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With all the mess from the hole saw I spent more time taping up plastic sheets before cutting and more time cleaning up afterwards than it took to cut the hole. I have found through experimentation to cut just the plaster with the Hole Pro hole cutter using the tungsten carbide blades, and then to cut the lath or wire with either a carbide blade or snippers. When pulling wire where I need to make a hole in the ceiling and in the wall I have learned to get a 2x2 foot square of sheetrock from Home Depot and take it to the job. The 3/8" shank on the hole cutter makes it easy to use even with a 14 volt cordless drill but I recommend using a 18 volt or at least a drill with a 2-speed gearbox so you can use the low speed and higher torque setting on the drill. There are often times when I need to make a hole in tile and make use of a carbide grit hole saw. What used to be time consuming jobs requiring a drill press or a plunge router or compass saw are now quick and easy.
Starrett makes a "cowl kit" that sells for $170 and has only the arbor and the shield. Plaster is laid up in two layers with different materials and up and down vibration as with using a reciprocating saw blade can easily crack a plaster ceiling which then needs to be repaired, replastered, and repainted. The X-305 and the XL arbor kit sells for $195 and for the extra $25 you get the 2-12" hole cutter and two sets of cutting blades. If I want to cut wood the carbite grit hole saws are too slow to even consider using.At first I saw the shield as just a dust catcher, which is does extremely well with its soft rubber gasket.
The tungsten carbide blades easily cut through the cement board and the shield does an excellent job of containing all the dust so it can be safely dumped. With the X-305 I can make a proper hole for any speaker on the market today or any new ones months or years from now. Indoor speakers take a bigger cutout for the back box, and some 8" speakers need a 11" hole for mounting. I can set it to cut just the 5/8" sheetrock on the ceiling for speakers or can lights and not worry about slicing into a hidden wire or bit of plumbing (like a PEX waterline).The cross cutting action of the blades is the best way to cut holes in plaster and not get cracking. There is an orange adjustment knob to control the spring compression but it also works very well to limit the cutting depth. The single blade hole cutter would not cut smoothly and it was hard to get a truly round hole in sheetrock. At times I need to make large holes in Hardie and other fiber cement siding products for dryer vents, furnace condensate lines, and tankless water heaters, and the Hole Pro shield catches all the silica dust which is very harmful if inhaled.
It also covers every size can light being sold which is a bonus. It also keeps the hole cutter at a 90 degree angle to the ceiling or wall so trim rings or speaker grills or pancake boxes all sit flush. The gasket along the edge is a soft rubber material and even after a couple years mine is still soft and pliable. The measure bar for the blade holders is marked in inches and in millimeters (and some can lights have the cut out dimensions in millimeters) and it is quick to set up. With no cross brace like with cheaply built version the Hole Pro shield is easy to wipe clean after use.
The kit is very well designed and every part, including the carry case is very well built and meant to last for years of use. Even if I wanted to deal with the mess these carbide grit hole cutters make they are not in the sizes I need and the cost is 10 times as much and I can't cut as deep as with the Hole Pro carbide blades. The twin blade design works very well. No need to blow out the dust with a compressor. Being able to use the high speed steel blades on T&G and wood paneling and in less than a minute switch to the tungsten carbide blades and cut in sheetrock or plaster is a real pleasure. When cutting into a ceiling where someone has smoked a lot I can wipe the gasket with a sponge and a little detergent and get it good as new for the next ceiling. You put each blade holder by the 7 inch mark on each side and you get a 7 inch hole.
I had a clean hole through the plaster which is what shows and no one sees the hole cut in the lath. In the past there were only 4 basic light can sizes (4-3/8, 6-3/8, 6-5/8, 6-7/8)and Milwaukee and others sold carbide grit hole saws for those sizes for about $80 each or over $300 for the set. The 3 slots on the shield catch the shavings as the hole cutter blades swing around so it is easy to watch the cutting even when cutting into a sheetrocked ceiling. On average I get more than 100 holes in wood, more than 200 10" holes in TJI, and at least 100 holes in sheetrock, 50 holes in Hardie siding, and usually about 30-40 holes in plaster.The 12 inch size is perfect for in-ceiling speakers. The two blades perfectly offset and balance each other so the cutting is very smooth. What is often not appreciated is that cordless drills have a hard time cutting holes larger than 2 inches in diameter with bi-metal hole saws but these same drills can easily cut a 12" diameter hole in sheetrock and even a 8" hole in plywood using one of these adjustable hole cutters.
If you want a quality tool that will cut very large holes in almost anything and will last for years this is the hole cutter to buy. The single blade hole cutter had a blade that was supposed to be for wood but it worked poorly and after a couple tries I stopped trying to use the tool on wood. The blade holders clamp tightly so there is no movement even when cutting plywood and the blades can be changed out in under a minute. Even with two blades the hole cutter is very efficient and works great with even 18v cordless drills on even plywood. With two blades the cutting is twice as fast and high RPMs are not needed.I had been using a single blade adjustable hole cutter from another company and it had 4 balance bars of different lengths to balance against the cutter.
