Milwaukee 49-56-9075 Big Hawg Kit, 7-Piece

The point of a kit like this one from Milwaukee is to get a starter set with a case and a few hole cutters you can add to as time goes by. Two problems with that premise. First there are a grand total of 8 Big Hawg hole cutter sizes available and none that are smaller than 2-1/8 inches in diameter. Milwaukee makes the Big Hawg hole cutters in only 2 sizes in the 2-3" range, 2 in the 3-4" range, and 2 in the 4-6-1/4" range. This is very limiting unless one does not mind having to make a 2-1/8" hole for a piece of 3/4" pipe or some Romex wiring.

The case is very strong and should hold up well to bouncing around in the back of a truck tool box and it has spaces for extra wood pilot bits and the little diamond sharpener. Biggest hole saw size it will take is a 4-1/4" and at most you can put in are 6 of the Big Hawg hole saws. Looks like you could put in all 8 sizes but the Big Hawg 4-5/8 will not fit nor of course the 6-1/4" hole cutter size and that leaves only 6 Big Hawg sizes.

The hole cutters work exceptionally well in soft woods and are a very big improvement over Lenox hole saws, including their crude One Tooth hole cutters, or any other bi-metal hole saw. The large openings on the sides reduce the friction while cutting and make it much easier to remove the cut piece of wood. In fact the cut piece often just falls out of the hole cutter.

The high speed steel cutting teeth cut soft woods with no difficulty and even my 14 volt drills can cut a 3" hole in a 2x6 stud. If you only cut soft woods, like fir and pine, the high speed steel teeth are excellent. If you want to cut fiber cement siding, or chipboard or MDF and other tough to cut materials there are better hole saws to get.

The tungsten carbide hole cutters from Bosch and Blue Boar will cut soft wood as well as the Milwaukee Big Hawg (no better) but will not dull when cutting hard materials like MDF that kill bi-metal holes saws, even the carbide ones, in a heart beat.

Bosch HTC8PC 8-Piece Carbide Hole Saw Master Set

The Bosch has the same limitations as the Milwaukee on the number of hole cutters that will fit in the case as each cutter needs its own spot in the case. The Bosch TCHS hole cutters are very well made and cut nearly as well as the Big Hawg. The Bosch are slower with wood as there is only a single type of pilot bit you can use and that is a Bosch masonry bit.

BLUE BOAR TSF10 10 Piece High Performance Tungsten Carbide Hole Saw kit - 2-1/4" Cut Depth. Cut 10x as fast and using 1/40th the battery power. Cordless Drills cut holes 3x as large versus bi-metal hole saws. Deep side gullets for fast plug removal

The Blue Boar self-feed hole cutters work better in more materials than the Big Hawg and cut a lot more holes without needing sharpening. The Blue Boar case is as well made as the Milwaukee case but holds twice as many hole cutters (12 vs. 6), including sizes up to 4-5/8" diameter.

Blue Boar also makes Universal hole cutters that have a thicker wall and more teeth for even longer life than the Bosch TCHS but sell for a lot less. Good buy for the money if you cut a lot of holes in tough and abrasive kinds of materials.

BLUE BOAR TUH12 -12 Piece Super Duty Tungsten Carbide Hole Saw kit - 2-1/4"Cut Depth. Cut 10x as fast and use 1/40th battery charge. Cordless Drills can cut holes 3x as large as with bi-metal hole saws. Deep side gullets for fast plug removal

If all you are cutting is soft wood and are happy with the few sizes offered by Milwaukee this kit is a good buy. If you are cutting hard woods, MDF, oriented strand board, Hardie board, fiberglass, plaster, sheetrock, and other hard and abrasive building materials the tungsten carbide tipped hole cutters from Blue Boar will perform a lot better and last longer.

BLUE BOAR TSF12 12 Piece High Performance Tungsten Carbide Hole Saw kit - 2-1/4" Cut Depth. Cut 10x as fast and using 1/40th the battery power. Cordless Drills cut holes 3x as large versus bi-metal hole saws. Deep side gullets for fast plug removal

Milwaukee was the first in the US to make a hole cutter with big side slots and several teeth. A big improvement over the Lenox One Tooth hole cutters but still using high speed steel cutting teeth. The offset of the over sized teeth on this type of hole cutter make plug removal very easy and a lot faster than a bi-metal hole saw. The Milwaukee flat wood bit makes a large ragged hole and this also keeps the wood plug from binding in the hole cutter and so it is a lot easier to remove.

The carry case is well built and holds the hole cutters and drill arbor and pilot bits in place. The case will hold at most a 4-1/4" size hole cutter and they can only be 2 high so at most 8 sizes, 4-1/4" and smaller will fit inside. As the hole cutters are intended for use only on wood, Milwaukee only provides flat wood spade bits with the kit.

The hole cutters use a standard 5/8-18 thread mount so other hole saws could be mixed in with the Milwaukee kit including the TCT tungsten carbide ones from Blue Boar. Helpful if you need more than the 8 sizes offered by Milwaukee which are quite limiting. For example the smallest Big Hawg hole saw size is 2-1/8" and in the 3-4 inch sizes range there is only the 3" and the 3-5/8" sizes.

BLUE BOAR 1-1/8" (29mm) Self-Feed TCT 2-1/4" deep multipurpose Tungsten Carbide hole cutter outperforms self-feed bits & bi-metal hole saws. Cut wood, MDF, OSB, laminates, Hardie & chipboard, plaster, drywall, brick, Formica

The Blue Boar hole saws kits include carbide masonry bits and tile spade bits and twist bits in addition to the flat wood bits so for someone planning on cutting anything other than soft wood they are a wiser choice.

Holy Cow! You know those commercials on TV where they spray one little spritz of a chemical onto the worst grease - then give a single wipe and voila!? Well, no kidding - that's how good these bits are. I am a Plumber's Apprentice in Minnesota (proud) and my boss is an old-school guy. He advised me to buy one of those Lenox 2-9/16 bits for drilling through studs when roughing in. The Forstner-style bit broke one heavy drill, snapped back repeatedly and almost broke my wrist and/or thumb twice - hit me in the jaw once - and caused me to buy a Hole-Hawg drill. Super powerful. But the bit would hit a single nail, dull and caused me to have to carry a grinder on site. My next step was going to buy a Super Hawg drill. Hah!! Once I found these bits - watched the You-Tube video - and got them - I can honestly say I am thrilled. I feel like a silly kid gushing over these. When buddies come to my house I get them out and drill holes for them. Hahaha. Man, you got to try these. I bought the 7 piece set - and then a separate bit for 4 inch pipe. I look FORWARD to jobs that make me use them. I look smart to other tradesmen. Thats it I guess. Thanks for listening. And Milwaukee - well done.

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