# Oscillating Multi-tool



## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

I've had two Rockwells for more than three years now, no complaints and they are used frequently.

Well no complaints that is, except for the outrageous price of the damned blades and accessories. The accessories are all a major rip-off.


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## iminaquagmire (Jul 10, 2010)

I have the Bosch. I have no problems with it other than that the blades are so expensive. Also, the Bosch sanding pad is different from all of the others I've found in that its bigger. Therefore you must have the Bosch pad to use the Bosch sandpaper. Its much better by far than the cordless Ridgid i had before.


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

I have the Harbor Freight one---(two actually) --the better one----Use it a lot more than I thought I would---tough tool and the blades are half the price of everyone elses.


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## toolaholic (Jul 31, 2011)

According to. a Fine Homebuilding test, Bosch multi tool blades last the longest by far!


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## jessrj (Mar 30, 2012)

toolaholic said:


> According to. a Fine Homebuilding test, Bosch multi tool blades last the longest by far!


I also heard about this test. I have used the bosch. They are good blades. Not sure they are as good as the fein though.


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## sublime2 (Mar 21, 2012)

How about this;
http://www.cpotools.com/factory-rec...html?start=2&cgid=bosch-reconditioned-multi-x


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

I used my Fein things almost every day and they ranked right up there with all time fave tools. Expensive? You bet but they were a delight to work with and worked consistently as absolute workhorses. Minimal excess vibration and heat up. Mostly metal, nicely engineered parts. I sold them well used for a fair amount so feel like they were great investments. 

$400 for everyday use is different than $40 for as needed DIY weekend project use I suppose. I do feel there is no such thing as either cheap luggage or cheap tools. Nothing is more dangerous than a bad tool or one wrong for the job. 

Search this site for prior posts I cannot remember about multi-tools. I do remember blades and things working loose were an issue with the Rockwell and Craftsman versions. Somebody found the blades from Harbor Freight worked just fine in their Fein tools and that part of things can really add up.

Please post what you end up buying as I like to follow such things.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

I own two Rockwells, they now use a differant screw to hold the blade on it's harder and has both socket head and a hex, The old ones where to soft and tended to round off.
I also found packs of 15 blades on Amazon.com for around $90.00. That's $6.00 a blade.
There's a few of each tooth configuration in the pack, but for some reason they all came with the same part number on them.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

joecaption said:


> I own two Rockwells, they now use a differant screw to hold the blade on it's harder and has both socket head and a hex, The old ones where to soft and tended to round off.
> I also found packs of 15 blades on Amazon.com for around $90.00. That's $6.00 a blade.
> There's a few of each tooth configuration in the pack, but for some reason they all came with the same part number on them.


Glad to hear Rockwell fixed the screw problem. The price point, much as I loved my Feins, would be easier on a budget. Clients paid for most of my tools in the final analysis. 

I haven't had reason to by blades or anything since out of the business but $6 sounds great if they hold up reasonably well. 

As some know, I had a special relationship with a local sharpening shop that kept my drill bits and saw blades tipped, sharpened and true. They were cheap and it was so nice to pick up a tool and know it was going cut or drill nicely. It was never worth even trying to sharpen a done for Fein blade.


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## ratherbefishing (Jan 13, 2011)

Speaking of multi-tools, I used mine last week to cut a few holes in Permabase CBU. The sheets were already installed. I was cutting holes for shampoo niches. It seemed like the grout blade might be appropriate, but I tried the regular toothed blade first. Well, it worked great. The teeth were completely gone after about 30 seconds, and the blade was 30% shorter by the time I finished. But it cut like a champ. LOUD, tho. Earplugs recommended.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

ratherbefishing said:


> Speaking of multi-tools, I used mine last week to cut a few holes in Permabase CBU. The sheets were already installed. I was cutting holes for shampoo niches. It seemed like the grout blade might be appropriate, but I tried the regular toothed blade first. Well, it worked great. The teeth were completely gone after about 30 seconds, and the blade was 30% shorter by the time I finished. But it cut like a champ. LOUD, tho. Earplugs recommended.


All said though. The job was accomplished. And could you have done it as easily without oscillating technology? That is what I loved. Cost of blades and things got bundled into bids. Clients bought them. I was never wasteful and if charging a client for $12 worth of blade vs. two hours of my time worked out for all?


