This press has worked like a charm for my projects kzfaq.infoUgkxajoEbapTfqWaadnqb04h6U576yxXp-FE . I didn't even secure it to my table top, mainly due to the fact that I was using a 15 lbs drill vise. It's not flimsy at all as to what others have claimed it to be. Make sure the locking nuts and levers are secured and there won't be any issues with light pressure and patience. I was able to drill through aluminum, plastic, and steel (steel took a while) with no problems at all. Yeah it took a little longer than a regular drill press, but I don't have the space OR the money for one.The instruction manual was worthless, but luckily assembling the press was intuitive. However, the manual would be good for ordering replacement parts if needed. There is a nice breakdown of the parts that are included in the kit. Before ordering, make sure it is compatible with your unit, it is clearly stated what models the press is compatible with.This was an excellent purchase for $40!!

What a bunch of ball baby comments, the guy made a video to show several methods of hole drilling. He was opening possibilities to people who do not know what to use. All these comments bashing him. Shut up. If you want to have a contest about machining, bring it. What he did was to help many and you all waa, waa, waa.

An old machinist told me to drill small holes around the perimeter of the holesaw so the shavings all out and you can go faster. Works like a charm!

As a home hobbyist, I would never have believed that a whole saw (that I have had for years and only used for wood project) could cut through that thick of steel. AMAZING! Thanks for sharing. I just bought my first welder and this method has raised more possibilities for my projects. Again. Thanks!

Simple tip for the hole saw... I ran some parts that required a 6" rough machined hole in 1" thick plate a few years ago. Rather than circle burn them (plasma table wasn't an option) the plates were to be in the mill anyways so I hole sawed them. I drilled 4, 3/16 holes at 90* to each other on the 6" circle (staying just inside the OD of the hole saw). This allowed the chips to clear through the small holes and I passed the hole saw in one pass with coolant of course. Cheap, easy and dirty as f!

Forget the dabbing with the brush those bits should be swimming in oil

I've used all three of these methods. I was floored he got the hole saw to go through as quickly as he did. I'd have been there 2x as long going through 3/4" plate, and it might be the first and last hole for the tool, even using a brand new bit. The annular cutter is well worth the money! Cuts like butter! Requires a strong/rigid setup. I don't have the shop this guy does by any means, but can't say enough about annular cutters. I use the rotabroach system for smaller holes in a handheld drill which is basically mini versions of the annular cutters. Again, cut like butter! Best investment you can make for your home shop! Those large drill bits tend to dull quickly, even with oil, and often you spend more time sharpening them than going through the material. Annular cutters solve this issue as they work more like a milling bit. It takes seconds to do what would take minutes. If you have many holes to drill, this can add up to hours of your day.

Hi Gary, I use annular cutters any time I can. I feel they give you a much better hole. I always hold the bigger ones in a 3/4" collet and, as you found, they are much faster than other methods. Good video, Gary. Take Care, Reid

As a point of experience, you don't need to step drill with a drill bit. Yes, it will go through faster if you have a pilot hole that is as large as the center web. It can actually be a detriment to step drill because 2 flute drills are not designed for enlarging holes and do not self center well. The margins also tend to wear more when enlarging a hole because the tip is not keeping it on center, thus causing the bit to wear out faster. Try plowing that big drill in without a clearance hole, then try it with just a 3/8 clearance hole. You also don't really need a spot with larger drills, the drill is stiff enough to keep on center. Maybe I'll do a video on this principle and also share some old-school tooling, an APT insert drill.

The annual cutter is designed to be used with a continuous flow of cooling medium, which will seriously decrease the time used for cutting through thick steel. We always used a magnetic drill press with a built-in cooling medium container.

Great demonstration. Obviously the annular cutter didn't surprise anyone who is familiar with them, but most people aren't. I'm sure they all would have benefited from a dedicated coolant spray system, but if you're not familiar with these tooling options you probably don't have that anyway. The twist drill run could definitely have been improved by 35 seconds by skipping the spotting drill. That's only necessary when really precise alignment is needed. A generous clearance hole surely doesn't need that kind of help. As you said, going straight to a 1/2" bit might have helped. I like the DeWalt pilot point bits for that purpose. But anyone who is really needing to do this sort of thing quickly will get the annular cutters or consider their twist bits as consumables. Buy a bulk pack of 3/8" or 1/2" or whatever size is most appropriate for your repetitive tasks and send them off for dirt cheap sharpening as they dull, using the rest of the pack while you wait.

