Blair Rotabroach Tool Review
Everyone has to drill some large holes now and again. You have a few options including hole saws, the ever so helpful Unibit, and a variety of other contraptions. I came across the Blair Rotabroach while looking for some other cool automotive tools and this one is no disappointment. I have a Milwaukee hole saw kit that is very useful and a durable tool, but one thing I hate about it when using it in metal is the roughness and inaccuracy in the finished work. The Blair Rotabroach solves most of these problems and has a lot more sizes as well. You can see the difference immediately when you look at each style of tool. The standard hole is a saw formed in a circle and uses a drill for the pilot. The Rotabroach is more like a mill of sorts, and smoothly machines away the material. I think the only thing that I don't like about the Rotabroach is the springy pilot which typically you center punch the hole and put the tip of the pilot in the divot from the punch. This requires some skill to keep things straight if you are using a hand drill. The trick is to drill a small (1/8") pilot hole so the Rotabroach's pilot will go INSIDE the hole, this way it's much more stable and resistant to popping out when using hand drills. Another great tool, and they have a lot more interesting tools at Blair Equipment. I picked up my kits from AMAZON which had great prices, better then the Blair website.
Check out a GTSparkplug review of the Blair 'holecutter' HERE
Blair Rotabroach Kits
The tools are not sheet metal saws but machined tools that make you feel that you have something substantial with these kits. You can also purchase a variety of single sized cutters and accessories. These are also great for working on sheetmetal as well as thick metal.
Closer Look at the Rotabroach
The kits come with a variety of sizes just like a hole saw kit. I think you have more incremental sizes with the Rotabroach as size get smaller. The kit comes with the pilot, cutters, and even a center punch.
Rotabroach Cut Hole
The Rotabroach hole is clean and burr free. The hole is closer to the size that you intend and less cleaning will be required.
Rotabroach Tool
Closer view of the tool, if you like robust tools, this is one you will like. The center point pilot is spring loaded. Again, I have found if you can drill a small 1/8" hole it helps keep the tools centered and from popping out while hand drilling. One other nice this is their is no center cutout that gets stuck in this tool like the hole saw.
Rotabroach Vs. Hole Saw
Side by Side comparison of the Hole Saw vs. The Rotabroach. They clearly operate on a different principle. I really like the Rotabroach, but the Hole Saw still have a valid place in your toolbox.
Milwaukee Hole Saw Kit
This is a comparible hole saw kit. While I will usually grab the Blair Rotabroach kit, their are times when you will still need this type of tool, mainly for wood or other non-metals these work well as well as very deep holes.
Hole Saw Cut Hole
You can see the scraping left in the hole after the cut. The material was 1/8" Aluminum Sheet.
