hole pro

bwsam44

I have been using the Hole Pro adjustable hole cutters for the past 3 years to cut holes for ducting and vents. We mostly use their 12" model as the 8" was too tight for 8" spiral duct runs but with TGI the 12" with its 14" shield was too big. Now they have a 9" cutter that uses the 8" cutter's shield so we can now make 8-1/4" holes with no problems. We just finished a job where we had to make over 500 holes at a military installation and this tool saved us at least a couple week's time getting it done and paid for itself many times over. They stand behind their hole cutters with a 5-year warranty which is rare these days.

The company (www.holepro.com) seems to be targeting the HVAC trade with its tools. It has added a line of diamond core bits that can be used at very high RPMs even when run dry and on a right angle grinder (great for when you have to be on a ladder to drill) and they are the only place I know of to get core bits in sizes 2-5/8 and 3-5/8 for running standard OD PVC air intake and flue pipes through a wall.

Something I plan to get for my crews are their new stucco and brick tungsten carbide tipped hole saws that bore through both the masonry and the plywood sheathing all in one pass. I phoned to ask about pricing and they are about 40% less than the Relton TCT hole saws we have been using. For stucco and brick siding we had tried line drilling but it takes too long and our customers want a tight seal without a lot of caulking. These TCT hole saws save us time and our keep our customers happy.

evapman

Looks like a cool tool for sure, just might have to get one of these dudes! keeping the dirt out of the eyes is great.

hvaclover

The day I can't cut a round hole in dry wall is the day i give up this business...shhheessh...they got the same thing for cutting metal. I let my uncoordinated newbiies use. Than i can their butts

Dang guys! If it was was meant to be easy we would not be pros!

__________________
Not Stupid, Just slow

mechanicalDvr

WOW, maybe if it wasn't your first post it wouldn't sound so much like an infomercial. I normally put ads in the circular file.

RoBoTeq

I wish those were available when I was doing installs in older homes. You get into plaster over wood lathing and you can really make a mess with a sawzall, especially if the blade binds on a wood lathe and rips an eight foot section of ceiling down.

RoBoTeq

For adding ducts to basement trunk ducting I alwasy used a metal cutting type of tool similar to this. I would put it on an offset battery operated drill and could cut 6" duct openings in the top of trunk duct between even only 8" joists.

mechanicalDvr

Plaster being my least favorite ceiling media, have you ever tried a rotozip with a ceramic cutting bit? It is messy but does a great job. A guy I used to work with made up plywood patterns to cut out holes for different sized ceiling boxes with his.

RoBoTeq

Can't say I have. I am going to have to cut holes in the ceiling of the 200+ year old house I am in soon. I will most likely just do the sawzall thing because I have square diffusers that I am installing and I have become pretty good with using a sawzall for this application. I am not looking forward to it though.

mechanicalDvr

Popping a piece of lathe that is 3' long just scares the hell out of me. I have done it many times over the years.

RoBoTeq

I've seen them pull an eight foot buckle in a ceiling. It happens, but if you don't allow the blade to bind and don't put pressure on the blade, letting the blade do all of the work by itself, you can avoid this from occuring.

mechanicalDvr

I have tried all types of blades for the sawzall and found the ones they make for plaster specifically are the worst ones for binding up. The thin metal cutting blades do the best job. The rotozip doesn't bind at all, it's just harder to control the cut due to flying dust.

RoBoTeq

I agree. The blades designed for drywall just mess up plaster and lathe. I go through blades pretty quick, but by using the metal cutting blades I don't pull down ceilings.

I've actually become pretty good with multipurpose blades that will cut both metal and wood. Once in a while these will snag though.

mechanicalDvr

The blades that came with my 12v Milwaukee Hackzall are very thin kerfed and cut plaster really well, I found out at my mom's this afternoon. The saw and blade are a great combo for the cut out's I made in her kitchen walls. I looked at the HD on the way home and found out they don't carry them yet.

DuMass

Has anyone tried the new hole saw arbor adapter for the Hole Pro?
I was thinking of getting one for the X-200 I own, but not sure if it will work with my existing 1-1/2-inch deep hole saws.

DuMass

I finally heard back from HolePro. They say the adapter will work with my hole saws and the existing dust shield. Unfortunately they also informed me that they have discontinued the X-200 hole cutter that I currently own, but at least the hole saw adapter will still work with it.