Been trying to drill 1" hole in tip of my pallet fork to mount a ball to jig some small trailers around that always seem to be in the way. After several failed attempts with regbtwist bits I came across the milwaukee dozer hole saw set and thought id give em a try. Well with a bit of lube they cut thru the fork in about 4 minutes on slow speed.caught all the cuttings in a box so the dog wouldnt cut his feet,also remembered to set the clutch on low! Ill try and attach a photo.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/46436/9D693020-B314-46E6-9A13-72C90ED20BC2.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1529949946)
It amazes me that a hole saw will cut thru things better than a regular twist bit, sometimes.
Is that the style hole saw that has carbide cutters on it?
Forks are hardened so they will tear up a HSS bit especially going fast. At 1" you need to be down around 100 RPM for a happy surface speed in steel.
plasma cutter was my drill bit of choice for fork tips along with a few wet rags for cooling
According to milwaukee the teeth have a higher cobalt added forvdurability they also have a limited lifetime warranty on tooth breakage. Dont know if the teeth are carbide or not but it feels just as sharp as the unued ones innthe case.
I want to do the same thing. Has anyone tried cutting a hole in pallet fork with a set of torches?
Mountain.
Most of the ones I've seen were done with a torch, but i hang around with farmers mostly ! ;D
I've done it with a torch. Since forks are hardened steel, care must be taken not to soften them by overheating, so pierce in the center of the desired hole, and quickly work outward and cut the circumference.
Plasma cutters work well, also. I once cut the tip off a fork with a plasma cutter by mistake when I was cutting a piece on top of the forks. When I finished the cut I heard a ping, plink and saw that not only had the piece I intended to cut hit the ground but also the top of the fork. Ooops...
A mag drill with a broach bit is your friend in these cases.
Quote from: sprucebunny on June 25, 2018, 02:25:51 PM
It amazes me that a hole saw will cut thru things better than a regular twist bit, sometimes.
You're cutting a lot less metal with the hole saw.