Malco HSW68 Vent Saw - 4 1/4-Inch for Cutting Wood and Siding
by Malco
List Price:
Our Price: $67.82
You Save: $2.26 (3%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Category: Tools
See more product details
Product Details
Manufacturer: MalcoModel: HSW68
Color: NA
Product features:
- VENT SAW® features easily replaceable alloy steel blades and a versatile one piece arbor / mandrel combination made of high grade cast aluminum.
- The webbed mandrel allows easy plug removal and a built-in arbor eliminates the need for separate arbor attachments.
- Saw Diameter 4 1/4 in. (108 mm.)
- Depth of Cut 2 in. (51 mm.)
- Fine Woodworking
- This Old House (1-year)
- Complete Do-It-Yourself Manual: Completely Revised and Updated
Description of Malco HSW68 Vent Saw - 4 1/4-Inch for Cutting Wood and Siding
The Malco HSW68 4 1/4" Vent Saw is designed for cutting all types of hard and soft wood, and other non-ferrous materials including plywood, composition board and siding. The Malco Vent Saw is indispensable when fitting fresh air intakes through foundation plates, exterior siding or facing materials encountered in residential or light commercial installations of gas or oil fired furnaces. The HSW68 features an easily replaceable alloy steel blade and a versatile one piece cast aluminum arbor/mandrel combination with a 7/16" pilot drill. The webbed mandrel allows for easy plug removal and the built in arbor eliminates the need for separate arbor attachments.Tools and Hardware Reviews of Malco HSW68 Vent Saw - 4 1/4-Inch for Cutting Wood and Siding
Customer Review: high price not justified by performance
Summary: 2 Stars
We cut a fair number of holes for dryer vents during the year and we tried one of the Malco vent saws on one house and I was not impressed. There is a lot of friction from the sides of the hole saw as the cutting teeth have no offset and this means using a more powerful cord drill. The high speed steel cutting teeth are fine for soft wood siding and can be used on vinyl and aluminum siding.
The openings at the back of the Malco vent saw help with knocking out the cut piece of wood which can take quite a bit of time and effort. The problem with removing the cut piece is in part due to all the side wall contact area and part due to the twist bit that has little in the way of taper.
We quickly switched to the Blue Boar TCT hole cutters for several reasons. They cut about 10 times as fast as the Malco and take about 1/4 the drill power (a 18v cordless or 3/8" cord drill will work perfectly) and the cut piece of wood just falls out of the Blue Boar hole cutters saving a lot of time.
The Blue Boar hole cutters have tungsten carbide cutting teeth so they can be used on Hardie fiber cement siding, pressure treated wood, and other tough materials that will stop the Malco vent saw in its tracks.
For holes in wood, vinyl, aluminum, and Hardie siding we often use one of our Hole Pro adjustable hole cutters. The shield keeps the hole cutter perfectly perpendicular for a straight in hole (and with the arbor adapter the shield can be used with the Blue Boar TCT hole saws too!) and the blades cut holes up to 1-1/8" deep which is enough to get through ship lapped siding and plywood sheathing if it is present. What I like about the Hole Pro is that I can make the hole a little bit smaller or larger at each side when passing through a wall to allow for situation where I cannot make a straight run or where I have a cap with a different diameter on one side.
When we run into stucco and need to make a dryer vent hole we use one of the Blue Boar TCT Masonry hole saws. These hole saws have a lot of tungsten carbide teeth all along the edge and cut through the stucco and the metal lath and the plywood sheathing with the same hole cutter. These cutters are so efficient we use a 18 volt cordless DeWalt DCD940 drill and get through all 3 materials in seconds.
BLUE BOAR 4-1/4" (108mm) Stucco-Brick & Wood Tungsten Carbide Tipped TCT Hole Saw with 4" shank (M16 Thread), 10mm carbide pilot bit, ejection spring
Hole Saws
Tools and Hardware
Bestsellers in Hole Saws
LENOX 25480-80HC 5" One Tooth Wood Hole CutterLenox; Tools
Best price: $51.06
Price in other shops:
LENOX 25474-74HC 4-5/ 8" One Tooth Wood Hole CutterLenox; Tools
Best price: $47.40
Price in other shops:
LENOX 25444-44HC 2-3/ 4" One Tooth Wood Hole CutterLenox; Tools
Best price: $21.73
Price in other shops:
LENOX 30290-1100CTG 15 Piece General Purpose Carbide Tipped Hole Saw SetLenox; Tools
Best price: $329.99
Price in other shops:
DEWALT D180036 2-1/ 4-Inch Standard Bi-Metal Hole SawDEWALT; Tools
Best price: $4.59
Price in other shops:
DEWALT D180060 3 3/ 4-Inch Hole SawDEWALT; Tools
Best price: $8.99
Price in other shops:
DEWALT D180009 9/ 16-Inch Hole SawDEWALT; Tools
Best price: $4.50
Price in other shops:
DEWALT D180017 1 1/ 16-Inch Hole SawDEWALT; Tools
Best price: $6.35
Price in other shops:
Great Neck Saw FG16C Fiberglass HammerGreat Neck Saw; Tools
Best price: $11.60
PORTER-CABLE 18675 Plumbers Hole Saw KitPorter-Cable; Tools
Best price: $83.64
Price in other shops: