Hole Saw source?

xcm

xcm

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Southern Oregon
Ive been going thru quite a bit of hole saws lately (rigid bi-metal's from local home depot), bout $9 a peice, but only 1 local home depot carries them, and i can never find more then 1 or 2 on the rack...


SOOOOOO..

anyone got any recommendations for a source for hole saws? i see poly performance has sterling hole saws, for about the same price i pay at the depot, im gonna try these if nobody has anything bad to say about em.


While on subject, what are you guys using for cutting lube? it seems like the hole saws dont like cutting wax (use it for cutting aluminum at work, and it works great for that...) but it does seem to like good ole liberal wd-40 (my garage DOES'NT though)

thanks for your help keeping my jd2 notcher fed right!
 
ive used a lot of lenox sawzall blades, but i havent seen their hole saws, i think lowes carries lenox... do they carry the hole saws there too?
 
I have been using Bosh hole saws and i get them from OSH on bundy, they have tons sizes and are about the same price you mentioned.

So far it is cutting strong and not dulling, and it cuts fast.
 
WebDog said:
I have been using Bosh hole saws and i get them from OSH on bundy, they have tons sizes and are about the same price you mentioned.

So far it is cutting strong and not dulling, and it cuts fast.
Click to expand...

x2 on Bosch. I'm a bosch man, too. La mesa lumber carries them here in san diego.

-Brian
 
Try this website: http://www.use-enco.com

They have boatloads of tools, and make sure to have them send you a free catalog - it's HUGE!!! I've had great luck with their stuff. almost too much stuff to go through to find what you want, but worth the trouble.

Good luck!

Jim
 
out of all the suggestions, i like the osh on bundy the best! thats palpable! (plus, they carry craftsman, and theres tons of hot sm milfs)
ive heard people suggest enco for taps and such, i figured theyd be the cheapest (if i wanted to buy in bulk) i will try them out soon.

i'll give those a try and report back how they compare to the rigids. i dont know for a fact that the rigids arent good, maybe im just drillin a lot of holes. most wear comes from the notcher too it seems.

when i did my bumper brackets, i started with a fresh bit to test lifetime. that was 4 1/4' peices of steel welded together, (inch thick), i then put 3 1-1/2" holes into it, (drilling thru 1/4" 12 times.) only problem was, is it seemed the saws liked the drill press too much, as that bit is still good, while ive burned out ones in the notcher in a single day.
 
www.kbc.com has good stuff they also have carbide tipped hole saws .We use them quite a bit but they are super close to the shop. They have a shop in LA also. We smoke those rigid ones when we notch stainless, but home depot exchanges them for us. What kind of tube are you notching?
 
Enco is huge, MSC Direct is huger! (I have both.)

Both are free for the asking, and should be in every shop.

I recently discovered ARTU hole saws (carbide grit,) which is a good thing. Why? Because they go through stucco like butter, and I seem to end up drilling through stucco an awful lot (I farkin' hate stucco! I don't like the way it looks, I don't like the chicken wire Faraday cage under it, and I damned sure don't like it killing my saws and drills!)

Failing ARTU, I'd look for Irwin - their Sawzall blades are amazing. I firmly believe that Irwin probably does the best job with industrial cutting tools (their boxcutter blades last 2-3 times longer than anyone else's as well...)
 
i am only cutting thru dom, so mild steel.

when you say home depot exchanges them for you, thats cool because thats what i was thinking, they should be rebuilding these (Im not quite using THAT many of these)

Sinse im not cutting stainless or stucco, would carbide still be adviseable?
 
[QUOTE

when i did my bumper brackets, i started with a fresh bit to test lifetime. that was 4 1/4' peices of steel welded together, (inch thick), i then put 3 1-1/2" holes into it, (drilling thru 1/4" 12 times.) only problem was, is it seemed the saws liked the drill press too much, as that bit is still good, while ive burned out ones in the notcher in a single day.[/QUOTE]


sounds like your drill motor might be too high a speed. is the drill press speed slower than the drill motor your useing with the notcher? speed kills we all know that, but it also kills cutting tools. it took me many years to learn the patience of cutting, but the old saying "let the tool do the cutting" really holds true. too many people apply too much force and too high a speed for the blades to stay cool. try a slower speed, less force, and lots of cutting oil, and i bet youll see a huge differance in longevity in your blades. not to mention a better cut.
 
