# Metric hole saw



## TimT (Jan 1, 2004)

Looking for a 36mm hole saw. Plus any source for very good arbors.

Tim


----------



## Walt (Jan 23, 2004)

*Answers*

1 7/16 hole saw (I like Lennox) will work fine. Great R8 arbors from Paragon.

-Walt



TimT said:


> Looking for a 36mm hole saw. Plus any source for very good arbors.
> 
> Tim


----------



## TimT (Jan 1, 2004)

http://www.hermanscentral.com/depar...aws-10456.cfm?refdep=Morse Bi-Metal Hole Saws

Any comments on Morse brand hole saws. Looks like they have a good selection but how about the quality.

Tim


----------



## Walt (Jan 23, 2004)

*Never used them.*

I think most of the rolled/welded saws tend to be similar quality (ie Lennox/Starret/Dewalt/Morse/whatever). The higher the tooth count the better, run nice and slow (I like 80rpm) and you'll be good to go. I get hundreds of cuts from very inexpensive (<$10) saws.

-Walt



TimT said:


> http://www.hermanscentral.com/depar...aws-10456.cfm?refdep=Morse Bi-Metal Hole Saws
> 
> Any comments on Morse brand hole saws. Looks like they have a good selection but how about the quality.
> 
> Tim


----------



## SandmanLJS (Sep 19, 2004)

TimT said:


> http://www.hermanscentral.com/depar...aws-10456.cfm?refdep=Morse Bi-Metal Hole Saws
> 
> Any comments on Morse brand hole saws. Looks like they have a good selection but how about the quality.
> 
> Tim


I have used the Morse hole saws and I dont feel they work as well as a starrett. They are a variable pitch tooth. I also noticed they seemed more out of round then starrett. My setup is not super rigid, so if you have a nice heavy mill they may work better.

Luke


----------



## j-ro (Feb 21, 2009)

Walt said:


> 1 7/16 hole saw (I like Lennox) will work fine. Great R8 arbors from Paragon.
> 
> -Walt


FYI, the paragon arbors are 3/4" straight shank which fit in a 3/4" R8 arbor on your mill.
I know thats what you meant....


----------



## Walt (Jan 23, 2004)

*Yes*

Caveman words, not good make.

That's what I was trying to incompetently say.

-Walt



j-ro said:


> FYI, the paragon arbors are 3/4" straight shank which fit in a 3/4" R8 arbor on your mill.
> I know thats what you meant....


----------



## Meriwether (Jul 26, 2007)

*fine tooth hole saw sources*

I'm a wee bit late on this post, and has nothing to do with metric hole saws (I have no idea where to find them in sizes perfect for framebuilding other than the expensive ones from Strawberry) but for what it's worth, I was also searching for good hole saws and a few sources that have fine tooth saws, constant pitch and high tooth per inch, specifically for tube notching. I know most anything will work, but these seem to do a better job in my opinion. I mostly use Starrett but they're not always super round and I've had a couple just lose 1/4 the teeth during a cut (180 for my speed if you were gonna ask).

These JMR's are pretty cool, long body, but the ones i had weren't that round: 
http://www.vansantent.com/hole_saw_cutters_JMR.htm

I'd like to try these, but more expensive (10tpi):
Missouri Precision Tool, Inc.
http://mo2ls.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=mpt&Category_Code=SCF

I've been using the ones on the right on this site, brand name is something like "Ultra" and are 10tpi. They are probably my favorites other than the Starretts (6 tpi):
Medford Tools & Supply:
http://www.medfordtools.com/metalworking/holesaws.html


----------



## Jehoshaphat (Mar 18, 2011)

The best tube notchers I've used are rotary broaches.

http://www.blairequipment.com/Rotabroach_Cutters/rota_cutters.html

They are like a hole saw ground from a solid piece of tool steel rather than a band saw blade bent in to a ring.

If you need quality, they are as good as I've seen but not cheap...


----------



## geckocycles (Sep 3, 2006)

I like Starretts for the most part. I have had some that lost a bunch of teeth also and they still worked. The high side gets knocked off.
I have also sharpened my saws many times and get them really sharp and true. You can turn a out of round saw in reverse and grind the high side off and grind them smaller for specialty size boring too.
If you really want to miter metric you can get metric saws from Nova. I have a full set of SAE ones and I am pretty sure they still sell Metric ones too. Personally I prefer the fine tooth Starretts with some massaging. 









