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Hole Saw set for cutting stainless

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kooldino

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I mostly work with stainless, and often times I end up needing a hole saw. I figured it's due time I picked up a decent set. I'm not looking to break the bank on them, but I would like a set that will cut stainless well and that will last.

I'm looking for sets that include sizes in the 3/4"-2.5" ballpark.

So far I've found a Harbor Freight set that looks so-so:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93421

93421.gif


And a RIGID set from Home Depot that looks a little better:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

03c77e81-0783-4c46-8cea-5d5aa05be27f_300.jpg


Does anyone have experience with the above sets?

If not, could you suggest a set that would meet my criteria?
 
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mrb

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skip the holesaws and get tunsten carbide hole cutters. Ruko makes some nice ones. Theyre a bit expensive but cut right through stainless and will last forever if you treat them right. (i dont know what diameter tubing youre working with or what size holesaw so make sure the cutter cuts deep enough to make it through the tubing)
 
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walrus

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kooldino said:
Those look nice as hell, but they are spendy:

http://shop.blairequipment.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=14006

Could you tell me more about your experiences with them compared to a typical hole saw?
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For sheet metal they're better then any Holesaw I've ever used and I've used Lenox, Milwaukee, Greenlee and others. They will cut a hole that you can run your finger over without risk of drawing blood. They last longer. If in a shop and using a slow drill and lube they would probably last years. I cut holes out in the field in areas where lube would make a mess so I kill them just the same but it takes some hacking to do it:thumbup: If you're doing tubing for frames or whatever, Blairs aren't for you, they're only made to use in flat sheetmetal

Edit: Lenox makes something similar to the Blairs, fit a standard arbor and I've bought them on Ebay for 5 bucks a pop in 1.125 and 7/8. They're deeper than Blairs but I doubt they will do tubing?
 
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wreckercologist

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nissan_crawler said:
rigid holesaws ****, lenox are great.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

I've had good luck with Starretts and, believe it or not, Dewalt.

Bahco makes a bunch of holesaws I think.........used to be called Sandvik?

Why not call a hole saw manufacturer and ask for recommendations?

The Blairs are good for hard material, but don't like being dropped on concrete.
 
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rockwithjason

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the trick with stainless is to pulse the trigger as to avoid work hardening the steel. all of the kitchen equipment guys here use standard hole saws and pulse the trigger and they get good results. the ultimate are the carbide hole cutters, i pulse the trigger with those too.
 
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kooldino

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The tubing I generally cut is anywhere from 2" to 3" round stainless tubing.

I found this nice Tungsten Carbide Morse set for $130:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WNLIYM/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Is it worth it?

@rock - I hear you on the pulsing. Half the time i'm using a drill press on the lowest setting with cutting oil, and I'll do one second on, one second off. Gotta keep the heat off of the workpeice for sure.
 
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lynam

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treed kooldino is right. I cut 40mm holes 3 times a day and the hole saws i used dont last long unless i go slow and use cutting oil.
 
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mrb

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doesnt cutting with oil harden the stainless? I always thought you were supposed to use a water based coolant/lubricant (or dish soap).

I was looking at Alfa, and they have some bimetal hole saws with cobalt teeth. I wonder if those would be any good?
 
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Packard V8

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doesnt cutting with oil harden the stainless? I always thought you were supposed to use a water based coolant/lubricant (or dish soap)
Click to expand...
. AFAIK, there is no chemical interaction between the coolant/lubricant and the stainless workpiece. The medium chosen is usually water-based, but most any commercial lubricant will work if it is used in sufficient volume to carry away the heat of friction from the points of the cutting tool as in #8 below. Mostly, the fluid is a coolant and the chief property it has to have is not burn at the working temps, so maybe yak butter isn't the best choice, but enough of it would get the job done.

Rules for Machining Stainless Steels

Some general rules apply to most machining of stainless steels:

· 1. The machine tool must be sturdy, have sufficient power and be free from vibration.

· 2. The cutting edge must be kept sharp at all times. Dull tools cause glazing and work hardening of the surface. Sharpening must be carried out as soon as the quality of the cut deteriorates. Sharpening should be by machine grinding using suitable fixtures, as free-hand sharpening does not give consistent and long-lasting edges. Grinding wheels must be dressed and not contaminated.

· 3. Light cuts should be taken, but the depth of the cut should be substantial enough to prevent the tool from riding the surface of the work - a condition which promotes work hardening.

· 4. All clearances should be sufficient to prevent the tool from rubbing on the work.

· 5. Tools should be as large as possible to help to dissipate the heat.

· 6. Chip breakers or chip curlers prevent the chips from being directed into the work.

· 7. Constant feeds are most important to prevent the tool from riding on the work.

