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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Sunshine Coast
    Age
    64
    Posts
    212

    Default Multi tool recommendations

    Gday all

    As I'm now restoring 100+ year old sash windows, I need to get around to buying a multi tool.
    I already use Makita 18V tools.
    Have had a Bosch green 240V unit, but was very noisy.
    Do I buy Makita 18V, Bosch Blue, Fein, or other?
    Anything I buy will be expected to perform professionally on a regular basis.
    Thanks

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Langwarrin
    Age
    43
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    952

    Default

    I have had a Fein for about 6 years now and I consider it bulletproof. Always performs and has never let me down (I'm a carpenter). I have used other brands but I find the Fein feels more solid than anything else I have looked at.
    I think the noise is more the style of tool rather than a fault in a particular brand.
    I have not ever used a cordless one so can't comment on a Makita 18v

    I'll certainly be replacing mine with another the same when it eventually dies. I know they're quite a bit more expensive than other brands, and until I saw you said it was being used professionally I wasn't going to recommend it....but you can justify the extra $$ if it's for work

    I'm sure other brands do their job, but this is my experience

    Cheers
    Gab
    "All the gear and no idea"

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    6,954

    Default

    W,h,s
    Or the makita
    I've used both professionally for years.
    And I can be hard on work tools.
    They need to perform if I'm going to make money of them.

    Cheers Matt


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Gold Coast Australia
    Age
    67
    Posts
    519

    Default

    If you settle on a fein I have one I no longer need that I may be willing to part with. PM if interested.

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Sunshine Coast
    Age
    64
    Posts
    212

    Default

    Hi George

    I've sent you a PM

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Bundaberg
    Age
    54
    Posts
    3,399

    Default

    I have a corded Blue Bosch that I blew the gearbox out of last year; maybe one day I'll get around to fixing it.

    I replaced it with an AEG 18V "Omnitool" as I already have a few of their cordless tools; and Bunnies were selling off the spare multitool heads so I now have a spare also. This tool is more lightweight than the Bosch.

    To be frank; the multitool only really excels in two areas; it can flush trim and it can cut square holes. Anything else can be done by another tool; usually better. If you can definitely see a real need for one then I would go for a Fein; they are much more robust than anything else on the market.
    Nothing succeeds like a budgie without a beak.

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Canberra
    Posts
    5,124

    Default

    If I were you and if George is willing to part with his Fein, then Id grab it.

    In your other thread I was following it from Post #1 but didnt want to comment early as I tend to go overboard. If a simple window sash counterweight fix is to be done... well, my wife will tell you it turns into a reglasing, a complete paint job, replacing cornice, paint the room, polish the floors, new electrical switches and hinges on the doors.... totally overboard!

    Ive done two houses (grandmothers and aunts) with windows repairs like your other thread: Repair 107 year old sash cord and wish I had the fien then.

    The fien excels at doing renovations and doing tricky tidyup and cuts, especially the job you are doing on the window.

    When you remove the front panel to access the counterwight you end up cutting off a ton of paint and left with a job of tidying up all the mess. The fien will do all the paint cutting and post-job fix up very nicely.

    I first bought it when I moved to Canberra 6 years ago for fixing up where I live now. The paint job was an utter horror story and the renovation work left me dispondant. It was bought at Sydney Tools soon after and it absolutely ripped through the work. The bulk sanding used a Festool ROS125. The fien is for detail and fiddly bits.

    At the time the sanding pads and cutters needed a kidney donation to buy, but that has changed drastically now.

    Keep in mind I believe that the promotional videos show completely unrealistic usages for the tool. To do bulk sanding and big cuts is stupid. Its a scalpel, not a broadsword and when used in combo with a regualr ROS sander it is a magic tool.

    The sandpaper and backing pads simply hate heat, so a light touch in necessary. The timber cutters are OK and the ceramic cutters and masonary-sanding/dressers are great for tiling jobs.

