they are. The original hammer drill?

Hold tight , press hard and do it slow .

Story of my life.

Thought you were talking about the tile drilling for a minute HaHa----Love it