Good to know slower is better, especially for a piece that weighs more than my drill press.

Very good video. Helps me out a lot. I've been doing woodworking so long I'd forgotten my metal basics. Slow the RPMs, machine oil liberally, plenty of pressure...wood is so easy in comparison. Thanks a ton. Only problem now is I want a Bridgeport! I used one a lot in college and man do I miss it. Hopefully I'll find one I can afford some day.

For thinner stuff like 1/4" steel plate, I found that tungsten carbide tipped hole saws work very well for cutting larger diameter holes

Great video!!! That is the first time I have seen a annular cutter in action. I always used bits or the hole saw, this video has really opened my horizons.

The Annular cutter would have done it in have the time, if you were using a oil squirt can on it. All the stops to put oil on it slowed it down. Also when you use them in a mag drill you can fill them up with oil where it comes out automatically when the point hits the metal.

Yep, love those annular cutters that get used on magnetic base drills, they go through steel like butter. Better accuracy too. Flood coolant really helps with keeping the tools cool. I've got an old set of really crappy Chinese drill bits up to 25mm but they are still going after 20 years (and some sharpening LOL) because I use flood coolant and keep the rpm down. The flood coolant also really helps with the hole saws, not only with cooling but with the chip evacuation.

Thank you for the video. I was thinking about getting some silver and deming bits to drill steel with my small (5 amp) drill press, and once I saw your drill I figured it was probably a total pipe dream!

These angular drill bits are a beast. They are brutal. I stop at 3:45 and I would have to agree. You ran the machine just right for the cut. Not hard and plenty lubricant. You will preserve the life of the drill bits. Well, you would get more life and or uses from the bit. Also not as much stress on the drill press. In saying that, these bits will require a decent drill press. I will watch the rest of the video . Thanks for the upload.

Great Video! If you drill a through-hole just inside the perimeter before using the hole saw, then you don't need to peck drill and you have a hole down which swarf will evacuate automatically; you just keep it lubricated from the top.

annular cutter all the way, the reason? On under powered equipment, they just work better. Most decent drill presses or small mills will run that size annular cutter but not the twist drill. Also, for the annular cutter, if you are using it in a mill that uses R8 collets, get a R8 3/4 end mill holder and cut is down and make a dedicated annular cutter holder. All annular cutters have a 3/4 shank size so after you make the dedicated annular cutter holder it works for any annular cutter size. I just made one and then used a 1.5" annular cutter on 1-1/2 inch cold roll using a bench top under powered mill and it worked fine, though I had to go slower and keep it lubed. That little bench top mill would not have done well with that huge twist drill. Forget the hole saws, unless you get a really high quality one they suck and then will only be good for one hole. Hole saws, use them for thin gauge steel only. That big mill this guy had would handle anything but many of us don't have a mill like that. I now try and look out on ebay for deals on annular cutters and snag them when ever I find a deal on a size I don't have that is above 3/4" and is 2" long. Don't even bother with the shorter ones, buy 2" min length so you can drill deep when you need to.

Good morning Gary, one thing you didn't mention was the finish of the hole which could be important depending on the job it's used for. Also the hole-saw isn't going to last through too many of those deep holes, but for the average diy'er it's the only affordable option. Good video, I've missed a bunch due to illness and hospital stay but I'm catching up.

It has been my standard practice to just drill a hole slightly larger than the tip of the desired large drill bit. It is surprising how well it works. My Uncle told me about that 20 years ago, hasn't failed me yet. More tools means more time. Pilot hole then finish size...

At work we do use the annular cutter regularly, however we’re using them on a mag drill. The Hougen’s are freaking hauling ass turning those things. The Slugger and Milwaukee do have speed adjustments on them, could be wrong but even on there lowerest speed their turning faster then 220. Do agree with you on stepping up in smaller steps on getting to the bigger drill big, it takes a little longer but it’s easier on the bit and your not having to put as much pressure to drill the hole. Was taught years ago, light pressure on the bit, lots of oil let the bit do the work, and they last a long time and it has always seemed to work well. However have seen guys try to put there whole body weight on a drill bit, and burn up a 3/4 drill bit drilling one hole in some 1” plate.

One thing that no one has mentioned is the plug. Only the annular drill produced a solid plug and scrap like that finds a use in my shop.

Good videos, a annular is perfect for non critical holes. If you want fast accurate holes you want a T/A bit, followed by a reemer. A T/a Bit is a drill bit with a replaceable tip, they can be tailored to the thousandths. The best thing I there fast & each parent bit can exept many sizes, It's the only way to go. I have been a production machinist for 30 years & learned this the hard way. Your video reminded me of that.

