Holesaw tips?

Orangey

Orangey

Orangey

Soldato
Joined
22 Aug 2008
Posts
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I just got a 114mm holesaw, been practising and it's not going very well.

First of all, the arbor thingy doesn't fit properly (both arbor and holesaw are Silverline though) and as a result the attachment wobbles a bit. From trying it out on some scrap, the pilot bit always ends up mashing up the pilot hole and thus ruining any chance of a decent circle. Everything is clamped down tight, but the saw just wobbles too much.

Am I doing it wrong? It's hard to explain what exactly the problem is with the arbor, there are these two little "nubs" that are supposed to go into some holes on the saw attachment when it's fully screwed in, but if I screw it all the way down they don't align with the holes at all.
 
If you put a normal drill bit in does it also wobble? It might not look like it's wobbling much as the effect is amplified by the big holesaw but if it's even wobbling slightly it might indicate that the bearings on your drill chuck have had it or that your chusck or chuck teeth are not aligned correctly.

Let us know how it goes.
 
Orangey said:
Am I doing it wrong? It's hard to explain what exactly the problem is with the arbor, there are these two little "nubs" that are supposed to go into some holes on the saw attachment when it's fully screwed in, but if I screw it all the way down they don't align with the holes at all.
Click to expand...

That doesn't sound right. Are you sure the arbor is correct for the bit you are using? There might be differences in arbors used for metal, as opposed to wood, for instance.

That'd be logical as the manufacturer would probably want you to buy both!
 
make sure you drill through the material with some wodd underneath it keeps it more centered. Also if its very wobbly drill out a circle in some wood and clamp this to the metal panel and the other bit of wood and all will be ok
 
Not being funny but make sure the drill is running in the correct direction and centre dab (use a nail and hit it with a hammer to make a small 'dab' to help prevent the drill from roaming at start) the centre of the hole to be cut.

DON'T go mad with hammer esp. if its not a flat panel fully supported underneath...
 
What I bought was a bi-metal (steel/alu etc) holesaw with the corresponding arbor (pilot bit that came with it was HSS), using the left setting on my drill (rotation) at the slowest setting. I didn't know to place some wood under the material I was cutting, but I never made it all the way through anyway. :)

Thanks for all the tips, I will take another look at the arbor/drill chuck tomorrow and see what's what.
 
Well I can't get anywhere with this junk I bought, even using wood underneath & lubricant the damn thing just won't cut worth a damn.

It's just a side panel from a cheap £10 case, wafer thin, and it can't even go through that.
 
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Well then that's why... I'm not sure holesaws are designed to go through steel. Not cheap ones anyway.

Having said that, this one says it does. What does the packet say, will it cut metal?
 
Well I feel stupid now, I upped the lubricant to 1 spray every 5 seconds or so and the hole is now cut. Hopefully people can learn from my ignorance.
 
I would suggest you might try Screwfix, they do HSS hole saws with the proper arbours with the two locking nipples. Also the pilot drill will be a HSS bit as well. (High Speed Steel).

However you are looking @ £30 for a 114mm HSS cutter.
 
With those sort of size holesaws its all down to technique! You need a lot of force as there are a LOT of teeth that all need to be in contact to cut. If the holw does not need to be prefect and will be hidden, then rock it side to side slightly.
 
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