Favorite Hole Saw?

[Waterjunky]

Hello all,
I just successfully burnt up another hole saw. All the little teeth are now flat..... I think its just the Rigid brand. I know they are semi-consumable but still hate replacing them.

What's your favorite brand? Cost is something I'm aware of but will pay for quality. Drilling almost anything but more wood and sheet metal than anything else.

Thoughts?

 

[Mandelon]

I have a set of Milwaulkees and a set of Hercules from Harbor Freight. I'm impressed with Hercules stuff so far. Both are tough.

 

[BeeBazaar]

what size? I've used these building a log arch and saw mill on 1/4" CS. probably have 50 plus holes with it and its still going strong. keep it oiled. Ive broke the pilot bit a couple times tho.

Amazon.com

for wood are you drilling pine or HW?

 

[Travmon]

I like my Milwaukee stuff. Speed and lubricants are the key to success. I keep several squeeze bottles of water soluble machine oil on hand as well as cutting oil and a wax stick. Steel does not like speed !

 

[ChrisV]

I use Milwaukee. Lube is key.

 

[havasujeeper]

Same here. Milwaukee tops them all.

 

[SoCalDave]

Everyone I have is carbide tipped teeth as I use them on everything from wood to metal to stucco. Pretty much indestructible but about 2-3 times the cost of standard ones.

 

[Waterjunky]

Lube is a key to many things in life.....

I am drilling a bit of everything. hardwood, soft, nails, sheet metal, drywall.....

 

[Waterjunky]

Everyone I have is carbide tipped teeth as I use them on everything from wood to metal to stucco. Pretty much indestructible but about 2-3 times the cost of standard ones.

View attachment 1490166
View attachment 1490167

Hmmmmm.......

 

[HNL2LHC]

I have a set of Milwaulkees and a set of Hercules from Harbor Freight. I'm impressed with Hercules stuff so far. Both are tough.

X2 Used Milwaukee for years in Hawaii. Bought HF in Havasu and been going well so far.

 

[rrrr]

Lenox.

 

[NicPaus]

Lenox and Blu mol

 

[ltbaney1]

Lenox is a good one. Little tougher to find but the Bahco ones (made by snap on) are the ones my buddies and i have had the best luck with in tubing notchers and doing metal only. if you are doing a ton of sheet metal get a hole slugger kit,

 

[JUSTWANNARACE]

Either one of these. Not the cheapest but work well and last

https://www.mkmorse.com/product/mhs-bi-metal-hole-saws/

Hole saws | Drilling/chiselling | Metabo Power Tools

Hole saws from Metabo - High-quality, reliable and durable. Inform yourself now about the professional power tool range from Metabo.

www.metabo.com

 

[4Waters]

Lube is a key to many things in life.....

I am drilling a bit of everything. hardwood, soft, nails, sheet metal, drywall, wife.....

You left one out so I had to fix it

 

[rivermobster]

Carbide tipped for the big ones.

For the smaller ones, just toss em and buy new ones.

Now if you want super clean holes in wood, use these...

Shop Fox 1/4 in. to 2-1/8 in. Forstner Hex Shank Bit Set (16-Piece) D3573 - The Home Depot

Bestow a redefined and modernized addition easily to your workstation with the selection of this extra ordinary Shop Fox to Forstner Hex Shank Bit Set

www.homedepot.com

 

[CoolCruzin]

What ever brand you get - slow rpm !
Will last longer

 

[Rennsport]

Speeds and feeds are key

 

[Waterjunky]

Anyone use the Fastenal ones?

I actually get a decent price on their stuff.

 

[lbhsbz]

The problem with bi-metallic hole saws in metal is that you can’t really use them correctly with a handheld drill….because if you can hold onto it, it doesn’t make enough torque to produce a chip with the appropriate feeds and speeds, and if it is strong enough…you’ll be wadded up in the corner bleeding.

With a typical handheld drill, the ONLY way to keep the tool spinning is with not enough feed pressure, so the teeth are rubbing instead of cutting, which dulls them quickly.

Used on a drill press (with balls, not some harbor freight benchtop thing) you can feed it hard, keep the teeth cutting, and hole saws last damn near forever.

It’s a compromise

I have an old black and decker 400rpm drill with 10A or such and a piece of 3/4” pipe screwed into it as a false sense of something to hang onto…it’ll take the lug nuts off my truck. I’m deathly afraid of it, but it’s the “right tool” for a hole saw in metal.

 

[ltbaney1]

I have an old black and decker 400rpm drill with 10A or such and a piece of 3/4” pipe screwed into it as a false sense of something to hang onto…it’ll take the lug nuts off my truck. I’m deathly afraid of it, but it’s the “right tool” for a hole saw in metal.

theres a drill like that in my shop. old metal housing milwaukee, we call it "El Guapo". that damn thing humbled a few of us.

 

[lbhsbz]

theres a drill like that in my shop. old metal housing milwaukee, we call it "El Guapo". that damn thing humbled a few of us.

I've learned to respect any drill motor with pipe threads in the housing lol.

 

[Waterjunky]

The problem with bi-metallic hole saws in metal is that you can’t really use them correctly with a handheld drill….because if you can hold onto it, it doesn’t make enough torque to produce a chip with the appropriate feeds and speeds, and if it is strong enough…you’ll be wadded up in the corner bleeding.

