hole saw heck....

[salvageclaus]

I've been drilling thru 14 ga tubing with a 3/4 hole saw

I drill one side, flip and drill the other

I built a jig out of flat bar and it holds the pieces well

problem is, about 1/2 the time the hole saw keep the plug on the main drill bit portion and I end up stopping the drill press and taking a small pick to get it off of there

is there any tricks out there to get the plug to release from the hole saw more often by itself or is this just as good as it gets?

[JimDon]

Craftsman used to make a hole saw arbor that you could mount a hole saw on that would force the plug out by reversing the drill and holding the hole saw against a solid object. Not sure if they are still made and available or not. Vermont America made one also, but would only work with their specialized hole saws. They, I don't believe, market them anymore. Most plugs, metal or wood, will hang up inside the hole saw after you cut thru. If you have a hole saw with the openings in the side where you can put in a screwdriver bit, you might try a dental pick in their to pop it out. Otherwise, I'm kinda drawing a blank on how to extricate them in any other way. Bosch, I believe, makes a single toothed hole saw which might work better. The hangup comes from the set of the teeth. Once the plug is up inside the saw, the angle of the teeth make extraction difficult. The single tooth might give better clearance. Just mounted 19 doors in a commercial job where I had to cut 3/4 inch holes for the lockset and door handles. All aluminum doors. About half the time the plugs dropped out, other half, they hung up. It got to be a real pain prying them out when they did. Good luck.
Jim Don

[rlarkin]

Milwaukee makes one.
I have a set. When you bust through, with a hand drill, put it in reverse, carefully hold the saw, and pull the trigger. The saw climbs up the shaft and the plug drops out.
When I use it in a press, I just shut er off, hole the saw and turn the chuck by hand backwards.

[Sparkeee24]

Howdy Howdy!

I'm an electrician, and as such, have to drill holes in panels all the time. There are several solutions here. One, is a unibit and some cutting oil. Nothing left behind to get stuck and worry about at all. very clean holes too. Next idea, is a carbide cutter with a spring in the middle. The idea is that the carbide cutter (which DOES cut amazingly fast)has little kerf to it, and the spring in the middle, pushes the plug out when you release the pressure.

Another idea is a punch and die, where you drill a 1/4" hole or so, and put a punch on one side, and a die on the other, and tighen the bolt head sucking the punch into the die, leaving a very clean hole. Another idea is to fabricate a punch and die that can be used in an arbor press, or hydraulic press.

these are all different manufacturing methods I could think of that MAY be able to be applied for you. Also, it depends on how many more of these things you nead to drill out. Got a small business production line? The arbor press and punch may be the ticket. Cutting fluid or oil helps with any/all metal working-cutting applications. may help your plugs come out of your saw too.

Good luck! Brian Lee Sparkeee29

[salvageclaus]

Howdy Howdy!

I'm an electrician, and as such, have to drill holes in panels all the time. There are several solutions here. One, is a unibit and some cutting oil. Nothing left behind to get stuck and worry about at all. very clean holes too. Next idea, is a carbide cutter with a spring in the middle. The idea is that the carbide cutter (which DOES cut amazingly fast)has little kerf to it, and the spring in the middle, pushes the plug out when you release the pressure.

Another idea is a punch and die, where you drill a 1/4" hole or so, and put a punch on one side, and a die on the other, and tighen the bolt head sucking the punch into the die, leaving a very clean hole. Another idea is to fabricate a punch and die that can be used in an arbor press, or hydraulic press.

these are all different manufacturing methods I could think of that MAY be able to be applied for you. Also, it depends on how many more of these things you nead to drill out. Got a small business production line? The arbor press and punch may be the ticket. Cutting fluid or oil helps with any/all metal working-cutting applications. may help your plugs come out of your saw too.

Good luck! Brian Lee Sparkeee29

I wouldn't say it was a production line, but it is a small business

I cut out about 100 of these per month, short lengths of tubing and have to drill a 3/4 inch hole on each side so a shaft can pass fully through. I usually try to do 50 at a time and it takes me a couple hours.
I don't like using any oil because then I'd just have to clean it again before they go to paint
big bits wallow around too much and really should be pre-drilled
step bits don't last and take longer

a hole saw does it great, I think I just need to learn to live with it.
It seems to me that the plug gets caught on the center pilot bit more so than it does on the teeth of the hole saw.

I know it goes so smooth when the plug falls out and I can leave the press running and just slip a new piece into the jig without stopping.

I know it doesn't sound very safe to do that, but it is not a big deal.

[N3AUA]

pack the inside of the hole saw with "DUXSEAL", available at any electricial supply house.
Paul

[salvageclaus]

I found a good looking complete hole saw/arbor/drill today at a industrial tool store

It had the spring around the drill and big carbide tips on the blade.

$32, a little pricey, but it should outlast the bimetal blades and the spring should knock the plugs out.

[whateg0]

I've often wondered about this too.

I think Salvageclaus means something like this.

http://hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/attachment.php?attachmentid=25059&stc=1&d=1198037508

Next idea is, if you don't really need the pilot bit, use something like an annular cutter uses where the center is just a pin that is spring loaded like below.

http://hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/attachment.php?attachmentid=25058&stc=1&d=1198037369

Just some thoughts.

Dave

[salvageclaus]

yeah, whateg0,

it looked like that first picture there.
really beefy looking, with a pilot bit

[Tom37]

Two post back has a pic of a carbide hole saw.

Awesome bit here, I bought a 1" for my last project. I cut maybe between 50 or 60 holes in 3/8 plate. Even drilled 4 holes with my cheep ollll ryobi cordless. Worked great!
With this bit the slugs pop right out from the presure of the spring.

Btw I was talking about the top pic, never used one like the bottom pic.

Also no need for a pilot, its allready there.

[salvageclaus]

yeah,
I've been using the new hole saw for several days now and I will never go back to the regular bi-metal hole saw.

The carbide tip blade and the spring knocking the plug out every time is a life saver for me.:D