Anybody tried the new multimaster clones? Like Rockwell’s Sonic crafter?
http://www.rockwelltoolsdirect.com/sonicrafter-sets.html#kits
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I have the slightly older MM, non-quick release type. I got one of the Bosch multi-x jobs and finally got to use it for real yesterday. Have demonstrated it to many by doing a plunge cut or lopping off a corner. Yesterday I had to replace a baseboard heater for a client and the one I found was 13" longer than the original. Whacked out the baseboard most ricky tick.
It probably will not have marathon run times on the little 10.8v but if I need that I will get Klauss the MM out of the bus. I love all my Bosch 10.8v stuff!!
Edited 1/20/2009 8:02 pm ET by rasconc
I'ved tried the dremel and it works well. The dremel is suppose to have the same size motor. It has plenty of power and for $100 you cannot go wrong. Everything I've seen about the bosch cordless is that it is great but lacks some power and the battery life is terrible. On a full charge, the batteries only last 8 minutes when sanding.
The Harbor Freight version appeared on this job.
Not too much to look at. Works. Has a good selection of blades. K. used it to cut out sections of porch framing to insert the steel pipes of foam columns.
Did not break down. Cut neatly. Would have used a recip otherwise
It's about $50 and seems to be selling. If you have occasional use, it might make sense. I hanker after a half price sale on the Fein, and, failing that, the Sonicrafter. But... who knows.
The ToolBear
"You can't save the Earth unless you are willing to make other people sacrifice." Dogbert
I confess, I bought the one from Harbor Freight, all I can say is that it works! That being said, I would not have bought it if I needed it often.
i was in harbor frieght and they didn't know anything about it. what do they call it,a multi tool???????
i might see if they have it online.YOU ONLY NEED TWO TOOLS IN LIFE - WD-40 AND DUCT TAPE. IF IT DOESN'TMOVE AND SHOULD, USE THE WD-40. IF IT SHOULDN'T MOVE AND DOES, USE THEDUCT TAPE.
Harbor Freight calls their a "multifunction power tool". You can find it here:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=65700
I have the Fein and I'm very happy with it, but if the HF tool was available at the time, I would have bought that... if only to get a feel for its uses. Heck, for $59, it's practically disposable.
115472.9 in reply to 115472.4
I confess, I bought the one from Harbor Freight, all I can say is that it works! That being said, I would not have bought it if I needed it often.@@@Keith's copy worked. You can't get style points with it, but it cut.My hopes of a Fein half off sale are fading. It will occur two weeks after I pull the trigger.I have $100 in gift cards for HD, but I am still holding out. Besides, when I go to look, the Dremel MM racks have been empty in several stores. They appear to plan to carry a very limited blade selection and anything else is special order. This makes the Rockwell via mail order more attractive. They have an extensive catalog of blades, single and in packs, so you can stock up ahead of time.The ToolBear
"You can't save the Earth unless you are willing to make other people sacrifice." Dogbert
Those HD gift cards bought the Dremel multimaster and it got used today.We sanded - OK.
We sawed out a section of rot for a dutchman - OK.
We scraped caulk - my small Hyde bar did a faster job. A bladed scraper would have done a faster job.The cord is a rather cheesy little thing. The HO brought out his entry level Fein MM - that thing has about a 15' cord - and supple. Nice.I also got to hold and examine the Sonocrafter at Ganahl's. Nice. More sustantial. Has a metal nose. ToolBear like.My take - this is really for the DIY market. Occasional use and light duty - fine. But with us, it's what we do and everything suggests that we will find more and more uses for MM tools now they are affordable. It will make cuts that I would have a hard time doing with anything in the tool library. I suggest pros shoudl look upmarket. Look at the medium Sonicrafter kit (has variable speed)and buy an assortment of blades that work for you. Not a bad price point.Dan is getting the Bosch LION version, so we shall see. The crew has the HF, the Dremel and ... perhaps ... the Bosch.What ain't we got? We ain't got a Fein.Still looking for the half off sale on Feins. Half off, I'm in.The ToolBear
"You can't save the Earth unless you are willing to make other people sacrifice." Dogbert
Got the soniccrafter; does everything it says it will. Never tried the Fein. Can't compare, but have seen accessories and prices for both. I'll stick w/ the sc.
