z wrote:
ok, so.... installing a replacement for a freezeproof outdoor faucet
which apparently froze... anyway, there's a decorative brick wall
covering the real structural wall, and a hole about the size of an
electrical outlet box through which the faucet goes, which was covered
with a hideous aluminum plate about 8 inches square screwed randomly
to the bricks.

so, i goes to the nearest hemedepoo and gets a nice 4 inch diameter
round plastic coverplate of some kind designed for this kind of thing,
even has a circle of the right diameter embossed on the backside to
punch out. gonna install it onto the brick with those little blue
screws that you screw into bricks, concrete, masonry, etc. after using
the special tungsten carbide drill that comes packaged with them for a
pilot hole.

naturally; three of the holes and screws work fine, the fourth
hole..... drill comes to a dead stop maybe 3/16 inch in and just sits
there getting hot. is it dull? i try it out on a spare brick, drills
right into it fine, so no, it's not dull. i assume there's a diamond
or something embedded in the brick just where i want to drill.

is there anything to do to get past this oddity, or do i either have
to move that screw and make it look funny (assuming i find a softer
spot after all), or rotate the whole plate and try my luck again?

You may have hit a rock inside the brick. Try cracking the rock with a punch
and a hammer.