they worked quite well. i ended up buying only a 1" and 2 1/8" since the kits didn't come with the latter. these bastards are going to see a lot of work. thanks again for the input.

i also learned something new, i think. you'll probably say no shit , but i think i was putting too much force on the hole saws before, instead of letting them do their own work. i mean, i think i caused the junk set to burn out more quickly this way instead of letting them bore through at their own pace. letting them bore through with not much added force seemed to work better. does is this sound right?

i also had to buy a set of forstner bits to drill the hole for the deadbolt in the door frame.

my (home) tool collection is slowly building.