Hole Saw Arbors/Mandrels for Drills
What is a hole saw arbor?
In order to connect a hole saw to a power drill, you’ll need a compatible hole saw adapter. A detachable hole saw arbor connects the hole saw to a drill’s chuck via the arbors shank end. These can be reused on other compatible sized hole saws.
What is a hole saw mandrel?
This is just another name used for hole saw arbors.
Are Hole Saw Arbors Universal?
No, but each size arbor will fit multiple sized hole saws and different hex sizes for different power drill chucks.
Hole Saw Compatibility:
- 1/4" Hex Shank with 1/2" thread - Fits 9/16” (14mm) up to 1-3/16” (30mm) hole saws with a 1/4" shank size
- 3/8" Hex Shank with 1/2" thread - Fits 9/16” (14mm) up to 1-3/16” (30mm) hole saws with a 3/8" shank size
- 3/8" Hex Shank with 5/8" thread - Fits 1-1/4” (32mm) up to 6” (152mm) hole saws with a 3/8" shank size
- 7/16" Hex Shank with 5/8" thread - Fits 1-1/4” (32mm) up to 6” (152mm) hole saws with a 7/16" shank size (1/2" chuck size)
What are the pilot bits/drills?
Most hole saw arbor adapters include a drill bit in the center of the mandrel. This has several benefits:
- Provides more accurate cuts
- Much more stable than without a pilot drill
- Keeps the hole saw central
What is the difference between Arbor and non-arbored hole saw?
An arbored hole saw is one that has a fixed arbor attached to the hole saw, and a non-arbored hole saw requires the arbor/mandrel to attach it to a power drill.
Arbored hole saws are one-piece attachments that don't require a separate arbor/mandrel to attach to a drill. This is beneficial for quickly swapping out hole saws.
The drawbacks are that they don’t provide flexibility for deciding whether you want to use a pilot drill or not for a particular project. They are also bound to one drill bit size whereas with a non arbored hole saw, you can change the arbor to fit different drills.