# Should I buy carbide cutters instead of hole saw kit?



## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

I have both and can't really tell the difference except for when I bought them.


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## tates1882 (Sep 3, 2010)

btharmy said:


> Both of my hole saw kits were stolen. I was considering buying carbide cutters instead of a hole saw kit. I would just use spade bits for anything besides metal I suppose. Any recommendations on brand?


 i like green lee ultra cutters, not carbide tipped. I have found that thin metal will break the teeth off.


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## Rollie73 (Sep 19, 2010)

Love my carbide cutters.....much better than hole saws.


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## swissmiss177 (Feb 3, 2012)

Carbide cutters and hole saws are not really interchangable. You ll always need some hole saws


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## swissmiss177 (Feb 3, 2012)

I do enjoy the ideal carbides but i seem to knock off alot of the carbides.....


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## ponyboy (Nov 18, 2012)

You need both. Each has a separate and specific purpose that can't be achieved by the other


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## Spunk#7 (Nov 30, 2012)

All the carbide type hole saws I've owned got caught on what I was cutting and opened up like a can,so I use a Greenlee kit and try not make em' available to thieves,co-workers.


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## Cow (Jan 16, 2008)

I agree with the others. I have a complete Greenlee ultra cutter kit as well as a full Lennox hole saw kit.


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## CFL (Jan 28, 2009)

For metal, the carbide hole saws. They last a very long time.


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## CFL (Jan 28, 2009)

Spunk#7 said:


> All the carbide type hole saws I've owned got caught on what I was cutting and opened up like a can,so I use a Greenlee kit and try not make em' available to thieves,co-workers.


What do you mean by Greenlee kit? What were you cutting that messed up a very heavy duty hole saw? We might be talking about different things.


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## freeagnt54 (Aug 6, 2008)

I have been using ideal carbide hole cutters and can easily get a few hundred holes out of them.

You have to treat them right. Low speed, lots of pressure and I like to let of the trigger every 5 seconds to let it cool for about a second or so. If the chips turn black or blue its getting too hot. Never ever ever rock them.


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## Glock23gp (Mar 10, 2014)

I agree with the previous post. I have had this kit for close to 10 yrs.










I live on the West Coast and everything installed outside is either stainless or plastic. My 1/2" thru 1" trade size have seen literally hundreds of uses and the only thing I have done is replaced one of them after a job of cutting (50) 1" holes on a dock replacement job where time was crunched and it was running with oil for hours and eventually got to where it was cutting slower. That kit is incredible however as previously mentioned a hole saw kit also has its place.


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## butcher733 (Aug 4, 2012)

For entering cabinets there is no better option than carbide hole saws. If your not getting 100 plus holes out of one your doing It wrong. You can do most everything with traditional hole saws only, but if you use carbide you still need regular hole saws. It's not a one or the other situation.


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## btharmy (Jan 17, 2009)

So, the Greenlee ultra cutter gets the nod over te Ideal carbide cutters? Either way, a hole saw kit is still necessary? So I guess that answers my question. Thanks.

Do the greenlee cutters have a stop on them like the Ideal cutters? As in, they won't fall into the panel after cutting through?


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## ponyboy (Nov 18, 2012)

btharmy said:


> So, the Greenlee ultra cutter gets the nod over te Ideal carbide cutters? Either way, a hole saw kit is still necessary? So I guess that answers my question. Thanks.
> 
> Do the greenlee cutters have a stop on them like the Ideal cutters? As in, they won't fall into the panel after cutting through?



I prefer the Lenox 1/2-1" carbide kit. There's no point in going over 1" in a carbide bit if you also have a ko kit. I treat my Lenox bits good and use cutting oil on the heavy stuff and they've lasted me for a very long time, and I make holes all day every day 


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

I like the lenox ones too. But I keep a 1/2" ideal and a 3/4" klein in my bag for quick stuff like punching a quick hole for a 22mm operator or a new 3/4" run out of a panelboard.

My lenox set has pins in place of the straight 1/4" pilot bits, I've found this greatly improves the life of them.


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## freeagnt54 (Aug 6, 2008)

It also depends on the type of work you do. I've never owned a standard hole-saw kit for work and I don't ever recall a time I've needed one.


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## nbb (Jul 12, 2014)

ponyboy said:


> I prefer the Lenox 1/2-1" carbide kit. There's no point in going over 1" in a carbide bit if you also have a ko kit. I treat my Lenox bits good and use cutting oil on the heavy stuff and they've lasted me for a very long time, and I make holes all day every day
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Are you going into bare metal? I ruined a Klein carbide bit I had in a couple days by not realizing the enamel on the light fixtures was ruining my bit. This was before I was using oil too. 

I have since gotten a Greenlee hole saw kit, and a ratchet KO set up to 2", plus plenty of oil. Just kind of funny that those fixtures seemed to have more strength in the finish than the metal, they were light weight, flimsy junk otherwise.


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## ponyboy (Nov 18, 2012)

nbb said:


> Are you going into bare metal? I ruined a Klein carbide bit I had in a couple days by not realizing the enamel on the light fixtures was ruining my bit. This was before I was using oil too.
> 
> 
> 
> I have since gotten a Greenlee hole saw kit, and a ratchet KO set up to 2", plus plenty of oil. Just kind of funny that those fixtures seemed to have more strength in the finish than the metal, they were light weight, flimsy junk otherwise.



It's usually bare metal yes. I did burn a brand new carbide bit right to the nub on a transformer case once. First time use and it completely rounded the cutting edges, must've slipped by QC or something


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## nbb (Jul 12, 2014)

ponyboy said:


> It's usually bare metal yes. I did burn a brand new carbide bit right to the nub on a transformer case once. First time use and it completely rounded the cutting edges, must've slipped by QC or something
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I have caught flak here for using oil, because I was even using it on sawzall blades. I am right on board with using a uni-bit to get a draw stud through for bigger stuff, which I oil profusely. I have owned 3 Klein carbide bits, the first one was US made, and the next two were Taiwanese. None have seen oil, as I went to my Greenlee uni-bit and hole saws by the time I started using cut oil. My uni-bit is over 3 years old now, and really turned me on to Greenlee cutting edges, it has stayed so sharp. Lenox is second best in my experience, and I have yet to give Milwaukee a try.


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## Greg Sparkovich (Sep 15, 2007)

This is interesting for me.
It sounds like most of you are not doing residential work, but I use 4 1/8 hole saw all the time for lights/fans. I have other sizes for various recessed lights. Since I work a lot in old houses, I run the blade backwards to preserve them through plaster and then forward for lath/wire. I have even used really trashed ones in plaster in my cordless hammerdrill. 
I use 1/2" and 3/4" carbides for panels.


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