I couldn't talk my brother into trying this on his mill, so I'll just tell you my idea for drilling that hole faster with a hole saw. You have to do 2 things different. First remove the center drill from the hole saw (you don't need it when using a mill) That won't speed the cut up much, but this should. Drill a 3/8" or 1/2" hole that is almost tangent with what will be the inside edge of your large hole. Now you have a path for the chips to clear, just be sure to use a thinner coolant, and use more of it.

One suggestion on the hole saw. Drill two 1/4" holes 180 degrees apart on the inside of the circle the will allow the chips to evacuate down through the holes and out the bottom of the work. This speeds up the cutting escpecially when using the larger diameter hole saws. Use lots of motor oil to keep it cool and watch the chips come out the bottom....Great video...Thank you

Helpful video. Thanks. Good and speedy where it need to be. Annular cutters obviously are the go. Hole saw bits I have used are a good lower cost option just make sure you don't use ones just for wood use. Big drill bits vibrate in smaller drill presses. RPM speed was also crucial information. Thumbs up.

I'll settle for the 6 to 7 minutes with the hole saw any day of the week. Great Video. Five Stars.

I need a set of those cutters. Angular cutters. I looked them up pricey but time is $. Thanks for the video, haven’t herd of these cutters but there going on my wish list.

Wasn't familiar with annual cutter until this video ! Thanks for sharing ! Also appreciate all the experienced advise and tips from others commenting !

I bet the angular cutter has the best life expectancy too, not to mention you can save the slug for another project or it's easy enough to throw in the scrap pile vs the chips which will most likely make it in the garbage.

the slugger bit hands down is the fastest, I use them everyday at work

Your hole saws must be sharper than mine, that would have taken me all day.

Nice job Gary! I appreciate the efforts you went to. Who knew I could learn something interesting like this, in bed late at night, with my wife snoozing next to me!?

Nice. I expected the annular cutter to win because 1. It had chip evacuation and 2. It removed a slug, it didn't turn the material to chips. I was surprised that the hole saw beat the twist drill actually. Considering the hole saw has atrocious chip evacuation. And I wasn't expecting so many bit changes for the twist drill. However the problem with not changing bits is that you're forcing the bit to to scoop away more material which requires more torque from the machine. Overall a great test.

Awesome video, I've been dealing with this myself. I have a 1.25" thick plate I need to put 1.81" hole in. I tried an annual cutter but it vibrates and rattles my machine like crazy, I'm working on finding the fastest way. Thanks for video.

I cry for twist drills

Do you think the first bit would work with a homedepot drill press?

Howdy. Can you give me some advice? How do I enlarge the hole in a piece of thick metal of about 3 cm with a normal electric hand drill, with a 26mm drill bit?. Thank you

The real test, stainless steel!

Interesting shootout Gary. I think doing these types of things with the setup/tooling you are going to use for the job is really smart because it will point out things that you may not have considered otherwise. I'm thinking of the chips generated by the annular cutter. I would not have thought of those as being a potential issue, but if you're doing a lot of holes then I could see it costing time.

There is another way to drill large holes from 1/2" thru 3/4" then 3/4" thru 2" and all sizes in between with the one drill set. It is a simple boring bar set designed for use in a drill press, it is made locally in Australia and works well. It allows home handymen to drill a variety of neat holes with only a single $200 drill set. I bought mine at a trade show but they are available on eBay.

I'm and ironworker so I deal with this type of stuff a lot and we've never used anything but the annular cutter used in conjuction with a mag-drill. That is, when the oxy-acetylene torch isn't a valid option. 4" holes are definitely not ideal for a torch so the "slugger bit" ( annular cutter) is great for that.

Excellent! Appreciate the time you spent doing this. Subbed.

very nice man. I agree with feeding a little faster with the annular bits. they do give off great chips if you feed right. I keep a whole set in my box at work cuz all the yahoo's frig up the shop ones. mine stay sharp and I get great chips and super fast holes.

Also you can drill a hole inside the od of the hole saw hole for chips to fall through as you cut.

Neat comparison. I mainly have used hole saws in this situation and find that after one or two holes the saw is pretty well done for. They aren't made for this type of application. Thanks for sharing Gary. I always enjoy/appreciate your content.

