fein multimaster ,rockwell sonicrafter,harbor freight

[Jim Dailey]

Paul,

I have a old single speed Fein that I almost sold 'cause it sat on the shelf since it was a poor sander. I never got around to selling it since it would not bring many $$$. Once I tried it with the saw blades I wouldn't part with it. The old single speed models are a perfect saw.

I use the Dremel bi-metal blades (Menards or Home Depot) to cut nails all the time. It does shorten the life of the blade but for a tight spots it's prefect. The blades will not cut hardened steel like a concrete nail... it will immediately turn a bi-metal into a scraper

jim

[Roger Pozzi]

After seeing the commercial on HGTV for the Fein Multimaster, compared to what appears to be the Bosch, and the Rockwell, all I can say is,,,,,,,,,,why wasn't the HF model included in the comparison??????
Of course, the Fein out-performed the others in totally biased testing,,,,,for about 3-4 seconds.

[george wilson]

Well,for one thing,you need to cut ferrous metals SLOWLY. Those Fein knock offs all go about 10,000 side strokes per minute. If you used a hacksaw that way,the teeth would wear right off. The Fein goes twice as fast.

If you could slow the blades down to emulate the slow stroke of a hacksaw,then the whole tool would go back and forth when you tried to apply the saw,so it wouldn't work.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Those Fein knock offs all go about 10,000 side strokes per minute

Dremel -•10,000 – 21,000 OPM wide speed range – for optimal control
http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Tools/Pa...?pid=Multi-Max


Harbor Freight - single speed - ■Single speed: oscillates at 19,000 strokes per minute
http://www.harborfreight.com/homepag...ool-67256.html

Harbor Freight - variable speed - ■Variable speed: oscillates at 10,000 to 20,000 strokes/minute
http://www.harborfreight.com/variabl...ool-67537.html

Bosch - Variable speed - 5,000; 20,000 RPM
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001E261NI/...l_23m33q06nr_e

Rockwell - "This means that instead of rotating, it makes up to 20,000 back-and-forth oscillations per minute for ultra smooth, efficient results"
http://www.amazon.com/Rockwell-RK510...ref=pd_cp_hi_2


Speed Range OPM:15000 opm
Speed Range OPM:15000 opm
Craftsman - 15,0000 OPM
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...G1#reviewsWrap


No doubt the Fein is much better made, but, it's not any faster than the knockoffs.
Probably better able to handle the high opm's though.
IIRC - it's got a little more power also - Fein says 250 watts, which figures out at about 2 amps.
I know the Dremel is only 1.5 amps & the HF is 1.6 amps.

[Henry Ambrose]

I have the older variable speed Fein that uses the plain round hole blades. Every once in a while I blow the cement/plaster/fiberglass/wood dust out of the insides and give the switch a little spray lube. It should be dead by now but its not. Its one of, if not the best, high quality, tools I own. When its the right tool nothing else will do. If it died, I'd buy another without a moments hesitation. The new style blade holder/latch is very tempting.

[Floyd Mah]

Incidentally, when the HF turns a saw blade into a scraper because I cut something too hard for it, I clamp it into a metal vise, recut and file new teeth and then reharden the blade. After that, I repeat the process as long as there is metal left. Years ago, I considered a Fein until I saw that a replacement blade was $68. That's the price of two HF's unless you have to factor in the price of gas to get the replacement. The only problem with the HF is that it oscillates too fast and burns the material being worked on. But now they make a variable speed model. (Still less that $68 if you have a coupon).

[Terry Sparks]

Incidentally, when the HF turns a saw blade into a scraper because I cut something too hard for it, I clamp it into a metal vise, recut and file new teeth and then reharden the blade. After that, I repeat the process as long as there is metal left. Years ago, I considered a Fein until I saw that a replacement blade was $68. That's the price of two HF's unless you have to factor in the price of gas to get the replacement. The only problem with the HF is that it oscillates too fast and burns the material being worked on. But now they make a variable speed model. (Still less that $68 if you have a coupon).

Just a wild guess here but, are you retired?

[george wilson]

I guess my speed info was either out of date,or just WRONG I got the info by reading somewhere,but since I have a Fein,I am not overly concerned about the cheaper knockoffs. I think you'll get what you pay for in tool longevity.

I made a saw blade out of blue sawblade steel,and also just refile the teeth. It will still cut just fine,even if your teeth are quick and dirty. I set the teeth by clamping the little blade in a smooth jawed machinist's vise with the teeth just above the jaws,and tap them with a flat nosed punch.

[Floyd Mah]

I've always kept an eye on relative values, especially when it came to hobbies. Part of the fun with hobbies is to figure how to do things differently and cheaply. Obviously a $5 saw blade won't break the bank, but why throw away a perfectly good saw blade precursor. Recycling a blade, which the HF tool can destroy in a minute, reduces the energy cost of my woodworking hobby. There are tools which are expensive and worth (almost) every penny. I did retire last year. Now I have time to fix up the house, make and replace 15 windows (I made 11 windows about 10 years ago).

[Don Morris]

I have the Fein and consider it like the Festool of tools in this area. Way out of proportion in cost to the others...but boy does it work. I've got the old model because there's no need to replace it. Just the way out of proportion costly blades when they get dull...but boy do they work. As has been said, if you're only going to use it once, buy a Sears, HF or something else similar. I've used mine for all sort of jobs. When they said Multimaster they meant Multi. Over the years it has paid for itself, but it has taken years to do that.