Looks like Strawberry has them. Nova lists only one and it is out of stock


----------



## geckocycles (Sep 3, 2006)

Jehoshaphat said:


> The best tube notchers I've used are rotary broaches.
> 
> http://www.blairequipment.com/Rotabroach_Cutters/rota_cutters.html
> 
> ...


I use those on my Mag drill cutting through thick plate. They are awesome. Never tried them on thin heat treated material. I would of thought the thin part of the miter would get caught in the tools helix. Just never tried it.


----------



## Jehoshaphat (Mar 18, 2011)

You've got to plunge, like a joint jigger setup. 

I've used them on thicker tubes, .0625" wall for race car stuff. They were a lot better than a hole saw but we didn't do any special prep. 

I think it would work well for thin wall stuff if the setup is rigid and the feed is slow.


----------



## smudge (Jan 12, 2004)

I'm just chiming in here to plug the cutters from Strawberry. They cut perfect miters with less flash/burr than the rolled/welded cutters.


----------



## fanzy4 (Aug 19, 2004)

Meriwether said:


> I'd like to try these, but more expensive (10tpi):
> Missouri Precision Tool, Inc.
> http://mo2ls.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=mpt&Category_Code=SCF


I'm pretty sure these are also made by ULTRA (french brand), as Ultra is also labeling their fine pitch holesaws "SCFxxx"...

FYI, in France (where we usually work only with metric system) all the cheap holesaws I have found are labelled both with a metric and an imperial size. And 36mm are nearly impossible to find...


----------



## smudge (Jan 12, 2004)

fanzy4 said:


> I'm pretty sure these are also made by ULTRA (french brand), as Ultra is also labeling their fine pitch holesaws "SCFxxx"...


they are labelled ULTRA. The last 20 or so I purchased also snag like a mofo and need a lot of tuning.


----------



## einreb (Nov 5, 2010)

smudge said:


> they are labelled ULTRA. The last 20 or so I purchased also snag like a mofo and need a lot of tuning.


I concur. My last batch was horrible. It wasn't as though could just pinch them into round... they were 'welded' crooked.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 6, 2008)

let me get this straight, you knew you had a batch of crappie hole saws and you sold them anyway? I got 6 or 8 of them, had to wiat a month or so to get them. not 1 of them any good ! shouldn't you replace them for free? just saying


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 6, 2008)

[email protected] said:


> let me get this straight, you knew you had a batch of crappie hole saws and you sold them anyway? I got 6 or 8 of them, had to wiat a month or so to get them. not 1 of them any good ! shouldn't you replace them for free? just saying


duh, scratch that last remark, sorry misunderstood


----------



## Feldybikes (Feb 17, 2004)

fanzy4 said:


> FYI, in France (where we usually work only with metric system) all the cheap holesaws I have found are labelled both with a metric and an imperial size. And 36mm are nearly impossible to find...


They're also labeled with both metric and SAE in the US as well (this is perhaps brand dependent). I think this should give everyone an idea with the level of precision one should expect. Which, I will echo others above, is adequate IMHO.


----------



## rbemiss (Nov 19, 2008)

strawberry cutters here... had them for years... can be resharped as well. expensive. like walt said pmw arbor and a 10.00 lenox is the less expensive way out... but the strawberrys are so sweet.


----------



## pjn_wyo (Sep 28, 2014)

rbemiss said:


> strawberry cutters here... had them for years... can be resharped as well. expensive. like walt said pmw arbor and a 10.00 lenox is the less expensive way out... but the strawberrys are so sweet.


Digging this one up.

I'm bummed on the quality of the ULTRA holesaws I have been using and am interested in the Strawberry cutters.

How long (in terms of # of cuts) between sharpening? I'll be cutting steel only. No cooling fluid set up as of now.

Alternatively - for the price of a set of strawberry cutters I could buy a second hand lathe and prep out of true holesaws. Anyone have a good procedure for that? Steelman method or something?

Thanks!


----------



## fanzy4 (Aug 19, 2004)

pjn_wyo said:


> I'm bummed on the quality of the ULTRA holesaws I have been using and am interested in the Strawberry cutters.


FYI, the Ultra company has definitely closed in 2014... A friend of mine bought the last available holesaws... :-(


----------

