DEWALT D180024 Hole Saw

As this was my first hole saw and I didn't already have the mandrel portion, I ordered the combo of 2"-dia (2"-max-depth) hole saw and 7/16"-shank mandrel [DW1803] recommended by Amazon. The 7/16" mandrel shank is too large for my venerable 3/8"-chuck corded Black & Decker drill, so I used it in my 1/2"-chuck cordless Dewalt drill. In retrospect, since the mandrel shank is nicely hex-shaped to prevent slippage within the chuck, the similar 3/8"-shank Dewalt mandrel [DW1805] would have also worked just fine. If you only have a drill with a 3/8" chuck or have drills with various chuck sizes like me, that's the one you want. To newbies like me the quick-change mandrel is a little confusing at first, so thanks to the previous commenters who provided tips on how to use it. Briefly, the Dewalt quick-change mechanism is both a locking and anti-locking device. The 2 pegs in the silver-colored locking collar snap into one of the 2 opposing-hole pairs in the bottom of any Dewalt hole saw to hold the cutting end in place, but at the same time prevent the hole saw from locking itself onto the mandrel under the torque of drilling. Just slip the mandrel shank into your drill chuck & tighten down, then with the drill positioned the way you'll be using it (butt end against your belly), use one hand to pull the locking collar toward you as far as you can, and the other hand to screw the barrel end of the hole saw onto the threaded part of the mandrel. You should end up such that tightening the barrel part all the way down leaves the locking pins misaligned with both of the crosswise pairs of receiving holes, at which point you unscrew the barrel just enough to allow the pins to snap into the nearest hole pair. In my case this left a very slight gap between the flat bottom of the barrel part and the mandrel but there was no discernible looseness of the hole saw, which I expect is exactly as intended by the assembly designers. For precision work I found it helpful to drill a 1/8"-dia pilot hole which helps center the 1/4" pilot bit of the mandrel and get the cut started nicely. Once the annular cut is established the hole saw is conveniently "self-centering," since the entering portion of the barrel has no choice but to follow the outlines of the existing annular cut. It can be surprisingly tricky to keep the hole saw axis aligned precisely at the proper angle, so when precision is needed, I recommend drilling at least one practice hole in a scrap block of wood of the same or similar kind as the actual target material. My first (practice) hole ended up a dismaying 3-4 degrees off-kilter, but my second was better. If you really need precision and will be cutting multiple holes, I suggest setting up some kind drilling jig to keep things moving at the desired angle. As others have noted, gentle circular rocking of the hole saw - but not enough to jam up the cut - helps clear the sawdust out and keep things progressing smoothly. The very sharp teeth of the hole saw are in a slightly-offset staggered pattern which cuts a 1/8" kerf, slightly wider than the walls of the barrel are thick, in order to prevent jamming and allow the resulting sawdust to flow out easily. I used the 2" hole saw to form the male end (tenon) of something I call a "peg mortise", in a pair of 4x4s joining at right angle [See here for pics: http://www.mersenneforum.org/showpost.php?p=409015&postcount=84/]. (Being strictly an amateur carpenter, I don't know if there is a different 'standard' name for this type of joint.) Here the 1/8" kerf width of the Dewalt hole saw proves very handy in a further way, because I then used a standard 1.75" auger bit to drill the female end (mortise) of the joint, and everything fit beautifully. (I could have also used a 1.75"-OD hole saw for this, but didn't own such a one, whereas I did have an auger bit of the needed size. An auger bit for the mortise hole requires more material to be removed, but has the advantage of not leaving a wood plug that needs to be chiseled out - pretty much a "six of one, half-dozen of the other" deal. On the other hand if your mortise goes all the way through the piece of receiving wood, a hole saw will definitely be more more efficient for that kind of hole.) Lastly, I used the centering hole left in the tenon by the pilot bit of the hole-saw mandrel by drilling a same-1/4"-diameter hole the rest of the way through the center of the mortise (which in my case only went 1.5" sideways into a 4x4, roughly halfway through) and then using a lag screw started from the opposite side of the 4x4 to firmly fasten everything together. The above link has pictures and more details. A very nice way of doing such joinery when appearance matters and you can't just slap things together with a metal joist hanger or whatnot. All in all, a great tool(set)! Thanks to the folks at Dewalt for really thinking the design through and - as always - manufacturing a professional-quality product, built to last.

