to pre fill the plenum 34 and passageways 36 of the bit 10 it is also contemplated that filler material 38 that can be relatively easily removed from orifices 26 30 plenum 34 and passageways 36 of the drill bit 10 may provide sufficient internal support for the drill bit 10 during infiltration such that external support provided by the castable material 24 may not be required for example the plenum 34 and passageways 36 could be filled with a hardenable material such as a graphite slurry that can later be dissolved destroyed or otherwise removed after or while infiltration occurs such a configuration would allow infiltrant 18 to be placed adjacent the crown 12 and subsequently u201c wicked u201d into the bit 10 as the infiltrant 18 melts and would not necessitate the use of external support of the bit 10 during infiltration it is appreciated however that both internal and external support could be combined to structurally support the bit 10 during infiltration fig2 illustrates another preferred embodiment of the present invention showing a drill bit 40 positioned within a refractory vessel 42 and surrounded by granular nonwettable particulate matter 44 the bit 40 is comprised of a layered manufactured crown 46 of particulate material a pre machined steel blank 48 positioned within the crown 46 and machinable powder 50 such as tungsten in a ring like shape surrounding a portion of the blank 48 and that can be later machined to provide an interface between the crown 46 and the blank 48 the crown 46 may.