Oscillating Tool Blades

[Daniel O'Neill]

I have a Dremel that my wife bought me. It's a great tool but one thing I noticed is that the "One-Fit" style doesn't work without an adaptor. The adaptor seems to allow movement in the non oscillating direction. (If I hold the tool so the blade is horizontal the adaptor blades allow for movement vertically) Maybe it's the cheap kit I purchased. Does anyone else notice this? With OEM blades I don't have that blade movement so I save the OEM blades for doing nicer cuts. (Removing trim etc).

[Dave Sabo]

My considerable experience with these tools for the last 25 years has lead me to these conclusions:

Power and arc matter. The more powerful the tool and or the bigger it's arc means it cuts better regardless of the blade.

Blade grip has an impact on the performance. The first Fein was just a flat interface with hole. then Then they added a cross, then pins, then lotsa of pins and now there's a segmented cup with pins and a cross. All of these help to transfer power the blade.

Blade type makes a huge difference. A japanese style blade will make quick work of a 2x4 but it hard to plunge cleanly into a veneered cabinet back. Conversely , a very fine toothed blade will just burn a 2x4. Hit a metal object with the japanese tooth and you're finished. Most fine toothed blades will power through.

Fein and Bosch have generally made the best blades. Usually from Switzerland. They are usually the most expensive. The curved (but not round) blades seem to offer better performance than straight blades.

Imperial makes good blades too , but expensive. Their 90 deg / right angle blade has no competition.

the Proj. Farm fella - tested a slew of blades and found HF Bauer blade to be a very good, top performer - but the most expensive (poor value) Imperial to be right up there (my feelings too) and the star of the show was a blade from EZARC. (never heard or or used them)

[Keith Outten]

There is a YouTube video that shows how to sharpen these blades using small jewelry style files.
Sorry I don't have the link.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

There is a YouTube that shows some one not sharpening them with a stack of cutoff wheels. I did not "like" (although they do cut, and the guy has gnarly hands).

https://youtube.com/shorts/rprz3VCBnsk?feature=share