For those of you who have tried it, how does a hole saw work on EVA blocks? I've ordered some blocks yesterday. I've got a guy wanting eva checkers in a cork handle. My plan is to get the blocks, cut about 1 1/2" off of it, and use a hole saw on that 1 1/2" piece to give me the 1 1/4" diameter so it works in the mudhole checker jigs. So this would end up giving me a working piece of a lenth of 1 1/2" and diameter of 1 1/4". Before I go out and purchase a 1 1/4" hole saw, I want to know if this would even work.
Thanks for the help.
Jeremy W Reed
Reed Rods

Jeremy,
I am thinking that it might work very well if you turned the hole saw backward.
EVA can tend to tear out.
I have never tried a hole saw.
If you want, I can try one tomorrow on a block of EVA that i have and I could let you know.

Roger

A 1 1/4 " hole saw will not give you a diameter of 1 1/4 you need a 1 3/8 due to the fact that hole saws are measured by the OD, not the ID, so you have to take into consideration of the thickness of the cutting kerf on the cutter.

Also a 1 1/2" length will not fit into the jig to the depth you need to use it. 1/2" or less is best.

Thanks for the replies. I've never worked with EVA other than the pre-made grips. I hadn't thought about the possibility of it tearing out.

Phil - my plan is to cut 1 1/2 length, then use a band saw to knock it down to 3 pieces of roughly 1/2" . I forgot to mention that in the earlier posts.

I've got some pieces ordered from Billy, so when I get them, I'll probably get a 1 3/8" hole saw and run it in reverse at high speed. Hopefully, this will work.

If you can get EVA in 1/2" thick pieces that would make using the hole saw much easier as it would not fill so deeply. Also if you have drill press, running the hole saw at high speed in the cutting direction will work if you proceed cutting very very slowly. Cut and lift the saw frequently to keep it clear and avoid it binding up.

If you have some ordered from Billy, he is the best to ask how to work it. I turned my blocks on a piece of 3/8 all thread with tape build up for a tight fit. I mounted my drill with a large pipe clamp to the tabble and rested the all thread in my rollers( I use roller blade wheels). It turned perfectly round. I used the open mesh sheet rock sand paper and a rasp.

I have used hole saws on eva and it worked great.
Use a table saw ans fast speed go slow and you will have no problum.
I got a 1 1/2" deep hole saw and then turned down worked exelent.
Herman
Alaska

I didn't answer this because I do not have a hole saw nor do I know if it would work. I typed up a reply 5 minutes after the initial post which stated to not bother with a hole saw, just bore and turn it down to fit in teh jig. I'm happy I didn't do that since there is so much info posted in this thread which would have contradicted me and I don't like being wrong, lol.

Jeremy, your package was picked up USPS 15 minutes ago.

Sweet, thanks Billy for getting that out. Looking forward to getting my second sanding kit too.

Also, I don't have a aparatus to bore long eva. I bought a harbor freight lathe from cxxxxlist for $50 new with roughly 36" bed. I didn't want to dump $100 for a 4 jaw chuck on this lathe to hold pieces, so I had a machinist take a piece of solid stock about 3-4" long, and tap both ends. One end threads onto the spindle, and the other accepts a solid piece of 3/8" stock that we threaded on one end and center bore the other end to fit on the live center. i need the EVA for checkers in a cork grip, so I was thinking a hole saw may work, it would put a pilot hole in it and give me the rough OD. Plus I could work in smaller pieces.

Thanks for the replies.

Jeremy Reed
Reed Rods

IT seems like your idea is going to work. I never thought about doing it that way, I'm lookin gforward to seeing pics when you're done wiht this grip