Drilling/Plugging into crumbly Brickwork?

[lovelyjob]

Hi all...I'm a newby...great site, just what I need.
My problem as follows..
I have a terraced house, built circa 1890. When I need to drill and plug a wall I seem to encounter a problem with the bricks. Sometimes they will crumble internally, leaving a sloppy hole for the plug, or more often the drill bit will be thrown off true by the pebbly content in some bricks.
It all ends with a hole never quite where I needed it, or not clean and true to take a plug. This is really annoying when trying to fix something that need to be level...like shelf brackets or Curtain rod.
I did use to have a tin of gear from years ago which was some sort of dry filler with abestos strands in it which when mixed up plugged the hole so well it took a screw almost immediately. Needless to say, its not available anymore...so any ideas and tips please.
Is it true also that a quality masonry bit is worth the money and if so, can you recommend a brand.
Regards,LJ.

 

[Thermo]

blow the dust out the hole, little dob of gripfill and either the plastic plug, or the old traditional method of strips of wood hammered into the hole, to give you the fixing.

 

[lovelyjob]

Thanks for the reply Thermo.
LJ.