I use carbide tipped drills at work 1 inch plate 90 sec taking it easy

I liked the comparison, but I think the annular cutter would have really shined even more with a spray mist setup, that goes for the twist drill also. As far as the twist drill goes, just pilot one bit slightly larger than the chisel point of the bit, then go for the large bit. If you had the spray mist it would have been almost as fast as the annular cutter. You lose a lot of time retracting the bit to lube it. The annular cutter really gets to be cost effective when you get into larger holes that can only be done with a hole saw otherwise, but they ain't cheap. Hole saws kinda suck for cutting metal, but they do make carbide tipped hole saws with less teeth and chip clearing grooves. I haven't tried the carbide hole saws yet, but I'll bet they'd be a nice compromise for cutting speed vs cost of an annular cutter.

If you'd have to make 20 of those squares, the time to change the drill bits would be divided over thise 20 squares and it would, at least, be closer to the 1st one.

Be nice to have a link for the annular hole saw

I completely agree with Oddmund Bjornaali on the annular bit . PLUS , lose the cutting OIL . Drill bits cut by friction . Oil lets it slide . ICE WATER cools. heat is what damages bits. FLOOD the jell out of it with ice water and your bits will last 5 times longer.. Small chips means your bit is dull or you are not putting enough pressure on it.. You are correct on the cup saw. Just need ice water under pressure to blow the chips out .

What the hell... Your pilot drill should only be roughly equal to the web thickness of the larger drill. If your machine has the torque, a smaller pilot will be much easier on a larger drill. Pushing a 1.x" drill through a .75" hole is more likely to chip the cutting edges of the larger drill. That hole could have been done in a small fraction of the time it took you. (Source- Machinist, drilled literally thousands of 1"+ holes in heavy steel plate) Edit: Didn't notice eformance's comment before I made this one. What he said...

I'd love to see the runout on these holes, speed is important but also how good is the hole? Just from the shots it looked like the hole saw had a really rough finish on the outside, and I can't imagine a tool that light is particularly rigid. I'd expect the twist drill to be really straight, and have a good finish, but because of all the intermediate drillings it's position is probably difficult to control precisely. The annular cutter should have a pretty good finish and be self centering, but since you can't spot-drill it I can't make an argument for how precisely it starts, though the rigidity would help. Anyway, just saying I'd love to see these blocks trammed up and have a needle gone over those holes; might be difficult to film so I'd be happy with numbers.

SLUG you could use for all sorts of things, KEP THEM!!! Old One Legged Joseph T.

Any comparison of dimensional accuracy of the hole? My experience hole saws are sloppy.

Thank you so much sir I learnt a lot from your video extremely obliged

You didn't mention the quality of the hole each method produced. The annular cutter seemed to leave the best finish whilst the hole saw was worst. Is this correct? It could be important in some applications if the hole needs further machining to make it useable.

Ragrding the twist drill method, it is best to shove the big drill into the spotted hole location as is if the machine has the torque/power needed and go with autofeed. Second best option is to spot, then drill with a drill that is slightly smaller than the web thickness of the large drill and then shove the large drill through with autofeed. The reasoning is that if you remove material so that the web doesn't make any contact (as in predrill too large), the larger drill will tend to bounce around in the hole, jerks against pushing it in and in the worst case might bite into the material like a corkscrew. Predrilling of course removes the blunt force trauma levels of force needed to shove the large drill, as the web doesn't cut properly, more like shoving a flathead screwdriver into a metal. But on the other hand it is what keeps the drill centered and rotating round, as the flutes do not give any guidance until you are very deep in the hole.

Save those twist drill cuts and make the wife a bowl of steel rotini kitchen decoration. You could do a whole series, depending on the shape, linguini spaghetti...if you had a shaper, thick little cuts could pass for udon. Good comparison of the methods. But, dang, that's some serious torque. I'll have to stick to acetylene.

On the annular cutter, let the cutter rotate but reduce pressure on the handle. This will cause the chip to thin out and break which prevents the long strangers from forming. With a mag drill, don't use back and forth motion like a drill press because magnetic base will pull chips back into the cut.

I drill 2 holes inside the hole area opposite to each other before running the hole saw. Chips just drop down and you have a lot less stopping to clear chips. On most cases I have to come back on the lathe or mill with a boring bar to clean up the surface.

That's a great demo. The first tool really did a great job thanks for sharing. GW

I use Milwaukee steel hogs. I average be around $5 each on eBay. I tap the end with 3/4-16 and use a 3/4 in threaded shaft to drive it. tears through amazingly fast.

GREAT VIDEO VERY EDUCATIONAL THANKS

I'm actually watching this from the past!