Got the soniccrafter; does everything it says it will. Never tried the Fein. Can't compare, but have seen accessories and prices for both. I'll stick w/ the sc.@@@I got to use a Fein. Sort of the Festool of MMs. Very solid product. Should be at that price.The ToolBear
"You can't save the Earth unless you are willing to make other people sacrifice." Dogbert
I bought the Sonicrafter and really having never used a Fein I really don't see why I would upgrade. They are just about the same specs wise and with a few more months I am sure that Rockwell will have just as many one off attachments as Fein.
Got the Rockwell Sonicrafter for my birthday.
Was indispensable to cut out some maple hardwood flooring so that i could extend the flooring through the opening I punched out in the wall.
I got the base (20-piece) model but exchanged it for the 70-piece unit. The SN that comes with the 20-piece kit is NOT variable speed.
I must say that I have the new drem, and it does not compare at all with the great Multimaster from Fein, the accesories are absolutely amazing. They will solve a multitude of next to imposible to rectify work problems. For example the Diamond accesories will make quick work of tile plunge cuts and the such. The power and reliability of the full line of products from fein is really nothing short of brilliant.
Yup. Fein and High Quality always are found in the same sentence, so to speak.
I talked to someone at HF and he said the computer showed 200+ sets of blades, with somewhat less of each specialty blade. They'll probably order them if we hound them to death, but most of the people there don't have a clue about it. I used mine to mod a bookcase divider and stile so a larger LCD TV would fit under it. It worked great, didn't get hot and for what I did that time, higher speed wasn't needed.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
I talked to someone at HF and he said the computer showed 200+ sets of blades, with somewhat less of each specialty blade. @@Is that 200 of what they have on display - wood, scraper, half round - or their whole catalog. They have a catalog on the displays I've seen and show what is special order. I would expect a lot - the $$ is in the blades.The ToolBear
"You can't save the Earth unless you are willing to make other people sacrifice." Dogbert
The separate blades were in the catalog, too. As I said, they really don't know what it does, what it's called or how it works, but the machine just went on sale for $49.95 and they have the three pack, tile saw, fine toothed saw and IIRC, three packs of the narrow ones. The price wasn't bad, espacially compared with the Fein prices. I'm going to see if they finally got more blades for regular inventory.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Edited 2/4/2009 12:38 am by highfigh
As soon as the HF versions get down to $8.99 on 'inside track', gonna buy 4 or 5 to have sitting in different shops.
Have read here about all those neat little niche jobs they are usefull for, but somehow never have run into one of those type jobs that some other setup could not do as well.
Using the sonicrafter to strip corners of floors I'm refinishing. Best thing I've ever found and have been looking for awhile. This house we bought has three stories of oak floors and so many corners I don't dare count. Beats scraping and sanding all to somewhere. Faster and easier, not the pain of the past.
I thought about using my Bosch jig saw to cut the vertical divider and stile, since that's what I used the last time I had to do this but while this wasn't as fast, it needed no tweaking of the edge and was far easier to get all the way to the front of the divider since it needed no starter hole. Also, if I had been using a Progressor blade, it would have died on the nails, which this blade had no problem with. Once I cut the stile and put the bottom shelf back, it needed almost no sanding- just a bit to smooth the surface for painting and a bit to soften the corners of the stile. I bought mine on the Black Friday Sale, so it was $39.95 and the regular price is up to $69. As far as I'm concerned, it paid for itself already but I'll report any problems, too. I don't expect to use it a lot but I have some tile to re-grout and some other trim work to do, so who knows?
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
I have found all kinds of jobs that no other tool is it's equal.
Cutting boxes in sheetrock & plaster
trimming baseboard and crown to let in doors or cabinets
replacing rot in window sills
clean ,flush, cuttting pipe protruding thru walls
Removing grout and caulk
ANDYSZ2
WHY DO I HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT BEING A SOLE PROPRIETOR IS A REAL JOB?
REMODELER/PUNCHOUT SPECIALIST
I went to buy the blades today. Not in. The problem said the store manager is they have plenty of tools now, but not enough blades to go around!