During the process of building a new home I had the need to run some conduit lines. I needed a few different sizes due to the places I needed to put the conduit, and the sizes I would be using. Having used these Dewalt hole saws years ago when building a log home I bought some new sizes and found that yet again they are winners and worked wonderfully. I love the dual action cutting edges, just in case I end up going through a nail in the framing as I cut a hole. To be clear, these are just the hole saw portion, you will need the proper Dewalt Mandrel to screw them onto and make them useful. There are a couple of tricks to learn when using these hole saws. The first is; I've found that rocking the drill slowly seems to work very well and keeps the hole smoothly moving along. I use a larger Dewalt drill with a large enough opening. The standard 7/16" Mandrel used by these won't fit into the smaller 3/8" drills that are typical for hand held drills. I also found that using a 120v drill made it easier and avoided any bogging as I cut through wall top plates. My 12v drills just can't handle these. When you get through a piece of 2x4 for example, the hole saw is filled with the small hole you just cut. You have to get the core piece out before you can drill through another layer of wood. You can use a screw driver and sort of pry it out from the sides using the slits that are cut into the drill. Another way is to unscrew the drill from the quick change mandrel and punch it out from the center using a screwdriver and hammer. If there's any negative with these drills, it's that sometimes when they are new, they are difficult to get screwed onto the mandrel the first time. The paint is just enough to make you think you might be cross threading it. I found that screwing it on a little, backing it off and then blowing the paint residue off and going again worked. After a few attempts you will finally get it all of the way onto the Mandrel. It might take a little force the first time. 5 stars, I've used these bits to build a log cabin and several homes now and they work great!

I purchased the Dewalt hole saw specifically for cutting a 1 inch hole in several pieces of aluminum, (6061 T6), and some mild steel, (1018). I also purchased the "DEWALT DW1800 1/4-Inch Mandrel", (here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004RGZO/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_18), which is necessary if you don't already have one because the hole saw does not come complete with the mandrel. It wouldn't be fair of me to rate the hole saw's precision because I didn't use it in a drill press. I used it in a cordless hand drill along with some cutting oil. Under those conditions, the hole saw cut surprisingly close to the 1 inch diameter. The diameter of the hole after completing the cut was 1.020 inches. That's barely over a 64th of an inch which is pretty good for freehand cutting with a cordless drill. Then again, I'm a retired machinist with over 23 years experience and I'm sure that had a lot to do with it. From a machinist point of view, we certainly wouldn't expect the final diameter of a hole which was cut by a hole saw to be precise. In fact, if I used this whole saw in a milling machine or drill press, I would expected to cut roughly .020 to .030 oversize anyway. The performance of the whole saw was very good, surprisingly good actually. For all practical purposes, this whole saw performed excellently and I would recommend it to anyone.

Good quality, works as expected

simplemente por la marca ya sabes q estas comprando calidad, ya corte lamina, madera y pcv y como mantequilla, no hay q hacer esfuerrzo con el solo peso del taladro corta perfecto, 100% recomendable

As expected, Dewalt quality. Cuts extremely well

drilled 30 holes in refrigeration panels with this unit, absolutely no complaints. Identical part at two of my local tool suppliers where it was more than twice the price? ordered it Sat. got it Sun morning

Buen rendimiento excelente calidad

Me decepcionó, la verdad la utilicé en madera blanda y su corte deja mucho que desear. La otra perforación la realicé con una broca similar, pero marca Lenox y la diferencia fue abismal, corte instantaneo.