Holes in steel studs?

Uni-bit. It's those weird cone shaped step drill dammits. Should work just fine on 22 ga.

Ditto, though a uni-bit that goes up to 1" will be expensive. A good hole saw (Lenox, Sandvik, Starret) will work fine for a couple holes, but at some relatively small number of holes the uni-bit will start to look like a bargain. Be careful, running too fast will trash either the hole saw or the uni-bit.

Ned Simmons

Uhh.. Studs usually means a long threaded shaft (like a bolt)...

But If you really are doing 1 inch holes in 22 ga galvie.. you need a Greenlee punch...

Go here

click on Holemaking....

--.- Dave

Steel Frame construction studs.

As in a wall. :-) 2x4, 2x6, that kinda thing. :-)

See if the outfit that sold the studs has a punch that they rent out.

About 6 seconds per hole and no muckin' around!

Cheers Trevor Jones

Punches are the way the pros make the holes. But punches are expensive. If you only needed a few holes a hole saw works, but they are annoying. (As you have discovered) A cheap way that is less annoying is with a fly cutter. by having a single point do the work it requires less pushing. The downside is that using one of these with a hand held drill is tricky as if you are not very careful they will grab. Using a drill motor with a lot of torque and standing on a ladder can have obvious consequences. I would use my rechargable 3/8 drill and take it easy especially when I was about to cut through.

A large twist drill is the worst choice.

Another way would be to drill a bunch of little holes in a circle, knock out the slug and file the hole to size. I have done this with a dremel and a mounted stone.

a good bi-metal hole saw cuts through steel beautifully, even thin stuff like 22 ga - but the cheap harbor freight units just spin and burn

The _right_ way is with a punch, but they're costy. The other ways are: a very fine-toothed recip saw, and a nibbler.

Change "recip" to "saber" or (incorrectly) "jig" for the average tool-owner.

LLoyd

Sounds like you need a Greenlee stud punch:

Buy one on eBay, use it and then sell it on eBay. You'll get most, if not all of your money back.

Best Regards, Keith Marshall snipped-for-privacy@progressivelogic.com

"I'm not grown up enough to be so old!"

DUH!!!...

Forest and trees kinda thing... :-)

--.- Dave

Yep------that's the key to success in this case. Carbon steel hole saws won't stand up to the punishment, dying from heat almost instantly. A HSS hole saw should work fine and yield acceptable results. You generally have to deburr the hole once drilled, and it tends to be somewhat oversized. .

Harold

Haven't seen anybody mention annular cutters yet. Google Hougen and Jancy for info. They make a short series for sheet metal that works great.

Bill

If metal substitute for a 2x4, I'd go with a drill bit and greenlee punch.

Wes S