BLUE BOAR TSF12 12 Piece High Performance Tungsten Carbide Hole Saw kit 2-1/4" Cut Depth. Cut 10x as fast and using 1/40th the battery power. Cordless Drills cut holes 3x as large versus bi-metal hole saws. Deep side gullets for fast plug removal

Reviews of BLUE BOAR TSF12 12 Piece High Performance Tungsten Carbide Hole Saw kit 2-1/4" Cut Depth. Cut 10x as fast and using 1/40th the battery power. Cordless Drills cut holes 3x as large versus bi-metal hole saws. Deep side gullets for fast plug removal

1.) incredible cutting even with cordless drills
Reviewed by: Michael Winters
Rating:
I have been frustrated for years with cutting holes in wood with old fashioned hole saws and forget about cutting much else, 2-3 holes in Hardie board or MDF before they are toast. I tried the Milwaukee Big Hawg cutters and they work fantastic in wood but with their high speed steel teeth you are limited to wood - and the only pilot bit they provide is a flat bit for wood. When I saw the Blue Boar TCT hole cutters with a similar design to the Big Hawg hole cutters but with tungsten carbide teeth I had to give them a try.

I was flat out amazed at how fast they cut. I could get through Advantech or Sturd-I subflooring 1-1/8" thick in under 10 seconds and then the cut plug would just fall out. I was able to cut holes up to 6-1/4" diameter using an 18v cordless drill in under 30 seconds and with no strain on my part. I have used 2" Lenox One Tooth and it was such a pain to use I threw it away and would not think of even trying to use one of their larger sizes.

The storage case is the best built I have ever seen, even better than my Milwaukee Big Hawg case which up til now was the best I had. The kit also has special pilot bits for metal, wood, wall tile, and such and this is really nice to have all together. Get the kit and not have to fill in the pieces that were left out. I bought a Bosch TCHS hole cutter for a project and when it arrived I found out that my special Bosch mandril had a pilot bit that was too short and so I had to special order a Bosch 7" pilot bit which only comes in a masonry style.

I have been cutting through wood, OSB, MDF, Hardie siding, brick, clay roofing tile, and fiberglass, and so far the hole cutters are still working great. Not recommended but I even bore a hole through a piece of concrete cinder block.

A great thing about these new hole cutters is that I can use a cordless drill to cut very large holes. My DeWalt 18v cordless is rated for a maximum hole size of 2-1/8" with a bi-metal hole saw and that is about as large a Lenox One Tooth or standard self-feed as this drill can comfortably handle. But the same drill has no problem with the Blue Boar cutters going through OSB or plywood and making holes up to 6-1/4". The carry case will hole a 4-5/8" hole cutter which is one better than the Milwaukee Big Hawg case which can only go 4-1/4" or smaller.

The 2-1/4" cutting depth is quite handy. With bi-metal hole saws even the "deep" models only go to 1-5/8", so these TCT hole cutters are really special. Easy to cut through doubled up lumber and the cut plugs just fall out so I have used them to go through even 4x6 timbers.

I was initially a bit skeptical that a kit at this price could be any good and but I knew this company makes good products so I gave it a shot. Boy am I glad I did. These are great kits and I have already given two away as birthday gifts to a couple good friends - also keeps them from wanting to borrow mine.

2.) Great cutters, great performance, great case
Reviewed by: Bryan Sanders Chicago
Rating:
I had bought one of the Milwaukee Big Hawg kits when they first came on the market. I was very impressed with the performance of the hole cutters in wood and when used with an 18 volt cordless drill. Not only did they cut holes in 4-5 seconds in contrast to 50-60 seconds with a hole saw, the cut piece of wood just fell out and I could immediately start cutting another hole. I did not like the fact that the sizes were very limited, they were for wood only, I could only stack them 2 deep in the case, and the carry case would not hold anything bigger than a 4-1/4" hole cutter. Two years later I found myself looking for another kit for a truck and did a bit of research. I found that the Milwaukee Big Hawg design was not changed nor was the case and there were no more sizes available. I looked at the Bosch TCHS hole cutters and even bought one to try. Found out that not only did I need a special Bosch arbor I also needed a special 7" Bosch masonry bit (not too hot in wood).

Moving on I found the Blue Boar TCT hole cutters and quickly saw that they had something that had none of the limitations of the Milwaukee Big Hawg hole cutter kit. The Blue Boar TCT cut through wood every bit as fast as the Big Hawg hole cutters, cut through wood more than 2" thick, stack 3 high in the case, work with a standard drill arbor, and the case holds sizes up to 4-5/8" as well as multiple pilot bit with different types of pilot bits for different materials.

A hole cutter does not start to cut until the pilot bit has made a deep enough hole and the wrong bit slows everything. The Blue Boar TCT kit has the usual twist bit but also a special wood spade bit like the Milwaukee Hawg kit and even a carbide tipped masonry bit. Yes this hole cutter can cut plaster, Hardie board, concrete backer board, and fiberglass in addition to wood, OSB, plywood, and MDF. MDF is really a pain to cut with a bi-metal hole saw and it tends to smoke the hole saw on the very first hole even with a brand new hole saw. No problem for the Blue Boar TCT hole cutters which rip through the thickest MDF in seconds. This saves a lot on battery life. I seldom can't get through the day with a single battery since switching over to the Blue Boar hole cutters.