With a typical handheld drill, the ONLY way to keep the tool spinning is with not enough feed pressure, so the teeth are rubbing instead of cutting, which dulls them quickly.

Used on a drill press (with balls, not some harbor freight benchtop thing) you can feed it hard, keep the teeth cutting, and hole saws last damn near forever.

It’s a compromise

I have an old black and decker 400rpm drill with 10A or such and a piece of 3/4” pipe screwed into it as a false sense of something to hang onto…it’ll take the lug nuts off my truck. I’m deathly afraid of it, but it’s the “right tool” for a hole saw in metal.

I have a bastard about like that.

Possibly the most dangerous tool I own.

 

[Waterjunky]

Either one of these. Not the cheapest but work well and last

https://www.mkmorse.com/product/mhs-bi-metal-hole-saws/

Hole saws | Drilling/chiselling | Metabo Power Tools

Hole saws from Metabo - High-quality, reliable and durable. Inform yourself now about the professional power tool range from Metabo.

www.metabo.com

Surprisingly they are quite reasonable on Amazon.......
Just ordered the one I needed. I hope they are not fakes. The pictures are the same pictures on the actual website.

 

[lbhsbz]

If you have a lathe....make your own holesaws for sheet metal. I take a chunk of aluminum (I keep a bunch of the chinese bearing driver kits on hand for different size round stock lol) and machine a thin face groove in the appropriate diameter, then epoxy in a piece of bandsaw blade from harbor freight or whatever is laying around....works great and you can make custom sizes....only problem is that depth of cut is limited

 

[rrrr]

I've learned to respect any drill motor with pipe threads in the housing lol.

This will be a long read, and I'm sure no one will be surprised to hear that. It'll eventually get to the big 1/2" drill adventure.

A year out of high school, I was working as a superintendent for Gerald A. Martin Ltd. Gerry's company was the general contractor for the 1965-1966 project that built the Sandia Peak Tramway. My task was an unusual one, I was building a freestanding racquetball court on the roof of the 17th floor of the existing First National Bank building. The remaining half of the 18th floor was already a gym, so the other half was actually outdoors, with a parapet wall on the open three sides that made the 18th floor look continuous from the ground.

I'll try not to go into too much detail about hoisting materials. But I'm on a 1½ hour flight to Albuquerque, so there's time.

There were 22' long 16 gauge studs, 24' X 10" 10 gauge C channel roof joists, dozens of standard prefinished metal exterior panels, and lots of roof insulation and roofing materials. This was the 70s, so regulatios about hoisting and such were nonexistent. Gerry told me to handle it, with no other instructions.

I built two welded I-beam steel frames, one that attached a scaffold climber to the rear bumper of my ¾ ton F-250, and ran a steel 3/8" cable to the other welded steel I-beam frame, a standoff attached to the 21st floor parapet wall. It had a pulley, and overhung the wall and building by about 10'. It was bolted to existing steel inserts in the concrete for window cleaning scaffolds. I had built these items in Dad's shop during off hours. A 60" X 144" X 5/8" window was removed below the standoff, and the bundles of material were sucked in the window. The truck was positioned on the sidewalk below.

About 300 or so sheets of 8' X 5/8" drywall and the 110 4' X 8' X 1-3/16" prefinished playing surface panels were all lifted standing vertically on an elevator car. The panel surface was a mildly textured Formica like material, and the playing surface had been properly striped and lettered. Each panel had 3/4" slot machined on all four sides, and 1-3/8" tapered plastic splines were inserted to align the playing surface. The panels weighed about 110 lbs each. The 4' X 8' roof panels were 7/16" thick. Any damage to these panels during handling would have required factory replacements and a weeks long delay in construction, but fortunately that challenge was successful.

Anyway, weeks later we had progressed to framing the walls. Various size holes had to be drilled for conduit and such. The drill was a large frame Milwaukee, with the standard 3/4" FIP threaded casting for a handle, which in this case the handle was about 12" long. I had given this task to a pretty big guy, but he was inexperienced.

I had warned him that when the bit was about to fully penetrate the stud, it could hang up and create a situation where he had to be prepared for it by gripping the drill tightly with both hands and being ready to release the trigger. I had also told him not to engage the push button continuous operation feature because of the hazard.

Predictably, he ignored my instructions. On the third or fourth hole, which were being drilled around waist high, the drill hung up. It turned about four revolutions, beating the shit outta the guys hands and arms, before the bit broke and the drill dropped to the surface. Remember, this was 1976, and the victim was wearing bellbottom jeans. The remains of the bit and the chuck wrapped around his pants leg, and the beating continued.

I have to admit I was laughing so hard I couldn't move. After a few seconds, someone unplugged the extension cord and stopped the carnage.

From Wikipedia:

The club went out of business after only two years and its space was eventually converted into two residential penthouses, which remained in place as of 2015 along with a rooftop racquetball court.

 

[Waterjunky]

If you have a lathe....make your own holesaws for sheet metal. I take a chunk of aluminum (I keep a bunch of the chinese bearing driver kits on hand for different size round stock lol) and machine a thin face groove in the appropriate diameter, then epoxy in a piece of bandsaw blade from harbor freight or whatever is laying around....works great and you can make custom sizes....only problem is that depth of cut is limited

That sounds like a cool project and interesting idea for a really oddball size but a crapload of work for something I can buy for $10-15.

It does sound like me though investing 1.5 hours into something I can buy for $10.