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I cut a 10" diameter hole in plywood the other day using that same Milwaukee cordless drill and have cut 18 holes that were 8-1/4" diameter in a tongue and grove wood ceiling for recessed light cans and it took less than an hour and the drill battery was still going strong.There are other hole cutters you can buy but none that work as well and let you cut the exact hole size needed and will perform anywhere near as well in such a wide range of materials. My hand drill would not be able to cut a 8" hole in a T&G ceiling even if a hole saw that size were made.
The Hole Pro adjustable hole cutter kits are head and shoulders above anything else available and at $139 are a real bargain. The twin blades balance perfectly, make adjustments very easy, and cut twice as fast with no wobble and perfectly round holes even cutting in soft materials like sheetrock.
I have used two other single blade hole cutters from other companies including a 300mm 12" (actually 11-5/8") model that wobbled, was hard to figure out which balance bar to use and which side to attach it on and it cut slowly, and cost $169. I figured that is I bought just the 4 hole cutter sizes I would need for tungsten recessed light cans I would spend over $200, and now with all the halogen and par light cans I would need more than 20 sizes of hole saws.
I have cut holes with this hole cutter in tongue and groove ceilings, MDF, and acoustic tiles using the high speed steel blades in the kit, and with the tungsten carbide blades I have cut large holes in sheetrock, plaster, fiberglass, Hardie cement board, Durock, and even Wonderboard. The kit includes a quality hard shell carry case, a shield that is lighter and stronger than any other I have used and has slots to catch the shavings when cutting overhead so you can still see what you are doing, adjustment wrenches for changing the cutting diameter or changing the blades (which can be done in seconds), a set of the high speed steel blades and a set of the tungsten carbide blades, and the adjustable hole cutter which is made up of fully machined parts and the measure bar is chrome plated which I really like.
My Milwaukee 18v is rated for 1-7/8" maximum hole size when cutting wood with a hole saw and even my 1/2" cord DeWalt heavy duty 600 RPM high torque drill is rated to cut only for up to a 3-1/2" hole saw when cutting wood. I bought one and used and then bought another one as a gift for my brother who is a remodeler to use on his jobs.
I am a professional remodeling contractor and I install tubular skylights and own the 16" model. After some trial and error, I have found that a) you need to use the clutch on your drill to keep the binding action (that is inevitable) from hurting you. b) the blade positions do work well to set the hole size and keep everything centered - you just have to look closely at the markings, then check the total diameter with a tape measure. This tool is built extremely well and does a great job of cutting clean holes in drywall and plaster (haven't tried wood yet).
With the slots in the shield it is very strong and it makes it easy to watch as it is cutting. I did not need to make a template, just decide where the can was going and center the hole cutter and cut.
It is amazing how well it cuts and I can cut the exact size hole from under 2 inches to 12 inches in size. There have been two problems with cutting holes, getting the right size hole saw, and not getting hurt when the hole saw gets stuck and the drill starts to spin around the other direction with me still holding on.
I bought the 8" model and it worked so well that I gave it to my partner and bought myself the 12" hole cutter. I put in recessed ceiling lights all through my house and this cutter made the job quick and easy.
With this hole cutter I have cut hole up to 12 inches in diameter in wood with my old ½ drill and feel safe doing it.I like the dust shield that catches all the shavings. It makes cleanup a breeze even when cutting holes in the ceiling.
The cut plug is held by the dust shield and all I needed to do was flip it over and drop the plug into a 5 gallon bucket I tied to the ladder. There is no cross brace needed for this composite plastic dust shield so it is much faster to wipe clean when done.The blades are very fast to change and the HSS blades cut very cleanly and the tungsten carbide blades last a long time.
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