In article ,
Joe AutoDrill wrote:
I've got a customer trying to drill a 1-1/16" diameter hole through a thin
(1/16") piece of wood/plastic composite material.

They can't really use a hole saw because the "plug" gets stuck in the center
of the tool and the process is automatic, running a few hundred holes per
shift and only stopping the drill machine to end a shift or change a tool.

I know they make plug ejection tooling for metalworking hole saws (I sell
'em!) but they don't work with thin wood or plastic materials so I doubt
they will work with this.

the concept works just fine.

create a push-plate that is reasonably close to the id of the hole-saw.
say 15/16". back it with a stiff spring of fairly large dia, say 3/4"
(the larger the spring dia the less wobble to the push-plate.
tension the spring so that the push plate is just proud of the tips
of the hole-saw teeth.

Slap it in a drill press, or similar. down goes the quill, plate hits the
material, saw starts cutting. cuts through the piece. quill comes up,
spring pushes the material clear of the blade. voila.

I'm thinking there is either a special tool for this that ejects the plug or

the -fancy- one has the push-late on a lazy-susan type bearing, so it doesn't
scuff the work material. cheap ones use slick plastic.

that someone sells a unibit (stepped drill bit) off the shelf with the
1-1/16" diameter capability... But I can't find the daggone thing.

Anyone have any good ideas for me other than having custom tooling made or
modifying a standard hole saw? Maybe a source for that stepped drill bit
(looks like a Christmas tree).

Already tried McMaster and MSC but I'm sure there are other options out
there or that I may have missed it.