I went in and got a diamond encrusted blade- they had two of those and none of the others. The guy said they get more every week, but not many. He also said the tool is back ordered. I guess they'll be handing out more rain checks- it's not like they can sell them a competing model to qualify as bait-and-switch. Whoever their buyers are, they need a 12 oz. ball pein hammer tap right in the forehead.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
I just bought them out of blades today!
They finally have the tool in stock, no blades(i have them all!)
That being said, I find this a very handy tool. Works well.
I'm glad I got mine. I have to think that it's the same basic tool as any other detail sander, with a different shaft, for installing other cutters. I would like for them to have used some kind of star shaped center and hole, so the cutter can't turn, but it did what I needed it to.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
The flier I got in the mail says it does DRILLING too..LOLSpheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
"The flier I got in the mail says it does DRILLING too.."I guess it would if you could find something with a big enough chuck to put it in.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Edited 2/4/2009 9:30 pm by highfigh
This is the new one from Bosch....$220.00 from Woodworkers Supply
http://www.boschtools.com/Products/Tools/Pages/BoschProductDetail.aspx?pid=PS50-2B
...The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home....aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
I've got the Bosch cordless that Beach Bum posted. Only used it one day to cut some door jambs and trim plus some detail sanding. Worked great, never used a Multimaster to compare it to though. Mike
Small wheel turn by the fire and rod, big wheel turn by the grace of god.
I got the Dremel version for Xmas. I had considered the Rockwell but having to mail order everytime I wanted a blade was really inconvenient. I'm not a professional so the Dremel is fine.
I used it to remove the grout on ~12 tiles. Stayed relatively cool (only slightly warm if at all), very loud, but worked thru the grout very quickly.
I used the flexible scraper that came with it to break the mastic bond under the tile. Maybe it was the blade getting stuck but the Dremel did get very warm and the blade actually broke, albeit after about 12 tiles.
To be honest, I don't think I was using the scraper blade like it was meant. The washer and bolt didn't hold the scraper on well either. It popped off twice.
I plan on getting a replacement flex scraper along with the stiff one.
So far, I'm happy with it but like I said, I'm not a pro and will probably not use it to its limits. If I was a pro, I probably would've gotten the Sonicraft or a used Fein.
For scrapers, I bought dollar store putty knives, cut the handles off, ground them in half and punched arbor holes with a step bit. Did a hand full in short order and they work great. Easy to sharpen (for under tiles and such), dull (for scraping wood finishes), or whatever you want.
I just bought the new model Fein MM. Reading through these prices makes me ill. I paid $420 for the kit plus some extra blades. Ouch!
~ Ted W ~
Cheap Tools - BuildersTools.net
See my work - TedsCarpentry.com
Looked at the (I guess deluxe) Fein today. Local tool store $374.00 + tax.
I bought my variable speed Fein about five years ago for $350 from Western Tool. That was with a case, a heard of accessories (sanders, carbide cutters and so forth). The tool by itself would only have been around $140 or so. Since then, I've spent more on blades than 99.9% of the population spends on tools and I will continue to do so. Each time it saves me a day of work, it does or goes along way to paying for itself.The newer blades seem to really hold up well. Too, when used and with just a bit of file work, they become putty scrapers, window seal cutters and so forth. Melted sanding heads get cut down for specialty sanding.I will confess I'm shopping for excuses to work this one too hard so I have an excuse to buy the new version, for the improved ease of use.
Bought mine from Western Tool as well (I'm also in Olympia). The Fein is the original, the best, the schnizzle-dog! Absolutely worth the high price, IMO. I highly recommend the variable speed, ESPECIALLY if you will be sanding. High speed will burn paint and want to melt the H&L pad. Would be great to have the Q model with the levered arbor mount, but alas, it will take a LOT to kill this puppy.Mine came with the grey blow-molded case which blows, no room for even hardly the tool itself. Western got me the metal case which holds a ton of stuff along with the tool.I'm hoping for an excuse someday to buy the bad boy- Supercut. $600-$700. Whew.
My wife has developed the tool bug too. Last year I bought her the cordless Makita set and she has a couple tool bags full of specialty toys from various jobs. She has taken to slobbering over some of the things we find at tool shows and such. My semi-old Bosch barrel will end up in her collection too (I upgraded, but keep it in the work van for now). If I give her the Fein, I'll be forced to upgrade to the new version. If she ever gets to demanding, I'll give her my presser washer and let her run it for twenty minutes or so. It pushes around 4000 pounds and she's only five foot tall. That'll cure her (of course, I may have to follow the hose to see where she ended up).
