Gauge Wear
If drilling through hard materials such as sandstone and quartzite, drilling with excessive rotation, the wear tends to be greater on the bit circumference. Thus, when the buttons are sharpened, the diameter across the gauge is less than or equal to the diameter of the bit body. In this situation, the bit tends to bind (gauge-out) in the hole. Drillers should consider bit replacement or restoring the gauge button-to-body gap to the original (new) condition.Harder ground conditions and drilling with excessive rotation creates wear that tends to be greater on the bit circumference.

Body Wash
When drilling in non-abrasive materials, carbide wear is minimized and drilling intervals are possibly longer. This allows for continued chip removal around the bit and wears away the bit body quicker than the carbides also referred to as body wash. Similar wear occurs in fractured and loose formations where constant hole cleaning and re-drilling of the materials is required for stabilizing the hole and to keep the hole open during retraction. To prevent button loss or shearing under these conditions, the protrusion should be reduced to the original height by scheduling grinding intervals.
Body wash often occurs when drilling in non-abrasive materials.

Over Drilling
The detrimental effects of over drilling button bits may not be immediately apparent. However, running dull bits not only slows down drilling rates but escalates costs by reducing the life of the drill string components, the rock drill and the rig components. Premature button bit insert failures are substantially reduced when over drilling is eliminated and correct sharpening procedures are performed.