Only thing I thought of is boring nearly all the way through
then using the drill bit center as a guide on the reverse side,
finishing the cut so the plug doesn't get wedged in the
hole saw.

Coming up on a project for arrays, a hole saw makes the job
both easier and gives a smoother cutout.

You "can't" get a plug stuck in a fly cutter.

A hole saw is a tubular piece of steel, one end ground and set into saw teeth, the opposite end enclosed with a (tapped) through hole for an arbor.

The reason the plug gets stuck in a hole saw is that the tooth set toward the ID of the saw makes a very nice grip on the edge of the plug.

The method you suggest helps, because when you cut through, most of the plug will be proud of the saw, leaving space to grip it and pull it off the centering bit. It also helps breakout on the exit side of the hole.

Another thing you could try are a newer hole saw configuration that is part fly cutter and part hole saw. The cylinder of the hole saw is still there, but there is a large diagonal cut up the side of the cylinder to clear chips. At the base of the cut is a single piece of carbide on the leading edge that does the actual cutting. They cut very, very fast and they don't hold the plug like a "regular" hole saw does.

• http://www.geocities.com/budb3/arts/toolp/flycut.html

Oh yes. Ok.

Hole saw, not fly cutter. Nope i don't want to mess with
with a fly cutter in a drill press or anywhere else.

I have a hand drill and a couple hole saws.

Other thing is there is no way to get precision like on
a 'brad point' with a tool like this. But a standard
brad point drill bit is not long enough as is the
special grooved centering drill bit sold for hole saws.

Could a machine shop put a brad point on one of those
centring drills and how much whould such a job cost?
Plus those centering bits are just barely long enough to
chuck up anyway.

I don't see why you can't insert any bit you want to use.

I don't think there's anything particularly special about the bit that comes with the average hole saw, at least the ones (Lenox) that I have.

I tried that first... plain 1/4 drill. Too short.
Not waaay too short but short. Even the special
center bit is not very long.