On 2010-03-14 Bryan Sanders, Chicago wrote: I have used the Milwaukee self feed drill bits for years and dealt with nail damage and the need to use a large and heavy corded stud drill. It is a very old-fashioned design that is an improvement over a hand auger or a hole saw but otherwise slow and not terribly efficient. As self feed bits go the Milwaukee are as good as most and the cases are the best at protecting the edges of the cutters - at least until you hit a nail.
I was trying out our different cordless drills and found that it took nearly as long and very nearly as much battery draw with the self feed bit as a bi-metal hole saw. No plug to get out but then there are all the shavings that someone has to deal with. I found that my big gullet hole cutters with an extension would make a hole 6 times as fast and that I did not need my corded stud drill most of the time. Even with a triple top plate I could cut out each piece of wood with the TCT hole cutter and drop out the plug and then do it 2 more times and my total cutting time was 1/3 of that with either an auger or a self feed bit. Best part was that I could use a 18 volt cordless drill and make 50 holes with one battery.
BLUE BOAR TUH14 - 14 Piece Super Duty Tungsten Carbide Hole Saw kit 2-3/8´ 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
The self feed are fine for wood but struggle with tougher materials and I would never use them on hard decking like Ipe or Hardie siding or backer board or many other places where the tungsten carbide hole cutters work great.
For light duty jobs the new Bosch spade bits work great on a cordless drill where a perfectly straight hole is not required. When I do need a straight hole I grab the Blue Boar TCT hole cutters and the Hole Pro shield with their arbor adapter for hole saws and make a perfectly straight cut every time.
XL-Arbor Kit uses ABS shield & adjustment knob from Hole Pro X and CL model hole cutter kits. Arbor adapts shield to work with both 1/2´-20 & 5/8´-11 threaded hole saws up to 2-1/4´ deep to control dust, provide straight cuts & control cutting depth.
With corded drills you can get away with using almost anything as a hole cutter but with cordless drills in general and in particular with the new lithium-ion drills a modern hole cutter makes a big difference in performance.
. And summed up by saying Old design best with big corded drills. Currently Milwaukee 49-22-0130 Contractor´s Kit 7 Bit 1-Inch to 2 9/16-Inch Selfeed Drill Bit Assortment with 5 1/2-Inch Extension and Plastic Carrying Case has an overall rating of 6 over 10.
Milwaukee 49-22-0130 Contractor´s Kit 7 Bit 1-Inch to 2 9/16-Inch Selfeed Drill Bit Assortment with 5 1/2-Inch Extension and Plastic Carrying Case can also be found in the following searches:
Milwaukee claimed This is a complete assortment of the most commonly used Milwaukee Selfeed Bits for hole drilling. The kit includes 1-inch, 1 1/8-inch, 1 1/4-inch, 1 1/2-inch, 1 3/4-inch, 2 1/8-inch, and 2 9/16-inch diameters and a 5 1/2-inch extension coupling in an impact resistant carrying case.
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