Metabo Multitool

[damienhazo]

Haven't posted for a while but I moved house a couple of months back and finally got round to packing my Metabo Multitool collection in a cabinet. It's been lying around in the cellar for a couple of weeks and the missus was getting sick of having to navigate around the stuff. Anyway, I thought I'd take a few pics and post 'em.

This stuff originated in post war Germany around half a century ago, at a time when motors were expensive and people didn't have much money. The idea was to drive several tools with one drill. I've got three generations of the stuff (light green, grey and silver) due to my various eBay acquisitions and I find it interesting to see how the basic idea evolved over several decades.

The drills powered everything from planers to sanders to even lawn mowers! Here's a couple of photos showing most of my Multitool collection:

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While some of the stuff can be considered obsolete, much of it is extremely well thought through, quality made tooling. No-one over here seems terribly interested so I just snap it up from time to time...

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This is the basic unit._____________With a saw blade._____________As a saw bench (note the fine adjusters on the fences). Tilted table for angle cuts.

Here's something interesting: you can tilt the table 90° in the other direction and stand the whole thing up so it becomes a drill press. Has a nice long spring-loaded plunge and a depth stop. Can also be locked off for milling.

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This is the lathe and this is the scroll saw

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This is the blade sharpener. Bee's knees actually. Uses an offset circle to drive a sled with depth and retraction control. (Absolutely love this!)

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This is a drill sharpener that works very nicely. A planer blade sharpening assembly that's brilliant! An air pump that's handy for pumping up tyres when you don't want to lug a real compressor around.

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This belt sander (got to get around to getting some belts) is very clever. They built a special attachement that can be turned 90° and added in various places to allow for some very handy flexibility.

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This is the router table. Got the 6 speed Metabo up in there. The back of these drills produce 22,000 rpm when you select '0' on the gear wheel. Drives a 6mm collet which basically means I never use it...

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So that's about it. A few bits and pieces there not worth mentioning but all in all, some nice examples of ingenuity, quality casting and attention to detail from a bygone era.

Cheers (Prost!)

Damien

[crowie]

G'Day Damien,
That's surely one ubeaut machine you've got there.
Yes you can seethe quality in the machine through and through.
Plus one hell of a workshop too, in the background of your photos.
Thanks for the great story.
What are you doing so far from home?
Cheers, Crowie

"GO THE MAROONS"

[Astrodog]

Great stuff.... where do you find the room to keep it all!?? Love Metabo stuff, I'm almost wishing my old Makita drill to croak so I can add to my Metabo collection!

[beer is good]

Danke Damien,
Yes when costs were high and wages were low multi-use tools were more common. Your Metabo collection is fascinating and in very good condition. But I would be a bit nervous about using the little saw bench.
Where are you in Germany? Anywhere near the Festools factory?

[mic-d]

Holy cow! and here I was thinking it was going to be about a Fein or Bosch multitool clone:oo: That's an amazing collection.:2tsup: Thanks for sharing.

[Batpig]

Dear Damien,

That's quite incredible...:2tsup: That's possilby enough to even make Herr Gerhard drool...
Ahhh, those Krauts - you canna' keep 'em down!...:no: (They probably even did a drill-powered Tank or two during the Interwar years...:rolleyes:)

Hmmm, some really tasteful Tool- in the background too, it should be noted...:D

Best Wishes,
Batpig.

[damienhazo]

(They probably even did a drill-powered Tank or two during the Interwar years...:rolleyes:)

They had a couple in WWII but the couldn't seem to get the extension cords to reach farther than Stalingrad... :wink:

[gerhard]

Hi Damien,

my compliments, brilliant display and valuable range of pics, as is customary in your posts! I don't have such complete kits like these myself, only the tool attachments and the drill models of course. Attachments and stationary layouts for DIY users weren't exclusively German, there was also quite a range from Wolf UK, B&D from UK/USA , Skil from USA/NL and Peugeot from France.
Metabo, though, had the vastest range from early on. They outclassed their direct competitors AEG and Bosch in both versatility and quality-in-detail. Though i doubt that Metabo made all of it. I think that some of the pedestal platework and castings were outsourced from other manufacturers.
I never really looked into which manufacturer was the true pioneer in DIY attachments and stationary machines with a drill as power source. Might be fun and interesting to make an attempt.

Kress from Germany had a slightly different approach, they brought out a motor unit with a pistol grip, to be combined with several drive units (jigsaw, sander, bench grinder, circular saw). The peculiar thing about these Kress machines was, that the typical drill gear box was also a separate attachment. It came with the standard base purchase, but "motor unit" could be taken literally here. I'm still trying to find a decent copy. Our Dutch warehouse chain Vroom & Dreesmann used to sell them under their own "Vendex" label, some 35 years ago.
These DIY-machines were never big sellers and V&D eventually let them go at cheap-as-sand prices. I was tempted, but decided to invest in better quality solutions than that (i my saved my money to buy an AEG SB2E-600). I could have had the Kress tool for very little and now that's it's rare, i'm looking for it. Funny thing, eh?

