power tools

Frosty, the oscillations on a detail sander and the "multi-tools" are very similar. The good mutli-tools are faster and have higher amperage motors, but if you let the blade do the work, it's not a problem, particularity if you only use this tool every couple of months. The Roybi sander I used has a good motor and I have to lean on it pretty hard to bog it down, so my $15 conversion is a worthwhile investment. Then again if you want to pay a few hundred bucks for a "fancy" one go for it. They both do the same thing which is wiggle the blade back and forth.

 

Actually the "fancy" ones are around $100.. what costs more is a set of quality blades..

 

Agree about B&D.. Makita is quality unless there's pirate copies?. Green Bosch is only a toy for a single job IMO and experience too..

 

I was very impressed with this DIY approach and did something myself.

I havnt tried it yet but looks promising.

 

Most of the "multi tools" are as the name suggest and in fact detail sanders with interchangeable attachments. In short, if you have a detail sander, bolt a multi tool saw blade to it and you're ready to go.

 

Feins are fine

 

Paying $300 for a detail sander with several attachments to me is just absurd, even if it is well engineered.

 

depends on what you use it for, how often you use it, and how long you use it.

 

Fein saws are more expensive, and their brand of blades and attachments cost more, but I suspect the machines will last for nearly forever, or at least halfway through the last job you'll ever need it for. I did a side by side experiment cutting some mahogany stair tread scraps with a fien and a craftsman: No discernible difference, so I'd say save your money. My father gave me his older fien and it's great but it only takes fein blades, so that's not so fine. The cool thing about these is that they are modeled after what the doctor uses to remove a cast from a busted limb, so they cut right through rigid materials, but when they hit skin they just wiggle it. I'm sure if you try hard enough you could injure yourself, but as a carpenter/cabinetmaker, I appreciate this unintended safety feature.

 

I paid full price for a Fein many years ago and never regretted the cost, i lost it along with my boat and a lot of other tools in a warehouse fire 5yrs ago. I bought my current Fein at Pawn America where i buy a lot of my tools for $60, i use it a lot more for cutting than sanding. As someone else mentioned the blades are where the cost is, i mostly use Harbor Freight blades on my Fein for a fraction of the cost. I do the rounds of our three local pawn shops every week and have purchased dozens of tools for very good prices, i have multiples of most tools and am always on the lookout for the specialized tools i would not normally buy as they would not get used enough to justify paying full price, such as my Crain undercut saw for $45.
Steve.

 

GP, my Fein is also an early model without the little nubs that keep the blade from turning, the HF blades fit, i just bought 2 blades yesterday for under $10 each.
Steve.

 

I buy the blades and bolt them to my Ryobi sander. It's not a tool I use often, but it's handy occasionally.

 

Oscilating saw does'nt sound right, the missus I think would have called it a wobbly thingy.

Now im not advocating that it be called a wobbly thinghy but I had no idea what it was called when I first wanted to look for it.

I tried vibrating saw, and a multi tool is totally incorrect--that name is given to the small compact tool with pliers and a tool for removing stones from horses hooves, I would never go out without that one.

Sawsall,--nope that gone too. I guess we are running out of names for all these new tools that seems to be hitting the market in the last decade.

I still like vibrating saw.

 

I like wobbler myself . . .

 

Multicutter is quite common name..