Is this even a contest! Hammer and nail win every time

Brilliant video thank u

swarf is fine chips/powder usually saturated in coolant or oil. Those are just stringy chips. I would have been curious to see some other options, spade bit, or carbide. Those annular cutters are really nice for sheet metal. I never would have thought to try one on anything thicker.

The time it took to get the plug out should have been added to the time. I have never used an annular, I did notice that there is I hole in the top. Is it threaded for a bolt/screw or do you just have to knock it out with a rod/nail and hammer?

You could use a 1" chip brush, it holds a lot more cutting fluid and I lather -up the whole tool and the hole also.

I HAVE HAD GOOD LUCK WITH THE HOLE SAWS, BUT FIRST DRILL 2 PILOT HOLES, THE FIRST THE CENTER HOLE, THE SECOND HOLE BEING ON THE EDGE OF THE SLUG. LUBRICATE THE DRILL WITH 25% DETERGENT, 75%WATER APPLIED LIBERALLY! THE HOLE ON THE SLUG EDGE ALLOWS THE CHIPS TO BE WASHED AWAY. ALSO KEEP THE AIR HOSE AND BLOW NOZZLE HANDY!

very good video,I have certainly learnt a lot.

Stepping up on the drill bits seemed to work fine. Considering the steel plate is 1 inch thick. That large drill bit must be worth a pretty penny? Probably not much cheaper than anular bit.

believe it or not, in the place i work, we drilled with a 3" drill bit with no pilot hole :) it can be done if your machine can do it. In this case, you have like .5" shank on that huge bit and will spin in the shank if given a bit of torque.

This tells me exactly what I need to know,..Thanks.

For DIY, the hole saw is much less expensive, but tends to be a rougher cut.

Literally everyone watching is "watching this video some time in the future."

Dude cool video. I have a suggestion or two. Dude you gotta get some flood coolant, Cimtech is good. And that Annual tool in a C6 carbide variety under flood coolant and running around 600 RPM and brother you can cut some holes then. But then we drill large holes in the hundreds per day, so the cost would be prohibitive for a small shop. But to kinda water the mouths of the fellow machinist and toolmakers around. Our new Hurco VMXHSi with a 1 1/4 inch index-able six insert tool spinning about 3000 RPM can helix its way through that hole in 14 seconds. But again, that is a lot of jack to do one hole. Anyway, Cheers Dude, again great video, and I knew from the get go the Annual would prevail, and I would grind that drill with a 1/2 inch pilot about 3/8 long and drill that hole with it alone, and brother, I am surprised your hole saw actually made it.. Good job.

Good comparison video. I wonder, would you be able to give an approximate price comparison for the 3 different cutters you used?

Interesting stuff Gary.

Good demonstration.

i'm a hobbyist, with a question about coolant. do you need a system, or can you just use a spray bottle? does it have to be applied constantly to be effective, or just hit it from time to time, like oil?

Why tighten the chuck in all 3 locations? It all tightens the same thing correct? That's why you only need to loosen it at one point, or am I missing something?

Do you think any of these methods could be used on a hand drill if thats all you had

Thanks by your video. With the first and last method You get a cylinder that you can use for example: making little pieces in the lathe.

great vid

Good comparison Gary but I had the same question as Bill Shamblin which you replied to. Thanks buddy

I would use one high quality drill, 1 5/8" , and coolant. Drill speed SF 100 = 250RPM x .01"/ rev (this is light feed) = 24 seconds. I run a cnc machine shop.

excellent video! thank you! having a fixed air jet setup blowing on the cut would have sped you up some. clear and concise!!

Great video, I have a question I will be cutting a 1 inch hole into 1.25 square stock. catch is it will be at about 20 deg off of normal to the surface. Any suggestions?

very interesting videos, do you have any experience on using an annular cutter on steel tubing?

Nice. I know the annular cutter would win on speed but had never considered chip clean up.

annular cutters are great, unless you have to bore through thick steel, because they all have limited cut depths compared to twist drills. for thicker stuff, twist drills work best on say a radial arm drill, and for a cheaper option, and limited power, hole hogs work great as well.

If you drill a small hole on the inside of the circumference of the hole saw's path, it provides a path for the chips to go through.That way, you don't have to clear the chips

The annular cutter it is used the wrong way, should have constant lube/coolant flow and feed, no pecking. You showed us how to ruin a cutter

What adapter did you use for the annular bit?

Liquid coolant on the first bit you could've been through it in 20 seconds, sure some don't have that but they should