Geez. Wish my GF liked tools. She just considers my obsession a subject for laughs.
Are these MM tools something you need unless you specialize in finish carpentry.
I do remodeling, and I cannot think of an application for this tool. Unless I am missing something. I am always looking for tools that will make my work more efficient.
Nope. I'm not a pro carpenter or a finish carpenter. I have the Dremel and used it to remove some loose tile grout. I plan on using it to trim the bottoms of some door casing as well.I would say they're main use would be where you have to make small and or delicate cuts during a renovation vs brute demolition or aggressive scraping/sanding.
Do you do rot on window sills.
Cut back base board or door jams.
Cut in elec boxes in plaster or sheetrock.
Fix broke tile.
Remove grout or caulk.
Flush cut pipe.
ANDYSZ2WHY DO I HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT BEING A SOLE PROPRIETOR IS A REAL JOB?
REMODELER/PUNCHOUT SPECIALIST
To add to that:
repair rotted floor.
replace piece of flooring.
work with flashing/cut for trim coil
scrape off whatever crud is in your wayFor those who have fought for it Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know.
It is one of those tools you don't "need", but once you have one you will wonder how you ever did without.
FYI - for those (including me) who have the regular, older Fein tool - the Dremel blades at Lowes for $11 fit just fine.I've found them to be good cutting tools - sharp and longlasting.They have a ruler scale on them as well - actually very handy to see the plunge depth.They have a segment blade - haven't tried that yet, it's about $30 or so, but they also have some 1" (or maybe 3/4") flush blades - those run about $11 each.Anyone bought the cheapo HF blades for their Multimaster yet?At $5 for a 3 pack, unless they are total ####, they might be handy to have around for plunge cutting plaster and drywall.Julian.
FYI - for those (including me) who have the regular, older Fein tool - the Dremel blades at Lowes for $11 fit just fine.
That is good to know. The 3 pack of ecuts at the lumberyard are $97.00 ! Same ones at Amazon are only $42, but that of course requires thinking a few days ahead.
In case some folks don't know about him - check out :http://www.multiblades.com/For aftermarket blades that come highly reccomended.JT
Has anyone run across these Secco brand blades on Ebay? They also have a MM clone:http://cgi.ebay.com/3-Blades-for-Fein-Multimaster-Bosch-SECCO-Multi-tool_W0QQitemZ370150503544QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item370150503544&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50
I just bought 15 blades for $100 from that eBay seller last week and received them in the mail over the weekend. I haven't had an opportunity to try them yet, but I will give them a trial run next weekend (at the latest).
Finally had a chance to try out the Secco brand blades on my MM this weekend. I used the "naileater" and the "japan tooth" blades while installing maple strip flooring this weekend. They held up pretty well. I don't believe the "naileater" is quite as durable as the MM E-cut blades, but considering that I was able to buy them at $6.66 per blade delivered, they are well worth the price. The "japan tooth" blades worked well when cutting into pine and birch jambs and moulding, but had some difficulty with the hard maple flooring.
I used a blade up this morning cutting plaster. Thank god it was from HF ore I would have cried.
So far the blades seem to work OK. I don't own a Fein so I don't know the difference. I like the fact that their blades are cheap!!!!
i love my multimaster. LOOOOOOOOVVVVVEEEE it. if you think it's pricy (it is) look at it this way- it could have been made by festool.
Happy for you. So, tell me what it does the sonic crafter doesn't at half the price. My SS has done all they say and more.
honestly, i don't know. i've never heard of the sonic crafter. but, i've already got the multimaster, and it seems pretty much indestructible, so i'm not going to worry about what it cost as opposed to something else. if i was buying something now, that might be different, but since i know how great the mm is, i'd prolly buy another one.
We shoulda kept our mouths shut. By some of us highly touting the damn thing in the first place, Fein decided to market it to the homo's (homowners). Then, Bosch, PC and the rest saw a grand opportunity to come up with a clone (sortof) to compete.
Now everybody can cut that crown for the new builtin (and all the other uses for the tool) and there's no more magic. Everybody's a Houdini...
Damn, shoulda .............woulda.............coulda.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/