most needed hole saws?
 

anyone out there have suggestions for the "most nessesary" sizes for diamon hole saws? I'm looking to get a bunch off e-bay. All I know is the spears 3/4" tank adapter uses a 1-3/4" (45mm) hole saw. Other than that, I don't know what sizes to get. I wanna order them all at once to save on shipping (they'll be coming from china).

I'm thinking the most common piping used is 1/2", 3/4", 1", 1.5" and 2". so that's probably 4 hole saws in total. Can anyone tell me what sizes their tanks are drilled for, and the size of the holes cut?

Hey, remember the hole saws do not correspond to PVC Diameter but to bulkhead size. For instance, my 1 1/2 inch bulkheads are for 1 inch PVC, look for my post in here about a week ago where someone told me what size hole for what size bulkhead and go from there.

Doug

thanks for the lead, doug, that list helped a lot :)

So I've compiled a list of required drill bits for both "el-cheapo" tank adapters, and Spears adapters, because I'm sure SOMEONE will want this information later, and it's nice to have information in one spot :D

holesaw size (inches) * holesaw size (mm)
S = spears bulkhead pipe size (inches), C = el-cheapo bulkhead pipe size (inches)
1 1/8" * 29mm, C0.5
1 1/2" * 38.7mm, C0.75 S0.5
1 3/4" * 45.15mm, C1.0 S0.75
2" * 51.6mm, S1.0
2 1/2" * 64.5mm, C1.5
2 3/4" * 70.95mm, S1.5
3" * 77.4mm, C2.0
3 3/8" * 87mm, S2.0

a little sidenote/story....

When I got my glass cut by bow valley, mitch sold me some bulkheads, saying "those bulkheads at W.I.P.A.L. are REAL nice, but we can't afford 'em"
I bought some of the ones Doug mentioned in his thread:

http://www.pondsdirect.com/images/categories/C195.jpg

well, my mom works at a WIPAL (plumbing wholesaler) and the owner, Mike, was over for x-mas and when he saw the bulkheads, he said "those are the worst bulkheads i've ever seen. I don't even know where he GOT those things!" He gave me some spears ones for x-mas lol.

I'm using the 3/4" in my 120g for the return line. the REAL nice 1.5" spears he gave me didn't fit in the hole cut in the tank already, so I gave it back. thing was worth like $80 though!

so now I have to hum and haw, because I can't afford all these hole saws (found 'em for $5-30 each on e-bay from china). I have to decide whether to emphasize the el-cheapo sizes or the spears sizes...

decisions decisions!

reply
 

Let me know when they arrive, I may need to borrow one.(or bring my surge tank up to you for drilling):mrgreen: BTW, what kind of price are you getting say a 1.5" bit for?

i don't know if i'm ordering all the ones I found.

found out they're diamond coated, not diamond plated. basically the bits are $5 each because the diamond dust is glued on, not embedded. they wear out after like 2 holes, and are a pain to work with even on the first one.

I think i'm just going to wait till I need holes drilled for sure, and then order good ones online (they're still about 25% cheaper than in the city).

I just saw the cheap bits, and thought "hey i should get them all, then charge $15 a hole to drill and make some extra cash!" idea didn't really pan out though ;)