HOLE PRO X-425 Kit 1-7/8" to 17" infinitely adjustable Twin Tungsten Carbide Blade Hole Saw Cutter 12" 13" 14" 15" 16" and fractional holes in wood sheetrock plaster plastics MDF cement board. Use ¼ torque of hole saw cut twice as fast

Reviews of HOLE PRO X-425 Kit 1-7/8" to 17" infinitely adjustable Twin Tungsten Carbide Blade Hole Saw Cutter 12" 13" 14" 15" 16" and fractional holes in wood sheetrock plaster plastics MDF cement board. Use ¼ torque of hole saw cut twice as fast

1.) Hole Saw Cutter for Skylight Installers
Reviewed by: James
Rating:
As a skylight installer, the faster I can get the job done the more money I make. This adjustable hole cutter from Hole Pro saves me time on the job. With the dust shield and its soft rubber edge I get a good seal so shavings don't go all over the place and I don't have to worry about the cut piece falling on something and causing damage. So I don't have to move as much furniture or use drop cloths over everything and I don't need to trace a template circle for the cutout.

The shield also can be used to adjust the depth of the cut so I don't accidentally cut something up in the ceiling including a beam. With the two blades it cuts fast even at lower rpms, and it makes a real clean hole even in plaster ceilings.

It is a very well made tool and the plastic dust shield is light but tough and will hold up on the job. The blades are quick to change if I want to use the high speed steel blades instead of the tungsten carbide ones. Both kinds are included in the case with the hole cutter. I do need to make sure that the three prongs of the drill chuck line up with the 3/8 inch shaft of the hole cutter which has three flattened sides for better grip. The keyless chucks also seem to work better than the ones that need a key and tightening each side of the drill chuck.

I now install 10 inch and 14 inch tubular skylights but if I start to install a different size skylight the hole cutter is quick to adjust to any size tubular skylight being made today up to the 16 inch sizes. I still use a sawzall on the roof but there the debris falls into the attic. Inside the customer's home where I am making the ceiling hole this tool saves me time and customers appreciate that there is less disruption and dust and I am in and out of the job site faster.

2.) great tool for skylights and large ceiling speakers
Reviewed by: Michael Winters
Rating:
On occasion we install both large in-ceiling speakers and tubular skylights. These require a hole that is anywhere from 10 to 16.5 inches in diameter to be cut into sheetrock or plaster or acoustic tile. The Hole Pro X-425 adjusts from 2" up to 17" and is great for this. The in-ceiling woofers take cutouts from 12 to 15 inches but the skylights (Solatube and Velux) take holes anywhere from 10" to nearly 17" in size and so the X-425 is perfect for both. We use it only on the interior ceiling holes but this is where the lack of mess and clean edges on the holes is most important.

With a 1/2" drill on its highest torque setting the hole cutter will cut most materials up to a 17" hole size. There is too much leverage for the drill to manage this large a hole size in wood but we have made larger holes by taking the blade off one of the blade holders so the drill does not have to work as hard. With only the weight of the blade there is still very good balance - a lot better than any of the one blade hole cutters.

With very large holes that are being cut into ceilings it is very difficult to trace the cutout circle much less cut it out and be able to catch the cut plug before it falls and hits something. With the Hole Pro X-425 the large clear shield holds all the dust AND the cutout piece of sheetrock. We save the time we used to spend moving furniture out of the way and laying out a drop cloth and then vacuuming up and putting everything back in place.

Having the adjustment knob is a neat feature as we can set it to cut through just the 5/8" sheetrock and not worry about hitting a wire. The shield makes it easy to do a perfectly straight in cut so everything sits flat. With plaster ceilings and a reciprocating saw the up and down movement can cause the layers of the plaster to separate and crack which is a very expensive repair to make with re-plastering and repainting of the ceiling in a room. The lateral movement of the Hole Pro hole cutter's blades are a much safer solution that greatly reduces the risk.

The ABS shield is very light and yet quite strong and has a soft edge gasket that prevents scratching of the work surface while sealing in the dust. The slots catch the shavings so you can see what you are doing the whole time. It is very large at 19" diameter so we only use it when needed for holes larger than 12 inches and the rest of the time we use the 12" X-305 from Hole Pro.

Hole Pro X-305 Kit 1-7/8" to 12" infinitely adjustable twin blade Tungsten Carbide Hole Saw Cutter 6" 7" 8" 9" 10" 11" 12" holes in wood drywall plaster fiberglass OSB cement board- Use ¼ torque of hole saws and cut twice as fast

A friend uses this 17" hole cutter to make speaker enclosures, mostly for cars where he cuts through plywood, MDF, or fiberglass. He likes being able to use it in a hand drill and still get a straight in cut with a clean edge for mounting the 14 and 15 inch woofers he uses.


3.) best tool for cutting really big holes in most materials
Reviewed by: Peter Mitchell
Rating:
When it comes time to put in a skylight I am eternally grateful to the folks at Hole Pro. I used to have to have to go up into the attic and cut the hole while I had someone else hold a box on the ceiling to catch all the drywall dust and the plug after it fell out of the hole. With the Hole Pro adjustable hole cutter I can cut holes up to the 16-1/2" I need for a 16" Solatube as well as all the smaller sizes.