German household appliance manufacturer Krups was another firm to come up with an odd multifunction-solution. They brought out a kitchen mixer/quirl that could double as an electric drill. When the lady was finished whisking the eggs for an omelet, the gent released the paddles with the push button on top and inserted a drill chuck on an axle stub, which had the same bajonet fitting. Since quirl paddles are counter-rotating, you could easily choose left or right hand turning by sticking the chuck in either drive hole. Whereas these appliances normally have motors ranging from 100 to 200 Watts, Krups cranked this particular model up to 400 Watts.

Looking forward to more of your cellar treasures.

Schönen Grüssen aus Amsterdam!

gerhard

P.S., Porter-Cable experimented with a drill powered toy tank. Turned out for the good ....the belt sander, hahaha! (just bullsh*tting, but i couldn't resist)

[damienhazo]

Kress from Germany had a slightly different approach, they brought out a motor unit with a pistol grip, to be combined with several drive units (jigsaw, sander, bench grinder, circular saw). The peculiar thing about these Kress machines was, that the typical drill gear box was also a separate attachment. It came with the standard base purchase, but "motor unit" could be taken literally here. I'm still trying to find a decent copy.


I had some of that Kress stuff: jigsaw, sander and a drill - all like new. Olive green and black. Can't remember what it's called - somehting with 'X'. Gave it to my neighbour. It was actually quite impressive. Had a spring-loaded lever that locked the drive and the tool together. The motor was powerful and really got the sander going I can tell you.

I have an AEG all in one thingy: lathe, drill press, etc.,. I should take a pic of it sometime 'cause it's never been used and is a really nice example of the system. Oh damn, now I've got to go and take a pic don't I?...

Here we go:

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Great for the kids when they want to start out...

[gerhard]

Great, thanks! Full marks again, haha! And yes, there was an X involved in the Kress system, and there were several generations of it, with different models and designs.

[Batpig]

They had a couple in WWII but the couldn't seem to get the extension cords to reach farther than Stalingrad... :wink:


P.S., Porter-Cable experimented with a drill powered toy tank. Turned out for the good ....the belt sander, hahaha!

Love it! Love it!...:D :2tsup:

[damienhazo]

Schönen Grüssen aus Amsterdam!

Hi Gerhard,

Just wanted to say that I was in Amsterdam the other day for a mate's buck's party. Well it actually went from Friday morning till Sunday evening so it was more a buck's weekend. Needless to say, I consumed a lot of 'blueberry' 'bubblegum' with my mate 'Lemon Larry' in between enjoying the capital's 'coffee' in the cafes.

Stayed in Amsterdam Cribs right in the middle of it all and had a bloody great time! Was amazing to see so many people intoxicated and no fighting. Must be something in the air?

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[ClintO]

I remember in the late 60s my Dad had an AEG drill which had planer , jig saw and a couple of other attachments. Nothing quite as impressive as the Metabo setup
TYrying to balance a tool with a great big drill sticking out was a bit awkward

[damienhazo]

I had some of that Kress stuff: jigsaw, sander and a drill - all like new. Olive green and black. Can't remember what it's called - somehting with 'X'.

It was called: X-MAL-CLICK. How do I know this? 'Cause I just bagged a whole box full of the stuff in eBay. Best of all? It's NEVER been used!

The system was developed by KRESS and it's actually pretty impressive. The stuff I bought on eBay (86 Euro) is the 3rd generation black and blue series. How this box set managed to go 30 years without being used is a mystery to me. I thought I'd better take a few pics now because I plan on using it should a suitable situation arrise...

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Uses a simple bayonnet-type attachement that makes exchanging the tool extremely quick and easy. Ideal for those small jobs away from the workshop where you're not exactly sure what you'll be needing... Just grab the box and you've got everything you need!

Damien

[A Duke]

Hi,
What a surprise, I was reading along with great interest when I realised it was a rather old post and wondered who and why it had been resurrected, and the last thing I expected was the original poster to be adding to it like it had never stopped.
I did not know there were that many multi tools made, I was only aware of the Wolf Cub and the Black and Decker. I longed for the Wolf Cub as a school kid and bought a Black and Decker and some attachments (all of which I still have in working order) when I started earning my own income.
Congratulations on that score you made there. As you say there must be a story as to why it was never used.
Regards

[Bob38S]

Hi Damien, good to see you are still at the collecting and restoring business.

Love the Metabo collection as I was only aware of a couple of attachments.

Regards,
Bob