Starrett Carbide Tipped Hole Saw - CTD45 TCT Deep Cut Holesaw Cutter - For Metal Stainless Steel Iron Aluminium - 45mm

I don't know how long these cutters have been about but I tripped over them for the first time when I needed to cut some 18mm holes in 4mm steel plate. Conventional hole saws don't usually come that small and trying to drill plate this thin with a 18mm twist drill is not really very satisfactory. This cutter did the job a treat in a drill press and felt as though it would even have been OK in a hand held drill. No issues at all at breakthrough. It needs plenty of lubricant but cuts like a dream and looks as if it will last forever with tungsten carbide teeth brazed to a one-piece steel body. Construction of the tool is suburb - I think the body is an investment casting and the removable pilot drill is secured with a meaty grub screw. Really good product. I've now found that they are made in 1mm steps from 15mm upwards. I have ordered several more sizes for when I need them.

Bought to drill 35mm hole through 5mm 316l stainless steel.This tool is genuine despite what some reviews say.Kept drill speed at 300rpm. Lubricated/cooled with plain old wd40 and clamped securely.Worked a charm. Very pleased because stainless will kill inferior tools quickly.

I can not even express what a piece of junk this hole cutter was. It wasn’t even cheap! I needed to cut 4, 20mm holes in 5mm steel plate. I thought this would fly through. So, pilot hole drilled, drill on slow, cutting fluid used, gentle pressure. Did everything right. Within 5 seconds every single tooth had snapped off, honestly!Do not waste your money on this, I missed my return date as well as I wasn’t ready to drill holes straight after buying. Awful cutter!

used on 10mm aluminium, very clean cut, 4 stars as the spring did not eject the core, needed a tap with a punch at the edge to start it moving. otherwise very pleased.

Needing to cut a 38mm (1 1/2") hole in 5mm plate steel, I searched the internet for the right drill bit and settled upon this Starrett CTD38. Having some limited experience of tungsten carbide cutting edges (PCB fibreglass board cuttting by repurposing a simple carbide-edged tile cutter), I decided to "invest" in this carbide drill bit (yes, it is relatively expensive compared to other metal hole saws).The results have been as expected: a very neat, clean cut (using 500rpm, ample cutting fluid and moderate, slow and deliberate pressure in a bench drill press). I measured the resulting hole to be approximately 38.7mm [i.e. less than a nominal 38mm+2%] - which is impressively consistent considering I used a cheap Chinese drill press that is a few years old from machinemart in the UK!).There are other hole saws out there, and certainly cheaper than this item, but for finer tolerances, clean cuts (no deburring is needed) and longevity (carbide edged), I'd give this a strong recommendation.It was even delivered with 1-day shipping to arrive on a Saturday with Amazon Prime.

I've had a few of these in different sizes and they're unbeatable when drilling straight and slow.Occasionally I find myself in tight confines, where a holesaw simply won't fit, and use one of these to get out of a hole (no pun intended). If this requires drilling at an angle, then it's a matter of sacrificing the cutter as no amount of lubrication is going to save it.Bad reviews seem to be posted by people horsing these cutters roughly through steel, in the sort of manner one might treat a bi-metal holesaw, and that's not what they're designed to do. To be fair; I've had one instance of a tooth shattering on initial contact with metal, but otherwise these cutters are animals, provided they're treated with manners.

Be careful with this cutter as it grabs when new but it has excellent longevity and if treated right will last you years

Had a few of these from my wholesalers and they lasted for months with daily use on heavy duty aluminium. I got two more from here and the teeth snapped off in a few weeks. When holding them side by side there are slight visual differences. Regardless of this they are still pretty decent for low to mild use.