Thread: Lets talk about hole saws (and also perhaps forstner bits)

I've been experimenting with wheels after making the ones for the roadster.
Easiest/quickest way I found is go to an op-shop and buy wooden curtain rings (or 5 new at bunnings $6 or spotlight $9 for the same thing).
I think I got 60 rings for $2 at the op-shop.
You can get about 3 different sizes and thicknesses.
Then go to one of those junk shops ($2 shop) and they have wooden beads that make great hubs about 3/4 inch wide and half inch thick with 1/4 inch hole.

Just drill the 12 holes around the edges of both and put toothpicks thru from outside to inside.
CA them in and sand them smooth.

Originally Posted by Sir Stinkalot

3. Are the pilot holes all the same size? I know the Dewalt DW1803 quick change arbor for 1 1/4" - 6" hole saws is 7/16" which works well as I have a Veritas Dowel Cutter which produces 7/16" dowel.

Stinky, the 7/16" quoted is for the shank not the pilot hole, pilot hole on my 3 different Sutton mandrels that I have are 1/4" or 6.5mm, would have to check if you want me to verify exact size.

Thanks _fly_ that sounds like a good option for spoked wheels that I would keep in mind. At the moment I am looking more for options on solid truck type wheels.

DJ you are right. It would appear that the shank size is 7/16" but it doesn't mention the size of the pilot hole. Even though you can purchase spare pilot bits it doesn't mention their diameter, only the length. I guess more people are interested in the hole and not the waste side of things. The 1/4" pilot sounds about right based on the Carbitool wheel cutter. A bit of a shame as a 7/16" pilot would have been handy.

Sir Stinkalot,

I went down this same road. I assume you are talking about making either the Monster truck or some of the heavy equipment. It is really quite easy to make the wheels on the bandsaw. The Monster truck has 3" wheels and as you said the bigger holesaws are quite expensive!. I do recommend a good set of forstner bits however as they are great for wheel making and all other types of woodwork too. I have a cheap set and after using the 1/2" bit to drill out mortises in some red cedar it got hot and is dull now.

All of the holesaws I have are 1/4" bit. I think most of the wheels in the book call for 7/16" hole in the wheel and 11/32" axle pins so they spin freely. Its easy enough to enlarge these just make sure you are done with the holesaw before you do this.

Hopefully you have a OSS sander as well this will make sanding them all the same size easier.

The other thing to consider with holesaws is what kind of drill press you have. It takes a decent size drill press to run a 3" holesaw in hardwood. Otherwise you will be drilling all day. My drill press is only a 1/3hp benchtop and making any wheel over 1" in diameter is a long process of drilling very slow and making relief cuts for the sawdust to escape so that the bit does not over heat.

Here is the thread on my Monster truck. Post 12 shows the 2 jigs I made for the bandsaw and sander. Post 15 shows the wheels.

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f174/4...-truck-136064/

If you need any other help please PM me I will be glad to help.

Bret

Personally in don't like using a hole saw have trouble getting the wheels out of it.
I normally cut them on the bandsaw and sand them round on a disc sander.

I think hole saws are the way to go for you Stinky. The childs one so a lot of toys over the years for him and his 2/3 sibblings. The startup cost of hole saws is a bit exxy but they will last you a life time(Buy good ones) The blue suttons ones I have had for 20/30 years and thousands of wheels (Mum got them for me when I was very young) The arbor is important. Buy one that has the 2 prongs that wind into the cutter(thats why the cutters have the 2 holes in the top) easier to get apart. The pilot hole can be what ever size you want. Take say a nine mm bit to someone with a metal lathe(friend or shop) get them to turn the end of the shaft to 6.5 to fit the arbor. One cut then does the wheel and drills the right size hole for the axle. Forstner bits I buy cheap use them till they annoy me then throw them. Buy more


Phil

Thanks all. I think in the quest for simplification I have just made things more complicated. I will give the bandsaw and disk sander a go and see what happens. As much as I would like to churn out multiples of these time is the biggest restriction and I would be happy just to get the first done.

Bret .... I had a good read of your WIP at the time and was impressed. I will take on board the areas of weakness found in the design and try and beef it up a little.

I think down the track I will look at investing in a few decent select hole saws as I think in the long term it would be easier. After watching a few You Tube videos it would appear that the Tungsten Carbide Tipped out preform the Bimetal with quicker cuts, less burning and easier extraction of the wheel. I like Phils idea of modifying the pilot bit to suit the axle size to make it a one step process.

I will post some photos when the project is completed.

Cheers

Stinky

If you are really going to dive into doing these type of toys you could invest in a small lathe. Then the whole world is your oyster and you aren't restricted to just wheels.

OK, you spend more to start, but you have a much wider choice of what you can do.. If you do a google search for 2nd hand lathes in you area there is a fair selection there and lots of info as to what you are looking at on here..

I wouldn't be without mine.

I think its all been pretty well said here but whatever you decide to buy, definitely buy good quality hole saws, its the only way to travel, cheap ones will just frustrate you and will wear out quickly. Almost impossible to undo some of the cheap ones after cutting a blank with them.
A good tip when using a hole saw when cutting out wheels is to make sure the edge of the saw just saws outside the timber, this will allow sawdust to escape and make the cutting easier and keep the saw cooler.
someone mentioned in an earlier post that they had trouble removing the blank from the hole cutter, this is easily overcome by cutting about two thirds of the say through the blank and then turn it over and saw from the other side. the blank will not be deeply stuck in the hole saw and you will have plenty of timber to grab onto to remove the blank wheel.

G'Day Stinky,
I've bought holesaws & toy wheel cutters both bi metal & T/C from Bunnings, McJings, Carbitool & Gasweld.....though had quite a few from my work tool kit to start.
I got a big set of forstner bits from Rockler in USA for less than $100 delivered when they had a half price special.
It's been a matter of just buying what I need when I can & need it and now have a very good set; that being said I still compromise at times on the exact size to suit what holesaw, wheel cutter or forstner I have.

CARB-I-TOOL - Router Bit and Accessories Catalogue - January 2012

CARB-I-TOOL - Router Bit and Accessories Catalogue - January 2012

McJING Online Tools Products Search

I'm not sure if that helps in any way....Just my two bobs worth.
Cheers, crowie

Originally Posted by Sir Stinkalot

Thanks _fly_ that sounds like a good option for spoked wheels that I would keep in mind. At the moment I am looking more for options on solid truck type wheels.

DJ you are right. It would appear that the shank size is 7/16" but it doesn't mention the size of the pilot hole. Even though you can purchase spare pilot bits it doesn't mention their diameter, only the length. I guess more people are interested in the hole and not the waste side of things. The 1/4" pilot sounds about right based on the Carbitool wheel cutter. A bit of a shame as a 7/16" pilot would have been handy.

At the Toys Workshop that I attend in Clarence Park, someone has cut off the standard drill piece and then welded a thinner diameter shaft drill in its place. Very handy when using small wheels where you don't want a huge diameter axle. Of course we also have a number of various sized hole saws.

Peter M