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Sunshine Coast
    Age
    64
    Posts
    212

    Default

    Thanks for all the info.
    Yes, the simple job of replacing a sash cord is becoming a larger project by the hour.
    Old houses [emoji537] tend to do that.

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Victoria
    Age
    47
    Posts
    52

    Default

    My only advice is consider the variable speed option that best suits your use. I have Makita 18v tools but found the Makita multitools were all speed controlled via a dial, which is a real nuisance if trying to plunge cut or do more delicate work. I've also got a cheaper Ryobi cordless that uses a variable speed trigger which uses the slower starts to advantage in a plunge cut, but lacks the options of general sanding, grout removal etc. that the speed dial models give.

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2001
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    10,803

    Default

    I have not tried the others, but I have a green Bosch, and find this very acceptable. Keep in mind that it comes out very occasionally for home reno work. It is not a furniture-building tool. I recently used it to sand into the corners of cabinetry I restored, and to aid in removing tiles in a kitchen. I plan to use it in a while to remove grout between floor tiles in a bathroom (so as to remove a few tiles which have cracked).


    With this particular machine, I purchased the dust collection accessory (why does it not come as standard), which works quite well (when using sanding disks). The machine uses the same cutters, etc as Fein and others (but the Bosch ones are excellent and better value-for-money). I find it quite a lot less noisy than most other similar machines (still, I cannot imagine anyone not using ear and dust protection anyway). The price was right (especially for a tool that gets limited use). Were I to be offered a Fein for the same price, based on reputation I would jump at it. Otherwise I am satisfied.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  12. #11
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Bundaberg
    Age
    54
    Posts
    3,399

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by derekcohen View Post
    I have not tried the others, but I have a green Bosch, and find this very acceptable. I plan to use it in a while to remove grout between floor tiles in a bathroom (so as to remove a few tiles which have cracked).
    That's how my Blue Bosch bit the dust. Admittedly I was pushing the tool hard but I was somewhat annoyed that it crapped itself.
    Nothing succeeds like a budgie without a beak.

  13. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    Newcastle
    Posts
    498

    Default

    I have a Hitachi CV350V(H1), for me it was the best value as it came with a case, a couple of bits, 3yr warranty and has speed control with feedback. The auto mode is a bit silly, it seems to hunt a bit on tile grout, may work better under more load, doing plunge cuts, chopping nails etc.

    It is loud and feels okay in the hand but I think a fein would be a lot nicer, still, for the money I am happy with the hitachi, it is nicer than the Renovator I borrowed from a builder. I have also used a Milwaukee battery one and it was great, not sure if any of the Makitas have tool-less blade change, they usually seem to be one of the last to adopt tool-less blade changes in their battery stuff for some reason.

    EDIT- I got mine from Sydney Tools, they are by far the cheapest in my area and their staff* are the most knowledgeable...........by far!
    *One guy is a no nothing know it all, so I avoid him.

    https://sydneytools.com.au/by-brand/...i/multi_tools/

    This fantastic man does a tear down on the fein, I love his vids- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFwURUE-Fu8

  14. #13
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    se Melbourne
    Age
    62
    Posts
    2,567

    Default

    I have both a Bosch corded and a Makita 18v cordless.
    My original Bosch died, so I replaced it with another. Got the cordless to do a job where there was no power and I was up a ladder working on eaves.
    No problems with the Makita except it seems to drain the battery if left in when not in use. The Bosch has built in dustport if sanding, for the Makita it is an accessory.
    Sometimes it is as much about the tool bit as the tool to operate the bit.

  15. #14
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Central Coast NSW Australia
    Posts
    1,136

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by derekcohen View Post


    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    I'll second that. I bought one of these for the express purpose of making a new Disston saw handle. That very blade was most usefull.

    TT
    Learning to make big bits of wood smaller......

  16. #15
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    San Antonio, Texas, USA
    Posts
    3,070

    Default

    Fein
    Innovations are those useful things that, by dint of chance, manage to survive the stupidity and destructive tendencies inherent in human nature.

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