Im the only carpenter left in the world without a Multi tool

[seo]

I have a Fein, and use it quite a bit. As an example, when taking a cabin trunk up off a deck to slide the new deck covering fabric under the trunk, it was necessary to loosen a lot of bolts, and then remove 50 #24 X 4 bronze wood screws that went up through the deck into the side of the trunk. Maybe fifteen of those broke off, or the heads were too buggered to back out. Instead of spending maybe an hour on each of those screws drilling them out, I used the Fein saw to slide between the deck and the bottom of the trunk's side, and cut the screw off. Simple. Quick. No damage.
For reefing out glued seams it's quite good. For sanding up to edges.
But mainly for flush cutting with almost no kerf.

[SchoonerRat]

As I get older, I find it more and more necessary to spend less and less time on my knees, hunched over, working with both hands.

I just spent that last couple of months nursing my already bad back after taking a shortcut down a flight of stairs. Today's dozen cuts in baseboard to accommodate toe kicks for new cabinets made the decision to get a multi-tool an easy one.

The Fein, without actually testing, seemed to be the queen of the available options. It's beefy, solid, heavy, and has the feel of quality. Brand new OSH store, grand opening, 25% off. I got the $200 kit.

One handed operation (I could use the other to support my back), easy to control, clean and accurate. It only got about 10 minutes of operation. It saved me hours on my knees. I can envision many tasks that this tool will be perfect for.

Why hasn't somebody adapted this technology to make a safer table saw?

[GARRBOSR]

Makin UP !!!

[bob winter]

I am really starting to think I should get one of these things. Sounds like it could be very handy for some work I have coming up in the near future.

I would appreciate some input as to what would be the best value for my needs. I don't need a Cadillac but I don't want a total piece of junk.

[Donn]

Here's another endorsement for the Fein MultiMaster. I have the old round-hole mount variable speed model, and I use it all the time; for sanding, cutting, filing, grinding, etc.. The expendables can be pricey, but some of them (the carbide rasps, for example) will pretty much never wear out.

Others can have extended uses, as mentioned above. Sharpen a dulled saw blade into a scraper or cut down a worn sanding pad and the papers.

The sanding pads and papers always wear out at the edges and corners. I used a self-crafted hacksaw blade attachment (drill a 3/8" hole in a short length of hacksaw or Sawzall blade) to do this to a worn pad:



It gave me extended life for the old pad, and a smaller triangle to reach smaller spots. The center of the papers can now be used, as well.

I also use much cheaper stick-on sandpaper on a variety of wooden and metal shapes with 3/8" holes for mounting.

3M's ScotchBrite pads work great on the hook & loop sanding pad, for cleaning and polishing metal objects.

It's also easy to mount small bits of saw blades to the E-Cut and Mini E-Cut blade holders.

I've drilled mill files and diamond files to mount them to the MultiMaster.

Finally, the accessories are easier and cheaper to get now that Home Depot carries a good line of them. If you order them online, shipping is free on orders over $45 (easy to reach with Fein accessories).

[SchoonerRat]

A little update on my Fein. If you'd like to skip ahead to the next post --- I like it.

If you want some details --- read on.

I installed a microwave/range-hood yesterday. It called for a rectangular hole in the mdf bottom of an upper cabinet. My normal weapon of choice would be what I call a jigsaw (flat bottom plate, vertical oscillating blade. Jigsaw was downstairs in the van. Fein was sitting on the countertop behind me - just having finished the 6 cuts I bought it for. The Fein made the cut, from underneath (my step-stool was also down in the van), one-handed, with ease. It was a little slower than the jig, but CLEAN. No tear-out. No chips in the surface. I didn't even bother to tape the cut.

My brain flashed images of a 60 year old schmuck hauling a big old sawzall up a 12 foot ladder, wedging a shoulder into something to brace his bum back so he could balance while using 2 arthritic hands to try to control that electric wood eater for a single lousy cut in a 2X12.

