don't apply too much pressure. If you are cutting steel, you have to go slower because it is a harder material. Find a pressure that will allow you to cut smoothly without locking up the drill. Another good option is a drill press.
also make sure the teeth are spinning the right way. Is the hole saw ment for metal wood working hole saws we become dull fast trying to cut steel, Depending on the thickness it is slow going, the drill should only be rotating a couple hundred RPM.
Also you might have a crap hole saw, is it a bi-metal designed for metal? And here's a tip, rock the hole saw ever so slightly when cutting this allow more pressure to be put on a small area allowing the teeth to dig in. Jimbo
Are you sure the drill's powerful enough? If it has an adjustable speed, set it quite low, drilling metal is supposed to be done slowly.
bi-metal - able to cut wood & metal. I've had a similiar problem to you on my current project & now I'm just going to go and get it cut from my school technician! edit- Just got my panel cut. The technician tried with another bi-metal hole saw, it did cut but only half. It also kept over heating. I persume i was due to the hole saw being blunt. On the second hole, he simply drilled in and then used a jigsaw. In all for the second hole it took less than two minutes.
Interesting.. try maybe getting a better drill and preferably not a cordless as they usually don't have enough torque.
Do you have any lube? a regular supply of soluble oil/water keeps it cool and quiet. takes a bit of experimenting to get the right pressure. Controlling speed with the trigger is fine - if it starts to slow down, then pull the trigger more! the trigger will increase power, so torque will increase as well as speed I find cutting thick sheet is easier than cutting the thin stuff (it just bends and absorbs the pressure) regularly stop and brush the swarf from the teeth either way, it's gonna be slow going!
I found the best way to use a hole saw is to use a slowish speed with a decent amount of cutting compund of somekind to keep the teeth temps down and stop them blunting too quick. Also if your using a hand drill, rather than a press or pillar drill, to hold it at a slight angle and then rotate the drill round as you cut so as to keep the cut even but its only cutting a small area at any one time. It will take a while to go through and will look to start with like your just aking a shiney circle but persevere and youll get there.
if that last desicription doest quite make sence with regards to the drilling atction the only other way i can think to describe it is to trace a path in the air with the handle of the drill slightly bigger than the hole your trying to cut. Hope that makes sence
