Hole Saw Help

[tlt]

How in the world do you guys get the hole (the inside part) out of a hole saw bit? Using a drill press, I went halfway on one side, flipped the wood and did the other half of the hole. The cut came out clean, but now I have the silly circle stuck in the drill bit real good. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as I need to make some more holes today...

Thanks,
--tlt

[siliconbauhaus]

When that happens I usually use a flat blade screwdriver and pry it out using the holes in the sides of the hole saw (my starrett's have them)

[pelligrini]

I've had to remove a 3/4" plywood 'plug' by driving a couple long screws into the wood and then clamping the screw ends in a vise. A cordless drill in reverse and a bit of a pull it came right out.

[Uncle Cracker]

Some hole saw blades also have holes in the back of the blade, rather than the sides. You can put a screwdriver in there and punch out the plug. Also, you can rub beeswax inside the saw before you cut. This will ease the process of removing the plug (and also keeps the friction from burning the plug while you are cutting. My neighbor sez that he takes a torch to the blade when the plug is really stuck, as the blade will then expand just enough to break the plug loose. Frankly, I don't care for this last idea, because I don't want to risk warping the blade.

[charliex]

I drill almost all the way through and then drill from the back side to finish up. This does 2 things: makes the plug easy to remove and eliminates blow-out that you get from drilling through. When drilling into rough stock (studs) drill almost all the way through and then hit the plug from the back side with a hammer to knock it out of the hole. OR: in the worst case disassemble the saw and remove the plug. I do this when I forget to do any of the above.
Chas

[Tom Slick]

I unscrew the saw and use the drill bit to push out the plug. lennox makes a saw arbor/drill with 2 rods and a sliding collar. you slide the collar down and the 2 rods push the plug out.

[pecker]

Remove the nut holding the arbor to the hole saw.
Tap the end of the arbor on a bench until it pushes the waste plug out.

[Greg.B]

Honestly its always a PITA !!!

Anytime I just need to make a couple quick holes, it turns into a project of loosening the arbor, banging the plug out, putting it back together, etc. One of those things that has never been an easy fix.

[LCHIEN]

Remove the nut holding the arbor to the hole saw.
Tap the end of the arbor on a bench until it pushes the waste plug out.

That's the one I do.

Do you know the trick about a relief hole on your hole saw cuts?
Take a half-in drill or larger and drill a hole on the waste side of your hole saw cut (i.e. the outside if you're trying to make wheels or the inside if you are making large holes) that it tangent to the hole saw kerf. Be careful to drill so the relief hole enters the kerf but not past. Drill all the way through.
The relief hole will allow the sawdust to fall out as you cut so that the poor hole saw doesn't grind it up over and over again either burning or making you raise the bit every two or three revolutions to clear it.

Seems to make cutting hole saw cuts much easier to me.

[tlt]

Thanks to all for the help...I came in from the shop every so often to see what advice was offered and then gave it a go. My hole saw doesn't have any holes in the side/back to pry the wood out, so I ended up going with the remove the nut/whack it on the bench method, which worked out fine.

I also tried putting wax on the bit, and it still stuck, but it prevented burning on a piece of purple heart, which burns quite easily for me. I'll have to try out the relief cut method next...you guys are full of ideas

Thanks again,
--tlt

[Sailor]

Wheel Jig

Our senior center is making over a thousand wheels for more than 250 cars.

Here is what we do: make a jig. The hole in the foreground holds the jig TIGHT to the drill press. The hole in the background is the pilot hole for the hole saw. (This also helps alignment when the jig is removed and then reattached.)

The slot in the jig is as wide as the saw diameter (OD); slats are cut to snugly fit into the jig.

As Chas suggests, we drill almost all the way through (I use the depth stop on the drill).

If you look closely, you can see saw marks in the upper left corner of the jig.The saw will cause the sawdust to 'boil' up through these openings. And, if you have a good eye you can space the cuts so that the sawdust boils up into the space created by the kerf on the previous cut. This does what JCHIEN suggests - gives the sawdust a place to exit.

Then flip the slat end-over-end; this insures that the pilot holes align.

Drill until you feel the wheel break loose; then drill just a little more. STOP THE DRILL.

Remove the slat from the jig. The wheel should protude from the saw far enough to grab it. If a wheel won't come loose by hand I use water pump pliers to hold the wheel (gently) and then turn the spindle to loosen the wheel. Do this quickly; the saw will quickly cool and grip the wheel tightly as Uncle Cracker says.

[cgallery]

Do you know the trick about a relief hole on your hole saw cuts?

Take a half-in drill or larger and drill a hole on the waste side of your hole saw cut (i.e. the outside if you're trying to make wheels or the inside if you are making large holes) that it tangent to the hole saw kerf. Be careful to drill so the relief hole enters the kerf but not past. Drill all the way through.

The relief hole will allow the sawdust to fall out as you cut so that the poor hole saw doesn't grind it up over and over again either burning or making you raise the bit every two or three revolutions to clear it.

Seems to make cutting hole saw cuts much easier to me.

I consider this an absolute top-ten tip of all the tips I've learned in 25 years of woodworking. If you haven't already tried Loring's tip, you gotta give it a shot.

I would estimate it saves way over 50% of the time it takes to cut holes, and substantially reduces wear and tear on the saw, too.

[LCHIEN]

relief hole

I consider this an absolute top-ten tip of all the tips I've learned in 25 years of woodworking. If you haven't already tried Loring's tip, you gotta give it a shot.

I would estimate it saves way over 50% of the time it takes to cut holes, and substantially reduces wear and tear on the saw, too.

The reason why this works so well is that
unlike drill bits (have flutes to carry cuttings up out of the hole) or table saw blades (the circular motion of the blade brings the cuttings to the top where they can fall out)
the hole saw has no way to remove cuttings - they just stay in the bottom of the hole where they fill the hole saw gullets and keep the teeth from hitting bottom and cutting. Istead, you press harder and compress the cuttings and they roll below the saw edge getting very hot (burning) and keeping you from cutting. even raising the drill press chuck does not really clear the groove as the cuttings tend to stay in the bottom (gravity, y'know) or stay solidly compressed in the teeth gullets where they resist removal.

[crokett]

I consider this an absolute top-ten tip of all the tips I've learned in 25 years of woodworking. If you haven't already tried Loring's tip, you gotta give it a shot..

Awesome tip. I tried it today just for grins and I will be using this tip from now on whenever I use a hole saw.