Hole Saw bits for metal

[ross932c]

are there any good holesaw bits for metal. I have seen some that say can be used on wood plastic and metal, but down't look like the ywould drill metal to well. Are there any special bits jus tfor metal. Holes from 1" to 3" maybe.

[AZCoyote]

Yes. I buy hole saw bits at Ace Hardware. There is not brand name on the bits, but they are red and made in the USA. I have cut through 1/2 plate with them. I just got done cutting several holes in 3/8 plate. The teeth are still fine. Just use LOTS of oil.

[Zrexxer]

As far as hole saws go, look for those described as "bi-metal." Lenox and Milwaukee are both good names in bi-metal hole saws.

[James D. Clark]

It might be a good idea to use a solid pilot rod instead of the pilot drill after the pilot hole is drilled. If the hole saw wants to "walk" it may cause the drill to cut a slot and go off loction. It is a problem on thin material.

[Engloid]

Oil is best, but machining coolant works well also. Basically, any liquid is better than none, and it's more important to keep it cool than to actually lubricate it.

Therefore, LOTS of oil is best because it's thick, sticks to the blade better, lubricates, and cools. There's been many times I've had nothing available, and even shooting the hole saw with an air nozzle will greatly improve the lifespan of the saw. Water is also better than nothing.

Having said that it's important to keep it cool, you don't want to run high speed since heat would be much more of a problem. Many people want to drill things too fast with all drill bits. Turning speed rarely equates to cutting speed. The ill effects of the heat buildup can dull the bit and actually make you cut much slower than if you went slower and therefore cooler (keeping the bit sharper). Some materials you can drill faster, but for the most part, stainless and carbon steel should be cut fairly slow. The larger diameter the bit, the slower turning speed you need also.

[James D. Clark]

Engloid makes a good point about using lots of coolant and lubrication with hole saws. They don't have a way to flush the chips out of the teeth and the cut on thick parts. Getting cutting oil/coolant to the teeth is also a problem. Pumping the saw allows the chips to clear and coolant to get into the cut.

[Errol]

The hole saws mentioned work great, but not so good in hand held drills. If you can, use your drill press at the slowest speed, and get some cutting oil, diluted down 40:1 or so. (It's cheap) Cooling is the important thing with hole saws and with the fluid, being designed for this very job, has adequate lubrication, and then best of all, it can all be cleaned up with a water hose. If you use oil, then you'll have major clean up problems when you start welding.

[rbahr]

Hi All,

I was making a bunch of holes recently and was using products from this company: http://www.hougen.com/

Ray

[pturner]

Good brands are Lenox, Morse, Starrett and milwaukee. Also some other are good , look for bi metal construction and a thick back plate. In the bigger sizes, run as slow as possable. I use my magnetic drill press to keep speeds in the 60-100 rpm range. Use lots of coolant. I've used a 4" saw to cut a convex radius on a 3" wide, 1" thick bar, and cut 3" holes in 3/8" plate . CUtting less than full circles on a big diameter holesaw will ruin the threads and maybe the arbor. For this reason go easy on the feed pressure when cutting part circles. I believe in heavy feed pressure otherwise. (My opinion, can't back this up.) Also remember hole saws don't have flutes like twist drill to clear chips- Lift them up with each 1/16 -1/8 of material cut

Pat

[James D. Clark]

Originally posted by rbahr
Hi All,

I was making a bunch of holes recently and was using products from this company: http://www.hougen.com/

Ray

Ray; What tool and machine were you using? I think those annular cutters have to mounted in a ridgid spindle and the part fastened to a heavy, locked table unless there is a pilot hole and pilot in the drill. Like cutting a hole with a plunge end mill. But good hole makers.

[James D. Clark]

Originally posted by pturner
Good brands are Lenox, Morse, Starrett and milwaukee. Also some other are good , look for bi metal construction and a thick back plate. In the bigger sizes, run as slow as possable. I use my magnetic drill press to keep speeds in the 60-100 rpm range. Use lots of coolant. I've used a 4" saw to cut a convex radius on a 3" wide, 1" thick bar, and cut 3" holes in 3/8" plate . CUtting less than full circles on a big diameter holesaw will ruin the threads and maybe the arbor. For this reason go easy on the feed pressure when cutting part circles. I believe in heavy feed pressure otherwise. (My opinion, can't back this up.) Also remember hole saws don't have flutes like twist drill to clear chips- Lift them up with each 1/16 -1/8 of material cut

Pat

If you can clamp some scrap material to the part you are sawing the radius in, same kind and thickness, so that you can have an un-interrupted cut will help with the chatter.

[rbahr]

Hi Jim

Check out this page: http://www.hougen.com/cutters/cutters_index.html

I was using both the 'Sheet Metal Cutters' and the 'holecutters' and was cutting 1/4 mild steel. I was using a basic drill press, plenty of cutting oil and time. I did not make a pilot hole with the sheet metal cutters, but used one with the Holecutter. I did have to make sure the work was solidly held down or it went flying ( and it was pretty heavy...). Beyond that these cutters did an AMAZING job. MUCH faster than the basic Bi-metal cutter that I used afterwards on some fairly thin AL. The difference being cost - The 2.5" Holecutter I used ended up costing me ~$50 vs $15 for the bi-metalic version.

HTH

Ray

[hankj]

AZ,

The red ones are Vermont-American, made in the USA. The white ones are ACE Trading Company, made in CHINA.

They sell 'em for near the same price. Guess what the mark-up on the white ones is??

I have a set of Lenox saws from 1/2" to 1-3/4" which I am totally happy with - $100 at a local tool store.

Be well.

hankj

[Albin]

I've been cutting some 3/4" holes for my shop press and found that the Starrett carbide hole saws work much faster than regular bimetal blades. I get the Starrett hole saws from the local Grainger store for about $11 with my company discount.

Albin

[Splatterboy]

What do ya'll do when ya gotta cut some 2x3" tube, notching it for 1-3/4" tube mate up on the end. Problem is that you need to cut through 3" of tube but most holesaws are only good up to 1-1/2".