[Loren Hedahl]

I've noticed the Fein for years, but didn't go for it because of the price. Then when the HF went on sale I bought the variable speed model.

When I first turned it on it made a lot of noise, but I couldn't see or feel it doing much, and thought I'd bought a lemon. But with a blade on it is a whole different story. So far it has worked great for jobs like removing grout on a mosaic tile regrout job, completing a jig saw cut up to a wall, etc.

Now I'm using it to sand into the corners of some kitchen cabinet shelves that need repainting. Rather than buy the expensive triangle sandpaper pieces, I cut them from a large sheet, then glue them onto the tool with the special contact cement the auto body folks sell.

As others have noted, while the noise is annoying even with ear plugs, vibration doesn't seem bothersome as it is with some inexpensive sanders. So far the tool has become handy enough that when this one dies, I will likely upgrade to a Fein or Festool, if they offer one.

[BOB OLINGER]

Hi Jim,

How's your tile removing going? I took out about 125-150 sq feet a couple summers ago in which it had the cement board underlayment with screw shank nails about every 6 - 8." That was about the toughest job I tackled in a lot of years. After trying different approaches, I found a 5 lb. hammer and a good tough ice-style scrapper for a pry bar (long handle so you can get some leverage) worked the best. When you get to the edges, I'd think just hitting it with the hammer + pry bar would work. You indicated you don't intend to remove the base board - you might want to reconsider - I found it easier to remove the base board and re-install, allowing you to tear into tile removal without having to be concerned about damaging the base. Take care.

[John Denture]

I'm happy with the Fein and certainly consider it worth the price. If you look around a bit, you can find blades relatively inexpensively.

It also has negligible vibration compared to most of the other oscillating tools on the market, and it runs cool.

Specific to tile/grout/thinset projects, I did about 400LF of grout removal with my MM last year in just a couple of hours.

There is an abundance of attachments for the MM, most of which aren't available for the other oscillating tools, and make the relatively expensive up-front cost seem a lot more reasonable. Even little things like the 16' cord, or the box that will handle the tool even with dust collection and a blade attached indicate the thought that went into the design and implementation.

Also, you might look into aftermarket blades in types that you commonly use, as well as consider sharpening E-cut blades- they only have a few teeth on them, so 30-60 seconds with a properly sized file (X-slim or 2x slim, for instance) will have them sharpened up as good as new. I also tend to modify various blades (E-cut blades, scrapers, etc.) for specific projects.

The fein has excellent dust collection that works with a number of blades- for instance, you can remove thinset with the triangular rasp, and collect probably 95% of the dust generated rather than throwing it into the air.

Dust collection alone is important enough to me to disqualify products (HF for instance) that don't offer that option. The dramatic reduction in vibration is also another huge physical benefit if you plan on using the tool for more than a few minutes at a time.

Considering it's made in Germany instead of China, and comes with a great warranty and a great deal of attachments (although I will say that some of them have somewhat questionable utility, such as the profile sanding pads), you'll probably find that if you really compare apples to apples, the MM may be priced at a premium, but certainly not priced outrageously.

[gottfried jacobsen]

I have been delegated the house repairs for my Mom & Uncle. (An only child so I was also Daddy's little helper, thank goodness he explained what he was doing.) I inherited my Dad's garage shop some years back, he has some great tools but they were made in the day when brawny men were doing all the work, not daughters. I found your site and began reading your forum comparing the various multi-function tools side by side I choose to get my feet wet with HF, purchased the Red Multifunction, then stepped up to the Variable even bought a couple fein accessories not offered at HF worked great although too $$$$. This year Santa (Uncle) gave me the MM250Q what a treat! I am back for advice what alternatives can be used on the MM250Q so I can afford to use it.
Has anyone bought from BarginBlade.com? What do you think?Company states their Versa-tool universal accessories are compatible. They offer a Contractors variety pack of blades: 15 pcs, 5 ea. Bi-Metal, Wood & Japan Tooth Saw Blades for $120. At the bottom of the page is states The Versa-Tool universal arbor system is compatible with the following brands: Bosch, Craftsman, Chicago Electric, Tool Mate, Power Craft, HTC-87, Einhell, Top Craft, Artwork, MEEC Tools, Man Power, Millarco prof, Westfalis, Falke, Ferm Zwolle Holland, Cougar, Rock Worth, B&Q, Conustructor, Duro, Work Best, Matrix, Pro-Line, Ideenshop, Driving Force, LongActive, Fein MM*, Fmm250Q, 250, MSx 315 and all model featuring 3/8" round arbors. (The Versa-Tool universal arbor system is NOT COMPATIBLE with the Fein Supercut, Dremel & Sonicrafter.) I have not bought & tried yet, hoping one of you are familiar with the company and products before plunking down cash.
Thanks for all the input, all of you have helped me greatly.
Have a creative, fun, safe & wonderful New Year.
Karen

[sean c kelly]

I have the fein model, while it works great I would seriously look elsewhere when it comes time to replace it. I might sell it just to avoid using the ridiculously expensive blades. It works great, just way too expensive for cutters and accessories. Should have researched it better...

I hear you about blade costs. Love the tool, bummed by the price of blades. Heard these are good, haven't tried them yet. imperial blades.com