· 8. Proper coolants and lubricants are essential. The low thermal conductivity of austenitic stainless alloys causes a large percentage of the generated heat to be concentrated at the cutting edges of the tools. Fluids must be used in sufficient quantities and directed so as to flood both the tool and the work.

thnx, jack vines
 
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FNFS2000

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you need carbide holesaws, RUKO of germany makes nice ones! Too much heat generated for any regular holesaw no matter who makes it, the cutting tips soften and get blunt and won't even cut wood.
 
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metalwork

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Those Blair hole cutters are cool!

I use Greenlee radio punches when I can and hole saws second. If you watch eBay you can find radio punches cheaply and pretty large too. They will cut through stainless if it is 16 gauge or thinner. You need access to the backside of the material and must drill a pilot hole first. The radio punches are different than the more common conduit (Slug-Buster) punches. I think the radio punches may be a bit beefier and leave a more precise hole.

greenlee_punch.gif
 
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FNFS2000

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yup those punches do well, but still wear fast, green and others make punches made for stainless as well.
 
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metalwork

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FNFS2000 said:
yup those punches do well, but still wear fast, green and others make punches made for stainless as well.
Click to expand...

Could it be the conduit ones that wear more? Some of my radio chassis punches I've had for close to 20 years and they seem to still work like new. My 3/4" has probably seen the most use and it still punches a nice clean hole.
 
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FNFS2000

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carbide grit might be OK, but regular solid carbide teeth are best. Seems expensive for carbide scraps? Where is that set made?

105301.jpg
 
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FNFS2000

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metalwork said:
Could it be the conduit ones that wear more? Some of my radio chassis punches I've had for close to 20 years and they seem to still work like new. My 3/4" has probably seen the most use and it still punches a nice clean hole.
Click to expand...

probably, I've only had experience with regular greenlee. After a couple holes in stainless, they were warped or something, would not let go of any of the slugs and other problems.
 
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red92s

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A grit holesaw is best suited for tile, ceramic, cast, etc. You might have been better off with a TOOTHED carbide set for stainless.

I've mentioned it on here before, but I used to be employed by Lenox, so here is my pitch. Their holesaws are well made here in the USA. I'm not going to claim they are superior to anything else on the market, because frankly I don't have enough end-user experience, or experience in our test labs, to say that. But, they are well engineered, and made by a group of people genuinely committed to making tools for the kinds of people who rely on their equipment to earn a living. They are not inexpensive, but they are one of the few companies still doing R&D on materials, tooth forms, set patterns, heat treating, and finishing techniques to improve performance and life.

This set looks to be substantially discounted, probably because that packaging style has been out of production for awhile. Only goes up to 2.125" though, not 2.5" as you requested.
 
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red92s

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FNFS2000 said:
thats a step up from the grip/scraps glued on a regular holesaw. those carbide tips mounted on the regular rolled steel frame are still one the low end of quality.
http://ruko.de/englisch/products/metal/metal_en.htm
lochsaegen.png
Click to expand...

I haven't found pricing on sets yet . . . but from what I'm seeing the larger sizes of the above style are several hundred dollars each. That seems like a much different discussion than a $150 7 piece set.
 
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kooldino

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red92s said:
This set looks to be substantially discounted, probably because that packaging style has been out of production for awhile. Only goes up to 2.125" though, not 2.5" as you requested.
Click to expand...

Damn, and it's cheaper to boot. Go figure. Well, I guess I'll have to see how what I've got works.
 
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Stick Figure

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keep us posted how they work out, i've got the same problem. I usually use morse bimetal saws and just keep them slow and lubed properly. I tried a $300+ set of greenlee saws, but they were too brittle and snapped the teeth off one at a time. The problem with cutting pipes like that is you are constantly on a sharp edge, so a slow feed rate is the best thing you can do, otherwise the teeth want to catch.
 
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cnc-me

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I used these Irwin Carbide Unibits on a production job of 800, 1-1/2" X 16 GA SS tubes with 1" cross holes in them.
I tried all kinds of holesaws, but for the price, these things work great.
You can touch up the edge with a green wheel or diamond wheel.
Less teeth seems to work better, when you are cutting on a curvature.
Lots of coolant, and run about 230 RPM, for a 1" cutter.
Just my $.02 worth...
CarbideUni-Bit.jpg
 
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kooldino

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The verdict is in on my Morse tungsten carbide bit hole saws. "Meh".

It took me 10 mins to cut a 1.5" hole in 16 gage SS pipe. That *****, IMO.

The only good thing I could say was that the bit stayed pretty cool while working with it.

cnc-me: Looks like a sheet metal step bit approach to a holesaw. Where'd you get them and what'd they run?
 
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FNFS2000

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That single tooth looks like it would be the best thing for cutting holes in tubing, or anything not perfectly flat.
 
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cnc-me

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I got mine from MSC Industrial Supply.
Some hardware stores may even have them.
At the time they were around $38.00 for 1" size,
(its been a few years ago).
 
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