2stix said:
[QUOTE

when i did my bumper brackets, i started with a fresh bit to test lifetime. that was 4 1/4' peices of steel welded together, (inch thick), i then put 3 1-1/2" holes into it, (drilling thru 1/4" 12 times.) only problem was, is it seemed the saws liked the drill press too much, as that bit is still good, while ive burned out ones in the notcher in a single day.

sounds like your drill motor might be too high a speed. is the drill press speed slower than the drill motor your useing with the notcher? speed kills we all know that, but it also kills cutting tools. it took me many years to learn the patience of cutting, but the old saying "let the tool do the cutting" really holds true. too many people apply too much force and too high a speed for the blades to stay cool. try a slower speed, less force, and lots of cutting oil, and i bet youll see a huge differance in longevity in your blades. not to mention a better cut.
Click to expand...

Machinists' rule for fixing chatter - "Reduce Speed/Increase Feed." Either you're going too fast for the material (which screws with the shearing action at the tool tip,) or you're not feeding fast enough (which causes tool skip.) Either causes chatter.

Also, lubrication is a huge plus - drilling mild steel is probably the only other thing I'll use WD-40 for (apart from protecting it from corrosion in storage.) If I'm doing big holes in aluminum, I'll use kerosene - it works better on aluminum than WD (WD will work in a pinch.)
 
I have been a machinist for 30+ years, so I "might" know a little bit about this.........

For hole saws, you get what you pay for. We use Starrett at work (McMaster Carr). But longevity has more to do with how much abuse you give them.

Cutter speed, feed speed, rigidity of the set-up, lubricant, all play a role in tool life.

The MOST important factor in tool life is cutter speed.

Do you know the formula for cutter speed?

3.82 x (SFPM/Cutter Dia.) = Cutter RPM

And I have been using the following product for the last 10 years, and it is HANDS DOWN the best lubricant on the market. BUY IT NOW!!!

What's really cool about this stuff is that as the tool gets hot, the lube is actually attracted to it. Rather than bubbling up and draining away.....

http://www.lpslabs.com/product_pg/cuttingfluids_pg/EdgeCreme.html
 
Original_MudButt said:
And I have been using the following product for the last 10 years, and it is HANDS DOWN the best lubricant on the market. BUY IT NOW!!!

What's really cool about this stuff is that as the tool gets hot, the lube is actually attracted to it. Rather than bubbling up and draining away.....

http://www.lpslabs.com/product_pg/cuttingfluids_pg/EdgeCreme.html
Click to expand...


got a link for a retailer? does mcmaster carr have it? thanks for your help, sounds like good stuff! does it work w/ aluminum? i cut a lot of aluminum at work (chop saw)
 
Original_MudButt said:
http://www.lpslabs.com/product_pg/cuttingfluids_pg/EdgeCreme.html
Click to expand...

Wifty! I like LPS products, and I need to find a new retailer around here. Their PrecisionClean is probably the veridam best general-purpose shop cleaner I have ever used!

You're correct about the abuse factor - but Starrett can be difficult to find (I'd probably have to order them from McMaster or MSC, unless I can get lucky with an MRO outfit in Santa Clara.) A lot of it also depends on what you're working on. I figure stucco to be about the ultimate test, short of something like Kraton, Zytel, or machining tungsten...

I found ARTU at OSH, and ARTU has a site (I found it via Google-Fu, but I don't recall the URL offhand.) I'm sure they're out there...
 
xcm said:
got a link for a retailer? does mcmaster carr have it? thanks for your help, sounds like good stuff! does it work w/ aluminum? i cut a lot of aluminum at work (chop saw)
Click to expand...

McMaster carries everything. And you can order 1 or a dozen, What ever you order will be on your doorstep in 1-2 days. They are soooooper fast!!

The Edge gel works on anything/everything. But I wouldn't use it in a chop saw. Not cost effective.

Any of the water soluable cutting fluids will work.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

W
The 2.5 YFA XJ Nutter Bypass (plus)
Replies
4
Views
5K
wilco40
W
A
Another AC to OBA Write-up
Replies
2
Views
7K
gasteffens
G
ECKSJAY
100 days, 100 mistakes
2
Replies
26
Views
2K
JNickel101
JNickel101
Back
Top