Reynolds Metals

Can i use a normal wood hole saw on aluminium?

The aluminium sheet is 8mm thick, and I plan to run the saw in a large pillar drill and use a slow speed, gentle pressure and lots of lubrication. (hehe, sounds quite dirty) Will that work or will i just screw the saw up? Thanks.

Public Comments

1. it probably wont do the saw any favours. depends whether you want to buy a metal saw... it might not be the most efficient process with the wood one but it should cut. at worst you'll have to buy one anyway.
2. Wood saws have fewer blades than metal, so each tooth will be doing more work, and will, most likely, burn out much faster. It will probably work, especially going slowly like you plan to, but I wouldn't count on the saw being any good afterwards.....
3. Trust me, It will work but it won't be very pretty... I have actually done it. You might have to take a few breaks and clean out the teeth on the blade depending on how thick the sheet of aluminum is.
4. Use kerosene as a lubricant when cutting aluminum. Use a hole saw specified for metal and wood rather than wood only.
5. If you have access to a pillar drill, just set up a fly-cutter to poke the hole. A hole saw will do it, but the risk of galling and tearing is there. Use lots of coolant / lubricant whenever you're working aluminum.
6. NO!