I can stand on it and have no deflection. Saves a lot of time and leaves a very neat and tidy repair that is easily prepped for painting.
The shield is very light and very strong. The last time I looked there were two dozen different can sizes being sold at Home Depot and most of them were at non-traditional sizes.
With the XL arbor kit I can now use any size hole saw up to 2-1/3" deep with the shield and have the shavings contained, a stright in hole, and even the ability to control the depth of the cut. I have used the X-305 on a drill press when making hundreds of holes and having the cut piece fall out easily makes it possible to use it with the shield in place for added safety.
I adjust the blade holders in toward the center by 2 notches or marks and I get a perfect fire code approved plug to patch the holes after I am done pullin the new wires. It actually cost me more than the X-305 that replaced it.Recently I bought the XL arbor kit that they make so you can use a hole saw with the shield.
There are cheap adjustable hole cutters that can cut sheetrock but have no replaceable blades, miserable shields that don't catch the dust, and are truly a comnplete waste of money and not worth the bother.
I cut a 10" diameter hole in plywood the other day using that same Milwaukee cordless drill and have cut 18 holes that were 8-1/4" diameter in a tongue and grove wood ceiling for recessed light cans and it took less than an hour and the drill battery was still going strong.There are other hole cutters you can buy but none that work as well and let you cut the exact hole size needed and will perform anywhere near as well in such a wide range of materials. My hand drill would not be able to cut a 8" hole in a T&G ceiling even if a hole saw that size were made.
The Hole Pro adjustable hole cutter kits are head and shoulders above anything else available and at $139 are a real bargain. The twin blades balance perfectly, make adjustments very easy, and cut twice as fast with no wobble and perfectly round holes even cutting in soft materials like sheetrock.
I have used two other single blade hole cutters from other companies including a 300mm 12" (actually 11-5/8") model that wobbled, was hard to figure out which balance bar to use and which side to attach it on and it cut slowly, and cost $169. I figured that is I bought just the 4 hole cutter sizes I would need for tungsten recessed light cans I would spend over $200, and now with all the halogen and par light cans I would need more than 20 sizes of hole saws.
I have cut holes with this hole cutter in tongue and groove ceilings, MDF, and acoustic tiles using the high speed steel blades in the kit, and with the tungsten carbide blades I have cut large holes in sheetrock, plaster, fiberglass, Hardie cement board, Durock, and even Wonderboard. The kit includes a quality hard shell carry case, a shield that is lighter and stronger than any other I have used and has slots to catch the shavings when cutting overhead so you can still see what you are doing, adjustment wrenches for changing the cutting diameter or changing the blades (which can be done in seconds), a set of the high speed steel blades and a set of the tungsten carbide blades, and the adjustable hole cutter which is made up of fully machined parts and the measure bar is chrome plated which I really like.
My Milwaukee 18v is rated for 1-7/8" maximum hole size when cutting wood with a hole saw and even my 1/2" cord DeWalt heavy duty 600 RPM high torque drill is rated to cut only for up to a 3-1/2" hole saw when cutting wood. I bought one and used and then bought another one as a gift for my brother who is a remodeler to use on his jobs.
I am a professional remodeling contractor and I install tubular skylights and own the 16" model. After some trial and error, I have found that a) you need to use the clutch on your drill to keep the binding action (that is inevitable) from hurting you. b) the blade positions do work well to set the hole size and keep everything centered - you just have to look closely at the markings, then check the total diameter with a tape measure. This tool is built extremely well and does a great job of cutting clean holes in drywall and plaster (haven't tried wood yet).
With the slots in the shield it is very strong and it makes it easy to watch as it is cutting. I did not need to make a template, just decide where the can was going and center the hole cutter and cut.
It is amazing how well it cuts and I can cut the exact size hole from under 2 inches to 12 inches in size. There have been two problems with cutting holes, getting the right size hole saw, and not getting hurt when the hole saw gets stuck and the drill starts to spin around the other direction with me still holding on.
I bought the 8" model and it worked so well that I gave it to my partner and bought myself the 12" hole cutter. I put in recessed ceiling lights all through my house and this cutter made the job quick and easy.
With this hole cutter I have cut hole up to 12 inches in diameter in wood with my old ½ drill and feel safe doing it.I like the dust shield that catches all the shavings. It makes cleanup a breeze even when cutting holes in the ceiling.
The cut plug is held by the dust shield and all I needed to do was flip it over and drop the plug into a 5 gallon bucket I tied to the ladder. There is no cross brace needed for this composite plastic dust shield so it is much faster to wipe clean when done.The blades are very fast to change and the HSS blades cut very cleanly and the tungsten carbide blades last a long time.
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