Circular Cutters

[Derek]

A tangential thought....

If you buy one of the cheap hole saws, first use it to make a hole in a piece of MDF to act as a guide later.

Grind off the teeth, and sharpen the edge, remove the drill bit and use the MDF as a guide for the new cutter.

Cheap ones tend to be made of Plasticine, so the edge probably wouldn't be long lasting, however IF it works you could consider upgrading the tool to a better quality one, or it may be just enough for limited cuts.

This is what I will be doing but as of yet it still is a TUIT job

[Bill21]

I’ve made makeshift wad punches from off cuts of metal tube.

[Twisted Trees]

This is what I will be doing but as of yet it still is a TUIT job

That round TUIT wouldn't happen to be 3" diameter with a sharp edge would it?

[MCB]

I’ve made makeshift wad punches from off cuts of metal tube.

Three Inch diameter?


MC

[Bill21]

I’ve made makeshift wad punches from off cuts of metal tube.

Three Inch diameter?


MC

No, the biggest pipe I’ve had is 2” which is fine as that’s what I needed!

[MCB]

May I repeat my plea for information about the size and shape of the hole for the Arbor in hole cutter saws, please?

Are the size and shape of the holes the same for all manufacturers?


I've  now taken the advice about NOT needing the abrasive to be circular and trimmed the original disks to octagons.

I hope that you and your  families are - and will remain - well.
 
Very many thanks again

 

[Twisted Trees]

Are the size and shape of the holes the same for all manufacturers?

No, but some are... really an impossible question, especially if you are not telling us the size and shape of the one you need.

[MCB]

I have measured the broken Arbor

It's a cylinder with flattened sides.

The diameter of the circle is  17.2mm; the width across the flats is  14mm.

I have two makes - Rolson and ENOX and they are the same

Very many thanks for taking the time to measure your arbors

I hope that you and your  family are - and will remain - well.

[Derek]

This is what I will be doing but as of yet it still is a TUIT job

That round TUIT wouldn't happen to be 3" diameter with a sharp edge would it?

Yes as well as a 2"

[davidbrac]

not tried it but surely one of these cheap tile cutters would do it?
https://www.wish.com/product/5d81e3bb68bf225a759d2a88?
Should last a while as well

[MCB]

I eventually rang Rolson (which had NOT responded to email messages) and explained that I needed to buy a replacement Arbor. The chap to whom I spoke promised to send me one - and a few days later, a complete Hole Saw kit arrived.

Full Marks to Rolson (but pity that they don't reply to email)

Very many thanks for the suggestion of the tile cutter

MC

[Robin Goodman]

BrainH suggests a pair of dividers with one point sharpened to a blade.  If you search for 'circle cutters ' on the internet there are many cutters using the same principal, but with a proper blade one end and used for cutting card, leather, rubber etc,  priced from £3 upwards.  Usually made of plastic, they work OK to cut discs out of sandpaper, just need to press quite hard on the blade end if cloth backed. However I usually find scissors good enough.

[MCB]

Thank you for taking the time to respond.
 
Thank you for the suggestion.

My gut feeling was that the abrasive of sandpaper would  destroy anything designed to cut paper.

However, I used my workshop scissors to cut an octagon from the centre and that was sufficient to give me what I wanted.

With best wishes and thanks again.
 

[bodrighywood]

I just cut off rough squares to fit the discs with a pair of shears I got for 50p from a  boot sale some years ago. Sometimes basic, primitive works.
Pete

[hughie]

Paul's suggestion to cut the shape roughly  seems to be the easiest and most economic way forward.

I'll use the discs like that when the need arises. Very many thanks.
 
Yesterday, when cutting the three inch circles of MDF, I realised that the pilot drill for the hole cutter needed sharpening.

Unfortunately, my ball-end Allen Key broke when trying to extract the pilot drill from the arbor.

I guess that I should  NOT have had high expectation from a cheap tool!

I'll  try using a screw extractor later. Any other suggestions, please?

With best wishes and thanks again.
 

MC

Yes I do the same and the square will some protection to the velcro. Also its helps when climb up the side sanding the inside of a vessel