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

i own both the rigid cordless and the bosch mx2.5. the bosch wins hands down over everything but the fein. i know several hardwood installers that have bought the dremel's only to have to replace them within a month

blade wise the bosch blades are great but pricey.. same with the feins. one hardwood flooring installer we use works for a high end flooring dealer which has their own installers for both hardwood and stairs.. all of their guys carry multi tools so they buy the fein blades by cases of 2000 which works out to $7 a blade as opposed to $23 individually.

another spot to buy blades is here

http://www.multiblades.com/index.html


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## Fix'n it (Mar 12, 2012)

i have the harbor freight more expensive model. it works great !
imo a mandatory tool, even for a DIYer. 

and yes, the blades/etc for them are expensive for what you get. but, they make a difficult job easy. so in the end, they are actually cheap.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

i wouldnt really call them a must have tool for a diyer as its more of a specialty tool. i use mine all the time for finish work on remodels for getting into tight spots to make a clean cut.

the whole reason i originally bought mine was while on a large high end reno 2 years ago.. the original trim detail had the door casings sitting on top of the baseboard.. the new detail called for plinth blocks which meant cutting the baseboard back to fit the plinth blocks in. the original baseboard was 5 1/2" by 3/4 solid oak.. near impossible to make a nice clean cut with a recip for such a thing


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## builttolast (Feb 9, 2012)

I own 2. Milwaukee M12 cordless for small work and a rockwell corded for extended use. I use them all the time believe it or not. Used it on a framing job saturday to cut out for a carrier and for finishing cuts for doorways. Use them for flooring jobs when the trim needs to be shortened around doors. Used it for window replacements (rotted sill needed to be replaced, used the rockwell to cut the old one out). IMHO, its INVALUABLE to have. Blades are a little expensive, but you can get adapters (my rockwell has one) that lets you use all manufactures blades.

If you have the money, BUY ONE. Its worth it.


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## csab_ (Aug 16, 2011)

Hgytnbhinghmacsljdworoifjg


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

csab_ said:


> Hgytnbhinghmacsljdworoifjg


 Well.thst is enlightening!


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

I have used them from time to time and my favorite is the Fein.

+1 to the idea that they are not for regular/continual usage. If so, you are taking forever.


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## michaelcherr (Nov 10, 2010)

I haven't used nicer ones, but I regularly use my harbor freight model and say it's definetly worth having. If you can afford/justify a fein, great, but the hf oscillating tool is worth having (not true of all their tools)


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## jessrj (Mar 30, 2012)

woodworkbykirk said:


> i own both the rigid cordless and the bosch mx2.5. the bosch wins hands down over everything but the fein. i know several hardwood installers that have bought the dremel's only to have to replace them within a month
> 
> blade wise the bosch blades are great but pricey.. same with the feins. one hardwood flooring installer we use works for a high end flooring dealer which has their own installers for both hardwood and stairs.. all of their guys carry multi tools so they buy the fein blades by cases of 2000 which works out to $7 a blade as opposed to $23 individually.
> 
> ...


I didn't know you could buy those blades in that kind of quantity. Must be a big flooring company to buy 14,000$ worth of fein blades Who would do such a thing?


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

the flooring company deals in "mirage flooring" which is the best hardwood flooring available in canada. they have roughly 12 flooring installers plus 5 or 6 stair installers. buying in bulk saves a ton of money long term

case in point, we buy irwin circular saw blades by the box of 50 and milwaukee recip blades by the box of 100.. it works out to $3.50 a circ saw blade and $4.25 for a 12" demolition blade.. as opposed to paying $14 and $12 per individual blade. with the circ saw blades they last us between a week to two weeks depending on what were cutting and how often amongs a crew of 5 carpenters who all carry their own saw. the recip blades last a little under a year doing reno's, typically large scale remodels and additions


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## csab_ (Aug 16, 2011)

csab_ said:


> Hgytnbhinghmacsljdworoifjg


Sorry guys, I've just found this post... It must have been my kids playing with the computer.


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## shadytrake (Jul 8, 2012)

Hubby has one and he loves using it. I think he got it at HF. Works great for tight fit awkward stuff.


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