Found a faster way to cut around outlet boxes with a $9 hole saw

Been doing drywall for about 12 years now, mostly residential repaints and small remodels. Outlet boxes always ate up my time, measuring and tracing each one. Last month on a job in Tacoma, I grabbed a 2.5 inch hole saw from the hardware store instead of my usual jab saw. Took maybe 2 minutes per box now, just line it up by feel after the board is held against the studs. No more pencil marks or rough edges that need mudding. Anyone else switch to hole saws for this, or do you still stick with the hand tools?

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hill.christopher4d ago

Stop kidding yourself that you can line those up by feel. You cant. Not consistently anyway. I tried the hole saw trick years ago and ended up chewing through more wire and pipe than I saved in time. The blade grabs when it hits a stud edge and pulls the whole tool off center, then you got an oval cut thats worse than anything youd trace by hand. Plus those little drywall plugs pop out and wedge between the saw and the box, and suddenly youre prying the thing out with a screwdriver anyway. Jab saw takes me 30 seconds a box once youve done a few thousand, and the edges are clean enough that mudding is just a quick swipe. Youre trading a $9 tool for a wall full of patchwork when the inevitable slip happens.

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