is it me or has any one else noticed the decline of the quality of the hole saws in the last 5 yrs or so, i still think starret makes the best hole saw, but i use to be able to go to home depot and pick up a hole saw and do a complete ch***is with it, now it seems its only good for about 10 notches and then seems to get real dull, or i use a new one and it snaps half the teeth on it on the first shot, just wondering if any one has found a hole saw that has worked for them johnny
Yeah them ones the depot sells are junk and there not too cheap I bought one to drill the holes in a model A axle I have and it only cut a half of one hole and was junk so I went to Grainger Industrial supply and got a morse hole saw it drilled all 17 holes and is still good and it was 4 bucks cheaper than the one at home depot. http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/ww...ntSearch&originalValue=hole+saws&L1=Hole+Saws
I word: China. I used a Lennox with LOTS of lube to drill several holes in 1/2" plate the other day, worked great, just a little slow in my soon-to-be repalced China drill press, kept slipping the belt and bogging down.
You know when I drilled all the holes in the T frame I used Ace Hardware's brand holesaw since they were out of the Milwaukee I needed. I'll be dammned if that cheapie didn't do a great job of the 32 holes it had to bore!
I always try to buy Bi-Metal blades when possible,even then the quality on some is sub-standard. Lenox,Starret and Milwaukee seem to always work well. Once I start a cut,I don't stop til the work is parted. It seems the blade loses its temper or interest in finishing the kerf?
Another thing you can do is to drill a small thru hole on the perimeter of your hole for the chips to fall through.
I find that I wear out hole saws pretty quickly on my drill press - a combination of too much speed and a lot of arbor wander. Same saws with my mill at 120 rpm seem to last almost forever and are a lot more accurate. I use Starretts almost exclusively. Charlie
Anyone ever though of using GreenLee Punches ? I know they are expensive but they don't wear out. They are available up to 2 3/8 holes and 10 (0.134)gauge sheet metal
Heres a tip from lil john buterra, Drill 3 holes, a pilot hole, then 2 more 180 from each other, just inside the diameter you are cutting. It keeps the bit cooler, and allows the cutting debree a place to go.
I use the craftsman bi metal hole saw blades. lots of lube and let the cutter do the work. Ive had them for a few years now and are still sharp and cut clean..
Has anyone here tried a Rotabroach? Like this: http://www.blairequipment.com/Rotabroach_Cutters/rota_cutters.html
I have a complete blaire cutter set from snap-on. Mostly use them for holes in sheetmetal, every once in a while I use them on stock, Very nice tool, I don't think they make them very big though...
<HR style="COLOR: #999999" SIZE=1> <!-- / icon and ***le --><!-- message --> I've used them...get out your checkbook for those!
For holes I use lennox . and other Bimetal holesaews for so-so holes. seem to last a long time for me. need a slow drill though. and for nicer holes I use a carbide hole cutter. and for the neatest holes I use my slugsplitter hydraulic drawstud punch. in sizes 7/8" to 4-1/2" and the slugsplitter will pull 1/8" 304 stainless or 3/16" steel
My dad cut 2" holes in stainless steel using a holesaw (don't remember the brand) by putting a weight on the end of the long handle on the OLD SLOW flat-belt drill press. He get the bit to cutting, put the lube/coolant nozzle on it, and walk away. Took a while, but got good clean holes and hole saws lasted a long time.
I use aircraft hole saws with carbide tips, they cut through anything.....work great at slower rpms. They look something like this set here:
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