Considering that I use a 18v cordless drill it is pretty impressive to make a hole that big in sheetrock whereas if I used a regular hole saw I would not be able make a hole half as big and naturally have a big mess to clean up as well. Quite a time saver as I only need to move furniture away from the spot where I need to place the ladder, cut the hole, and put all the shavings and the plug into a trash bag. No more moving everything out of the way and putting down a drop cloth and then picking up the drop cloth and getting out the shop vac and then carefully moving all the furniture back into place.

Even when I used a saber saw or heaven forbid, a rotozip, it took 2 guys so one could catch the cut plug before it fell to the floor. Having the shield hold the plug as well as the shavings if great when working on a ladder (which is always the case). I can cut a hole in less time than it used to take to mark the circle on the ceiling.

I have owned and used the single blade hole cutters from LSDI and Nora and BES and they are not in the same league as the twin blade hole cutters from Hole Pro. With the twin blade design there are no bars to change, or figure out which one to use, no wobble in sheetrock so the roles are perfectly round, and they cut twice as fast. I put each blade holder on the 16" mark and I know I will get a 16" hole. It is that easy. The Hole Pro shield is also made from a much better grade of plastic that is strong enough to stand on and yet very light weight. The soft rubber gasket makes a good dust seal and it is easy to wipe clean after using with a dirty ceiling. Everything about the Hole Pro kit is top quality and made to last. I never worry about getting stuck half way through a project.

The Hole Pro X-425 adjusts all the way down to 1-7/8 inches but for all practical matters it is best for holes from 10" to 17" like for tubular skylights (most of which range in size from 10" to 16") or large in-ceiling woofer speakers, or access holes (much easier to patch neatly later than a square opening). The 19" shield is a bit more than I would want to handle for making smaller holes which is why we also have the X-305 2"-12" and X-230 2"-9"kits for our trucks. Best to pick the size that is best for 90% of the holes you plan to make and no larger.

There is a lot of distance, like 8 inches, between the drill arbor and the cutting blades so the tool is only going to work for materials like sheetrock, plaster, and Hardie board, when cutting 12" and larger holes with a hand drill. I know a truss company that makes large 16" holes in TJI with these but they have a very large stationary mill to drive it. With a hand drill the biggest hole I would plan to make in TJI would be 12 inches and in thick plywood I would keep it to 8 inches or less - but that is four times the size hole I could cut with a hole saw.

The kit comes complete which I like. It has a really nice carry case that holds the hole cutter and shield and hex wrenches and two sets of blades. The tungsten carbide blades cut fast and cut a lot of holes in sheetrock or plaster before needing to replace them and the high speed steel blades are perfect for acoustic ceiling tile, paneling, and plastic sheet. It takes less than a minute to replace the blades and I always have a spare set in the case.

It is a lot to handle at 19" in size but it is a lot easier to make holes with the Hole Pro than any other way I can imagine and the lack of a mess to cleanup save me time and makes my customers a whole lot happier.

4.) Light Duty Only
Reviewed by: Robert Bruce Arlington, VA USA
Rating:
I tried this item and found that while it may be the ideal solution for cutting through drywall, it is not well suited for cutting through heavier materials, especially as the size of the hole is increased. It may be possible to cut a 3-4 inch ply board hole, but I wouldn't attempt using this item to cut, for example, a 12-inch ply board hole. Soft material, like wall board, with some practice, should not be a problem when it comes to using this item to cut larger holes.

Features of HOLE PRO X-425 Kit 1-7/8" to 17" infinitely adjustable Twin Tungsten Carbide Blade Hole Saw Cutter 12" 13" 14" 15" 16" and fractional holes in wood sheetrock plaster plastics MDF cement board. Use ¼ torque of hole saw cut twice as fast

One kit takes the place of dozens of hole saws while enabling fast dust free cutting exact size holes from 1-7/8 up to 17" inches in diameter. Kit includes high quality adjustable hole cutter, ball bearing mounted ABS shield with soft rubber gasket to trap dust and shavings, user replaceable sets of both High Speed Steel and Tungsten Carbide blades, hex wrenches, and sturdy carry case. Shield keeps cutter perpendicular to work surface and cutter has adjustment knob to limit the depth of cut when making holes in walls or ceilings to avoid accidentally cutting wires or pipes. All parts precision machined, measure bar is chrome plated and marked in both inches and millimeters. ABS composite plastic shield is made from the same material as used in hocky helmets and is lightweight, strong, and will not discolor with age. Perfect for installing recessed lights, tubular skylights, in-ceiling speakers, ceiling fans, duct vents, or providing access holes for repairs. Kit includes user replaceable High Speed Steel blades for cutting wood, MDF, Lexan and other plastics, acoustic tile, tongue and groove, laminates, and Tungsten Carbide blades for cutting sheetrock, plaster, cement or Hardi board, fiberglass, OSB, chipboard, plywood, and similar materials. Twin blades for faster cutting and perfect balance eliminate the need for balance bars which can break off inside other cutters. Requires ¼ the torque of common hole saws so a smaller drill can be used and cordless drills can cut more holes before needed to be recharged. ½ cord drills that are rated for maximum hole saw size of 3-1/2 inches for wood can cut holes up to 12 in diameter in plywood using the Hole Pro hole cutter. Like all Hole Pro Power Series kits the shield can be used with the Hole Pro XL-Arbor kit to enable the use of specialty hole cutters such as tungsten grit cutters when cutting tile or stone and have the same dust control and depth control as provided with the adjustable hole cutters.

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