Where can I find fine tooth hole saws?

[Phil Meisner Jr.]

Can anyone tell me where I can find fine tooth hole saws? I have a JD Squared Inc Notch Master tubing notcher that works fine but the Morse Master Cobalt bi-metal hole saws that I got from Van Sant keep breaking the teeth off. I am trying to notch 3/4, 7/8 and 1" 4130 chromoly to make bumpers for micro sprints and sprint cars. Thanks in advance!!!

[On fire most of the time]

Ive sheared the teeth off a boat load of hole saws...but the rigid ones always seem to do me alright...besides that, theyre local (home depot) and cheap.

Beyond that...heres a couple places I found really quickly.

http://mo2ls.com/Merchant2/merchant....egory_Code=SCF

http://www.medfordtools.com/metalworking/holesaws.html

Stay away from starrett hole saws...ive had WAY too many of them lose teeth on the first time it touched tubing. Lost half a saw in less than half a second.

Hope that helps

[Fishy Jim]

How fast are you running these things? My gut says way too fast.

[On fire most of the time]

I dont know about the OP, but those starretts failed on me running 225 on 1.5 .120 wall.

I eased it in, cut all the way through the wall, and then *SNAPSNAPSNAPSNAPSNAPSNAP* half the hole saw was gone.

[Fishy Jim]

Well, your surface speed was right on, but did you have 3 teeth in the cut?

Hole saws are just like band saws. Too few teeth in the cut and it's gonna end badly.

I've had good luck with morse bimetal blades, but I've also tweaked them around the hub so the whole blade runs out.

Annular cutters are probably the solution. Better tooth support, and more like a milling cutter rather than a saw blade. The only issue there with having too little tooth contact is potentially chatter (which is still going to be miles beyond the cut quality of a hole saw).

[On fire most of the time]

I honestly dont know, but it was a 6 TPI saw.

I wasnt forcing it down hard...just keeping a touch of pressure on the arm of the drill press so that it was making contact.

One tooth probably caught, and caused the rest to follow...but it happend 3 saws in a row! Then I grabbed a rigid, and it worked fine.

[Fishy Jim]

In my experience, you've gotta baby hole saws on tubing. Your fixturing also needs to be very rigid or bad things are likely to happen.


The one I lost to tweaking it out of round was on AL. It was 2" 6061 tubing I was coping the end on in my camelback drill press (very stout machine). I accidentally let go of the handle while it wasn't balanced (single slide bar handle) and the saw came down an hit the part causing it to catch. Well, the work stayed put, the drill kept turning it, and the blade went c0ckeyed.

I love my camelback drill. It runs really slow, and has lots of torque. Sometimes that's not so good for the bits.

[KC1]

Try Irwin hole saws I get the best service from them.

[FusionKing]

Try Irwin hole saws I get the best service from them.

I like the Irwins ok. (alltho I'm still pi$$ed at them over Vise-Grip)
But I have found the Rigids from Home Depot are cheaper and last longer for my use. They even sell them in 3-packs.
Those fine tooth ones look cool but I am not seeing the sizes I use. like 1 7/8th"

[Paul Seaman]

I have gotten fine tooth hole saws from I think Granger, I bought one set 10 years ago and still use them. I use more disposable blades when I am doing most of my work, as I remember they were very expensive. For aluminum I use the cheap ones for wood and they last very well.

Peace,
Paul