In wood the performance is amazing and the wood plug will fall out as soon as the teeth get to the backside of the board if you use the wood spade bit. Often with a hole saw the plug sticks partly due to the tight hole made by the twist pilot bit and changing to a wood bit fixes this.

In addition to holding all the hole cutters, the arbor, and the 4 pilot bits, the Blue Boar case is the strongest I have come across from any manufacturer. As good as the Milwaukee cases and a lot better than the ones from Lenox and Bosch. Small detail if you leave the kit in your garage or shop but if you plan on putting them in the back of a truck the case can quickly destroy itself if it is not well made.

These are top quality hole cutters. I looked them over when I first got them and could not find any welds or other signs of sloppy workmanship like you see on the bi-metal hole cutters and the Malco big gullet TCT hole cutters. Even though they sell for less than the Malco version the Blue Boar are higher quality.

The kit only has one arbor as the clever people at Blue Boar designed even their 5/8" size hole cutters to work on a standard 5/8"-18 arbor so one arbor for all sizes up to the 6-1/4" size they make.

They also have a Universal TCT hole cutter which has more tungsten carbide teeth and if I was dealing a lot with plaster or cement board siding or Ipe hard woods I would recommend them instead. But as I deal with wood 95% of the time the white multipurpose TCT hole cutters work fine.

Manufacturers will state sometimes that the TCT hole cutters can be used on wall tile. That is because floor tile can be two to four times as hard as wall tile. For my money the best hole cutter for tile of any kind is a carbide or diamond grit hole cutter that is designed for use on ceramic and porcelain tile. Most of the time I only need a 1-3/8" size anyway so no need for a whole kit.

Drill speed is important with the very big hole cutters. I can make 6" holes in thick plywood using either my DeWalt DCD970 or my Milwaukee 2611 drills but in both cases the manufactures recommend using the lowest speed setting. This is not a bad suggestion but they expect people to be using a 2" or smaller hole saw with these drills and hole saws need a lot more torque and power to cut than the new large gullet TCT hole cutters. I get better results by using a high speed setting or the middle setting with a 3-speed drill like the DCD970. The DeWalt has a true middle range unlike the drills from Makita and Ridgid that provide low and ultra low granny gearing (not sure what they expect me to do with a 0-150 speed range unless it is meant for cutting stainless steel).

I used to take 4 batteries and sometimes even 6 to a job where I could not plug in a charger. Now with the Blue Boar TCT hole cutters I only take one spare and seldom have to use it. The new lithium batteries provide more power duration and hold a charge a lot longer than the NiCads but they can explode if they overheat. All the drill manufactures have a safety feature to cut off the power if there is too much torque. Never had them do this with even the largest TCT hole cutter from Blue Boar but I do start the cutting action slowly and let the tungsten carbide teeth do the cutting as there is no need like with bi-metal hole saws to push them through the board. Expect my drills will last longer by using the TCT hole cutters which is a nice little bonus.

Features of BLUE BOAR TSF12 12 Piece High Performance Tungsten Carbide Hole Saw kit 2-1/4" Cut Depth. Cut 10x as fast and using 1/40th the battery power. Cordless Drills cut holes 3x as large versus bi-metal hole saws. Deep side gullets for fast plug removal

Blue Boar Self-Feed Multipurpose TCT tungsten carbide hole cutter 5/8" (16mm) diameter and 2-1/4" cutting depth. Perfect for cutting hard and soft woods, laminates, acrylics and plastics, plaster, OSB, MDF, fiberglass, chipboard, sheetrock, tile (up to Grade 6), vertically perforated brick, clay roofing tiles, concrete cinder block, Hardie fiber cement board, plywood, chipboard, and fiber reinforced composites. **** These TCT hole cutters will outperform and outlast dozens of ordinary self-feed bits (and without the mess) or bi-metal hole saws (without the time lost prying out the cut plugs). Use a single hole cutter for every material on the job site. Aggressive cutting tips and the ability to cut almost every building and construction material makes short work of any project. The rake of the TCT teeth and the drop shaped chip clearance slots allow for easy removal of plugs making for an uninterrupted drilling process The 2-1/4" cutting depth enables its use for cutting through strapping and joists without ship auger drill bits. Quickly mounts to any standard 3/8" arbor or the Hole Pro XL Arbor for use with Hole Pro dust shields to trap the dust and shavings and control the cutting depth. **** The design of these TCT hole cutters enables drills rated for 3" maximum hole sizes in wood when using a bi-metal hole saw, can easily cut holes up to 6-1/4" diameter in the same materials using the Blue Boar TCT hole cutter. **** Use with any 2-pin style hole saw arbor with 5/8"-18 thread

1.) Tungsten Carbide Teeth & Big Gullets for 10x Faster Cutting;
2.) Blue Boar TSF12 Self-feed Kit includes heavy duty storage case and 2-1/4 deep;
3.) Multi-material Tungsten Carbide hole cutters 6 sizes: 2-1/8", 2-1/4", 2-5/8", 3", 3-5/8", 4-1/4";
4.) 4 Pilot Bits (HSS twist, carbide masonry, 2 flat wood);
5.) Drill Arbor 5/8"-18 2-pin 3/8" shank, hex wrench;