1-1/4 in. Hole Dozer Carbide Hole Saw

SUMMARY: A great saw for installing lights. BACKGROUND: We are planning an upgrade to 5 in. recessed lighting in some of our home and I wanted a good hole cutting saw to go with my smaller Milwaukee Hole Dozer saw set. FIT AND FINISH: The same fit and finish as their smaller Hole Dozer saws this has a definite heft to it. FEATURES: From the Home Depot page, with my comments as appropriate. • Milwaukee carbide Teeth technology ◦ I love all my carbide Hole Dozer saws • 4 TPI carbide teeth design gives best durability and longest life in extreme applications ◦ This saw looks like it is meant to chew through things. • Thermoset coating reduces friction and drag, increasing overall speed and cordless efficiencies ◦ Same coating as my smaller saws; they work great. • Plug jack T-slots enhance user productivity by providing best access and leverage to remove material slugs ◦ One of my favorite features. My old hole saws had no way to get plugs out without a lot of prying and cussing. But the holes I cut in sheetrock made plugs that fell out without any effort on my part. • Made in USA ◦ Glad to support American manufacturing. • Cuts stainless steel, fastener embedded wood, cement board, fiberglass, plaster, asphalt shingles and more ◦ Didn’t need to cut any exotic materials, but it went through sheetrock like butter. I will be drilling in FRP but expect the carbide will eat through that just as easily. • For the toughest applications where bi-metal hole saws cannot cut • Includes: one 5 in. hole dozer with carbide teeth OPERATION: I will say that you really should consider a 1/2” drill with an auxiliary handle when using this saw. A 5” blade throws a LOT of torque, and once the 4 TPI dig in it can put a lot of force into your drill. Even trying an easy feed is difficult in sheetrock. A couple of times the saw spun out of the track, fortunately it didn’t damage the face of the material. I did notice the pilot bit was only proud of the teeth bay about an inch. If I do more drilling with the saw I’ll extend the bit more or get a longer bit for a pilot. SUMMARY: A great addition to a hole saw collection. Will get the 4” and 6” bits for installing the other standard sizes of recessed lights. PROS: Tough, durable, cuts quickly CONS: Grabs quickly, lots of torque feedback during operation.

The Milwaukee dozer hole saws are fantastic. My wife got me the set of smaller diameters for Christmas a few years ago but I've been slowly adding the larger sizes over time. This 5 inch saw fits the "big" chuck that comes in the sets. I've been making some oval workbench cutouts and this size is perfect for the end radius. They are bimetal but to be honest I've only ever used them on wood so your mileage may vary if you hit a nail or something. I wish they were a little cheaper for what they are... but like the old saying, you get what you pay for and these are the best I've used.

I already have 5 other individual hole saw sizes and the 13 piece hole saw kit (251885) from Milwaukee, this is why I keep purchasing new individual ones as I need them. The quick change hole saw arbor, 233438, with pilot drill bit is a must, it makes hole saw bit changing so much easier and faster. I primary use them to drill through wood but sometimes I’ve hit nails, this is why I only use these Milwaukee saws. I highly recommend them.

Hole Saw 5 inch This is a sturdy and sharp circular hole saw that cuts a 5 inch hole. Mandril not included, but screwed on perfectly to a mandrel I already have. Carbide teeth should make it last a long time. It is deep enough (cutting depth over 1.6 inches). It has adequate slots around the side to make plug removal easy enough. I’m pretty happy with this 5 inch hole saw.

The Milwaukee 5-inch Carbide Hole Dozer Saw is an excellent hole saw, very durable, and long lasting. I have used various sizes of these hole saws by Milwaukee for years. They cut through wood, nails, stainless steel, shingles, and cement board. Unlike the “standard” hole saw that seems like a one-time-use, this hole saw will last for many uses. This product is only the saw blade and doesn’t include the 3/8 inch quick-change arbor. This arbor is included in kits or can be purchased separately. All of the Milwaukee Hole Saws, 1-1/4 inch and above, use the same arbor so you can just purchase the size saw you need for the job. The arbor screws into the back of the hole saw and then the sleeve slides into two holes in the back to keep the arbor from tightening into the saw and allows the arbor to be easily removed. The saw cuts a hole up to 1-3/4 inches deep. I recommend using a heavy-duty drill motor so that the torque doesn’t damage the motor, especially when using large saw sizes such as this. The pilot drill bit, that is part of the arbor, is slightly longer than the hole saw so that once the bit cuts through the material on the other side, you can remove the saw and continue drilling from the back side to eliminate tear-out.

I got this hole dozer saw to make compact speaker enclosures. I finally received the correct arbor and I was surprised at just how well this saw works. My future plan is to buy an unfinished shed - and convert it into a nice cabin and I'm sure this carbide saw will make it much easier when installing a nice wood burning stove and the opening for a washer/dryer vent. I highly recommend this Milwaukee dozer saw to anyone who has a need.

I have been a builder remodeler for 49 years, and as such I have many opportunities to use a tool like this Milwaukee 5 IN. CARBIDE HOLE DOZER SAW. These carbide hole saws are of high quality, and they work very well for work requiring drilling work into more challenging materials that we drill into as we often do. Milwaukee tools are always of high quality as well, so these are a very good example of that.

The 5 inch carbide hole dozer saw arrived very quickly and secured in its own blister pak, inside a carton with bubble wrap. All intact. I selected it because of the mfg'ers reputation for top quality products and tools. I like the ease of securing it to the drill bit. The specific feature is the toughness of the saw and teeth. I use it on different materials and it cuts thru easily. Make sure you have the optional handle attached to your drill in case the saw snags so that you don't wrench your wrist. The quality is superb! Easy to use. It's working out and cutting holes as planned and expected. I like it and would order another.

Sometimes you have a need to cut holes through different materials to accomplish a task. I bought one of those portable a/c units, it comes with different options to vent it outside one is through the window and the other is through the wall. I have solar screens on my windows and the air flow was very restricted so I needed to vent through the wall this is where the Hole saw came to the rescue it made the job easy so I recommend this tool highly.

Great quality monster hole saw. Drilled smooth through some plywood for some exhaust vents for a roof job. It looks huge on a my drill. The carbide teeth definitely just chew through wood like a hot knife through butter. Of course I had to be careful because the larger a drill bit is, the more risky it is in a bind up. It did not bind up on me at all but still used it with caution. I really like Milwaukee’s pilot bit which I got separate because it has to knobs that secure into the large bit along with the threaded insert. I didn’t have any problem removing the wood from the bit after the cut out which I really liked. I only used it on wood but this hole saw is a beast. Definitely use a decently powered drill. It’s still really sharp and ready for more and even the paint itself held up which is pretty funny. Definitely recommend this line up Milwaukee hole saws because that carbide definitely makes a difference.