Best value for money or what's that tool?

Greetings,
For the life of me I can't remember the name of that electrical hand tool with the triangular blades with saw teeth on the end. Fenn made the original but now everyone offers one. Want to plunge cut some molding. Soooo....What's it called, who offers the best value for money option and which has the most universal blade fitments (meaning not locked into buying a "company blade"-able to use generic blades). Thanks in advance.

A miter box?

Do you mean a reciprocating saw, or sawsall?

Harbor Freight Multitool.

Greetings,
Oscillating tool is the best I can come up with...

I have a Fein tool which is very good but the attachments are eye-wateringly expensive. I started buying cheaper attachments that claim to work with Fein and they are crap. You get what you pay for. I presume that Fein's patent expired. I have no experience with other makes of tool, just the cheap attachments.

Greetings,
Mr. F. THAT'S the one. Thanks. So are you suggesting HF? Unfortunately there's not one very close and the money I'd save buying there would be used up in gas. Any "brand" names you would suggest?
Mr. X. Exactly, the cost of the attachments...That's why I was asking about a maker which would accept generic attachments.

I bought the Harbor Freight model for use on the boat occasionally. I don't need to use it often, otherwise I would have bought a quality model like the Fein.

It works well for what I need and didn't break the bank. It makes great plunge cuts with little dust but an overabundance of noise.

I included the online link for purchasing from their website.

I bought a Dremel multi tool that has become my favorite tool. It does the same oscillating motion.

Check out Sears ... Craftsman are inexpensive and use universal blades, etc.

you are meaning a vibration saw. I have one on the boat and used it just this weekend.

Mine is made by rockwell I think.

Yeah, I've got the Dremel version. Blades are expensive but what a labor saver for so many things on a boat.

Fein Multimaster

Other brands (Porter-Cable, Bosch, Dewalt) will use the name Oscillating Multi-Tool

Not a fan of Harbor Freight. The accessories (blades) are poor quality and my experience is one-time use.

Rockwell is the company that reestablished this saw in the mainstream market. Look at Lowes or HD. They sell for about $100 if I recall.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Trawler

Rigid at Home Depot is pretty cool as it is not only a vibe tool...different heads can be purchased...the second head I bought was a right angle drill head for less than $50. The next will be a jig saw head as my jig is pretty sad. The tool and 3 heads fit in a case that's about 1/2 the size of a shoe box so I'm buying into a system as a liveaboard to save room on tool storage....it may not be the best but I'm happy so far and if the tool ccraps out in a year or less...usually the store will do an on the spot switch.

They come corded or battery and accept other manufacturer parts as I have a Bosch 3/4 circle saw attachment and a "Warrior" triangle carbide sander head that's perfect for leveling epoxy in corners.

If I was just going to use it a little for a quick job or two or light sanding in corners..the Harbor Freight one get's pretty good reviews and with a coupon is so cheap it's ridiculous...like $15 w/ coupon.

The Harbor Freight version is worth exactly what you pay for it which is not very much. It's heavy and clumsy and the little nubs on mine that are supposed to keep the blade from turning wore off quickly so I have to really crank down on the blade wrench to keep the blade positioned how I want it.

For casual use, I would recommend Craftsman, Rockwell or similar.

I have a Lowes brand one (Ridged? ) its OK. I think the Fein is better but for the 5 cuts I made with it its a great compromise of price vs quality. Unless you plan on using it exactly 1 time steer clear of the Harbor Freight model.

Oscilating saws

I have been using a cordless Bosch version of the Fein tool for several years. It was part of a saw and drill kit, and has been invaluable on board. The two batteries last a long time per charge, and the cordless convenience is great.

like Kolive, and Healhustler I like the dremel . I have had great luck removing the window trim on our m.t. cuts through the old caulk making outside window trim easy to remove. Also great when cutting wood in corners where a regular saw can't be used.
mike

Been using the Dremel version for years, mostly on house project but also on the boat. Don't know how I ever did without one.

Bob

I have a genuine Dremel, and a fake Fein. Both have their uses, the Dremel particularly with the extension drive cable. There are Dremel copies, like Rockwell, and locally an "Ozito", retailed by Bunnings. My fake Fein is Ozito brand.

