Can you sharpen hole saws?

[brained]

Hi, I was just making them holes in my metal CP, and I've noticed that my hole saw teeth got dull.... so I can't do anymore holes.  I've had a hard time finding this hole saw and I don't want to order it again, can I sharpen it?

[DrewKaree]

Yeah, if you're darned good with a file and have the patience to do each tooth.  If you aren't, and will have to pay someone to do this, you'll find it worth your while to purchase a new one when they tell you the price they're gonna be willing to do this for 

Get an old crappy pan, fill it with some strong cleaner - 409 will work, but it'll take a WHILE, along with some elbow grease.  A better cleaner will be oven cleaner, but make sure you do this in a WELL ventilated area, and I wouldn't even THINK of NOT using eye protection in this case - set your hole saw in the cleaning agent of your choice, and let it soak....for a while.....and then wait double the time you want to wait.  When the time's up, find an old crappy toothbrush (or a new cheap one) and go to work cleaning all the pitch, glue, melted paint, etc off that holesaw.  When you're done with that, rinse it off REALLY good, let it dry, and have at it.

BTW, if that doesn't work because you waited too long and there's so much gunk in there that it wrecked your hole saw, remember this life lesson for next time.....clean your tools before putting them away.....and a saw of any kind is a tool.

[brained]

So just filing it tooth by tooth will do... well I'll just give it a Try. I don't understand the second paragraph my hole saw is clean, or is it something else, I'm confused... 

[Tailgunner]

Did you use any sort of coolant/lubricant while drilling? You should always do so when drilling ferrous metals with a hole saw. Without it you'll cut the holesaw's life in half.

[brained]

I used 3 in 1 oil.... is that good enough, also I had some extra car oil and used it to lube...

[JustMichael]

If the hole saw is cutting for button holes in metal, I would recommend using a hole punch instead of the hole saw.  Just do a search of the message board for "hole punch" and it should turn up the info.