My first introduction to this tool was a late night infomercial. I resisted getting one for a long time just because of that stigma. I could have saved myself thousands of hours of doing a job with the "wrong tool".

If you're gonna make 1 cut, then put it on the shelf hoping that it might make 1 more in a few years, go with a Harbor Fright version. The Festool or Porter Cable version would be a good value for the occasional user.

I say go Cadillac!

I haven't even tried this thing on metal yet — and the carbide rasp — square cutting pipe in an enclosed space — great idea on the home-made tools — I haven't started thinking about its uses on a boat...

[Donn]

— I haven't started thinking about its uses on a boat...

Several years ago, I had Loon at a local yard for some work, including replacing two bronze keel bolts. The tops had to be cut off, in order to remove them, but they each sat in a space between frames which was about 5" wide and deep. The yard operator had no power tool which could fit in the space, so this old man started wailing away with a hacksaw blade held with pliers. I only lived a mile away, so I told him I was going to go home and get my MultiMaster. He said he'd be done by the time I got back. When I returned, he'd gotten about halfway through the first bolt. I plugged in the Fein and handed it to him, and he zipped through the job in about 3 minutes, using this blade in HSS (the old round-hole version):



I think he ordered one that same day, because there was a brand new one in his shop a few days later.

[bob winter]

I have been reading various reviews on google. It seems that Fein is very well rated and I think I will pick one up. It is not as if they are all that expensive.

[Ian McColgin]

I love my Fein. Now that I have a Fesstool RO/circular with dust extraction, I found it worth while to invest in the Fein Multimaster dust extraction kit, which can be made compatable with the Fesstool vacuum. It's really worth the cost. Good dust extraction not only makes for a better work space ecology, but it makes the sanding pads last enough longer to justify their high cost.

I have a select group to whom I am happy to loan the Fein because if they need a new attachment, I get to keep it, and they always replace the consumables with more coming back than went out.

[CharlieCobra]

Now that I've used the Fein, I won't pick up the sonicrafter. Much easier on the hands and ears.

[Chip Chester]

To SchoonerRat's and Ian's points above... I had my Fein for years before the infomercials started up. I knew the patent was about to expire, so I guess Fein had to stake out their territory before the new guys did. Anyway, for most pro users, the infomercial didn't help much. And homeowners were probably put off by the price. I guess 'ya gotta do what ya gotta do', though. I rarely lend out "good" tools, but I have lent the Fein to trusted accomplices. I forewarned them about the accessory price, and yet they were always happy to turn over the rest of the 3-pack when returning the tool. Some even 'pre-order' the loan, knowing that what they're getting into with a particular project will probably result in the need. Chip

[seo]

"Chip"'s narrative is actually a strong recommendation for the Fein. I should say that I own a number of Fein tools, and am not always convinced that they're worth the money. For example, I bought one of their fancy vacuum cleaners, complete with a crank to turn that would rotate a pair or rubber whackers around the filter element, knocking loose the dust cake. The machine it eight months old, and the whackers were found broken, lying in the base of the machine.
Ditto their DA sander, which I've had to work on twice, replacing the bearings in the DA gizmo. My Porter Cable just keeps on tickin'.
All that said, the Fein multitool seems to have it covered.

[SchoonerRat]

Infomercials are a very unfortunate consequences of the American media and the intelligence of the american public. When I first saw the Fein infomercial, I had no idea who they were. My eyes were glued to the the screen from beginning to end, and I was laughing my ass off. Some part of me thought "If only a magic tool like that really existed!", but all I could see was Dan Aykroyd with his "Bass-O-Matic"! That was a tough image to shake!

There is a certain pleasure involved in the use of any finely crafted piece of machinery. It makes the work you do much less like work. Just holding this tool in your hand and turning it on imparts a feeling of power that feels out of proportion to its size. I'm looking around for things to cut, scrape, and sand.

Damn! I'm gonna spend more on blades than this thing cost in the first place!