Greetings,
Thank you all for your valuable input and suggestions. There IS a Lowes nearby so I'll check out Rockwell and anything else they have to offer.

I used several and the only one I love is the Boesch with the 3 amp motor. I will not start a project with out it. If I had to pick two power tool to have on board this and a 1/2 cordless drill would be it. I will shop around for blades and tend not to use Boesch blades because of the cost.

RT, funny you brought this up. Just today I was looking at the Rockwell Sonicrafter at Lowes.
I like the tooless blade change and that it will accept most other brands of blades.

I own a Ryobi cordless version but I haven't used it enough to recommend it.

https://www.rockwelltools.com/en-US/SC-Hyperlock-RK5140K.aspx?gclid=CKi6kq3kw78CFXNo7AodgygA2Q

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Oscillating tool is the best I can come up with...

Click to expand...

Isn't that tool Flywright just put up what you want..? They certainly come in handy round a boat and at home.

I am a great fan of Fein and use several of their sanders in my flooring business. They work very well and have almost no vibration. That said I use a cheap oscillating saw, Genisis carried by Benny's a chain in CT and RI. I use it a lot more than I thought I would to cut out damaged flooring to weave in repairs. I does vibrate more than a Fein would but gets the job done. Cost was about $25.00 on sale. Just bought a new set of blades today for $10.00. Each set seems to last about two years with a fair ammount of use. Let the tool do the work, don't lean on it and you won't let the smoke out of the blade.

Rob

rwidman said:

The Harbor Freight version is worth exactly what you pay for it which is not very much. It's heavy and clumsy and the little nubs on mine that are supposed to keep the blade from turning wore off quickly so I have to really crank down on the blade wrench to keep the blade positioned how I want it.

For casual use, I would recommend Craftsman, Rockwell or similar.

Click to expand...

FYI - I had the same problem develop on a 'cheapie' oscillating cutter. I fixed it with a rubber O-ring between the locking plate and blade. Works perfectly.

Absolutely stunning tools in the right situation. Saved my sanity whilst removing old linoleum for a kitchen reno with the scraper attachment. Took about 8 hrs in the end - I have no idea what I would have done without it (well I do know I would have lost a significant amount of knuckle skin).

Fein

I'm on my second Fein, after ten years the old Feins cord finally failed and I used it as an excuse to get a new one with the new blade clamp and soft start. This is a tool I use daily and the Fein has a smaller barrel to grip which on the face of it may not seem like much but in the long run makes a difference in fatigue. When I bought my first one they were the only game in town and I payed close to $500 in kit form with a bunch of blades. I've used most of the others and hands down the Fein out performs the others. Blades are brutally expensive, the Fein and Bosch blades out perform all others. The new Fein from Home Depot was under $200. The improved performance , soft start , and blade gripping mechanism make the already best tool even better. If you use a tool hard, professional tools make your job easier. Two weeks ago I used mine to remove glued down cork flooring. The owner had given up using a Portercable multitool, the Fein just peeled up the cork in nice clean strips leaving a clean floor. The owner couldn't believe the difference.

Fein multimaster. If you think the cutting attachments are expensive, try buying the cheap ones. If you do any volume whatsoever, you will tend to find that the cheapest ones to use on a volume basis are in fact the Fein ones. I was surprised that the Bosch consumables were not better than they were. You can get an adaptor and use pretty much everyone else's. I stopped. Those trips back to the store are what's expensive.

Like many tools...big difference between something you use every day as a professional and one you use for one main project for a few days as an amateur.

Unless one has a particular problem...which I haven't heard about the multi tools...and again some of the attachments span the spectrum for what works and what may not. I have used cheapo stuff and expensive stuff..some things don't work no matter what as the material you are working with gums all up the same of dulls them all, etc....

Spend $15 on the harbor freight one and if it lasts through the project you are working on and it performs as well as the good ones for what you are doing...then I seriously doubt you made a big mistake....even if it's trashed at the end of the job...you can probably get a new one if it's only a couple weeks old.