Holesaw Tool: Ceramic/Metal

[SLOBuds]

Hi. I'm thinking this is a dumb question but want to be safe.

I am installing a reverse osmosis filter under the kitchen counter. It needs to have a 1 1/4" hole drilled in the sink - for the mini-spigot. I don't have any available holes now.

My sink is ceramic. I see hole saws for ceramic tile. But I believe the ceramic sink is backed by steel.

Does the ceramic hole saw go through steel also? Or do I need to cut the hole using 2 different hole saws - what should I use?

My initial thought is that any tool that is able to go through ceramic is also able to go through steel, or wood for that matter. So if I decide to go through my tiled counter-top instead of right on the sink, it seems like the hole saw should be able to drill through the tile and the concrete underlay and the chickenwire and the plywood. Etc.

Thanks

 

[Dozernut]

Here is one that should work for you. Tungsten Carbide Grit Hole Saws

 

[WantedWolf]

Only tip I can give Is look more at the # of teeth per inch rather then the manufacturers product discription. all the Metal cutters I bought had 14 or 20 tpi and burned better than it cut through the steel door. but I found a Greenlee brand at 32 tpi (if I remember right)
Those tungsten carbides look like they might work

drilling through straight tru the chicken mesh would scare me with any hole saw??

 

[jinman]

Martin, I can't help you with holesaw selection, but I do know the difference between ceramic and metal when cutting. The ceramic is hard and will break up into fine chips, but metal is malleable and will tend to gum up a cutting blade. The cast iron is not nearly as malleable as stainless steel, so the carbide saw may work just fine. If you were using a diamond saw, I'd certainly not recommend using it on metal. The metal would fill up around the diamonds and render the blade useless.

 

[CurlyDave]

The metal would fill up around the diamonds and render the blade useless.

If you use a diamond saw on iron or steel and the steel gets hot from the friction, it will dissolve the diamonds. Diamonds are carbon, which dissolves in steel at high temperatures.

In my former line of work we used to use diamond tools to work aluminum, but could not work steel because of this problem.