RicodJour wrote:
On Jun 19, 3:30 pm, "HeyBub" wrote:
BillGill wrote:
HeyBub wrote:
BillGill wrote:
I'm just going to discuss the blades briefly. You can buy them
anywhere, but based on my experience with HF's reciprocating saw
blades I wouldn't bother buying them there. When I got my
reciprocating saw I got a package of the cheap blades and they
were just about worthless. In fact I am happy with the saw, since
I am not a professional and only use it
occasionally. But I buy good blades, wherever I happen to be. The
blades are definitely the biggest expense for a saw. I expect for
the multi-tool it will be just about the same. You can shop around
for less expensive blades, but don't go too cheap.

"Blade" is a bit of a misnomer for these multi-function tools.
They're not really "blades" in the sense we're used to thinking
about. They're not sharp, they don't really "cut" (more like gnaw).
You can't really "dull" them, since they're "dull" to begin with.
You CAN wear the cutting blade down to where it has no teeth, but
then you have a brand-new "scraper" blade!

Conversely, you can take a "scraper" blade and notch it with a
Dremel rotary tool and have a brand-new "cutting" blade.

It's so confusing.

About the closest thing to which I can compare the cutting blades
is a stiff, thin, wire brush.

The shape of the blade may not make a difference, but the material
might. I figure that was the big problem with the blade pack I got
at HF.

Possibly, but the blades you got for your reciprocating saw are not
the same kind of blades as those for the multi-function tool. For
example, the MF blades don't get dull.

For the MF tool, you could probably make your own blades out of
beer-can metal and they'd work just as well.

You're just flat out making stuff up and/or extrapolating from little
use/experience and basing your advice on that.

There's almost nothing in the tool world where "all steel is created
equal". If you're starting with crap blades, I'd bet that they work
as crap blades and die like crap blades, so maybe you could cut up
beer cans to make blades and not notice a difference.

I've tried aftermarket blades on the Fein, and there's little doubt
the Fein blades are better quality steel. The blades are also sharp -
at least the E-cut blades are - so I really don't know what you're
talking about. There's a guy online who posted about making his own
MF tool blades from Japanese saw blades. I haven't tried that, but
the Fein steel is in the same ballpark as your standard Japanese saw
blade steel.

The Bosch blades I've used are pretty good, but not as good as the
Fein. The Harbor Freight blades aren't worth the shipping charge. I
keep trashed blades on hand for trash work, but sometimes you have to
sacrifice a blade.

Blades are consumables and are a cost of doing business - even if
you're not getting paid for it, it's still the cost of doing
business. I had to cut off an old brass steam radiator valve that was
stuck in the corner of two walls. It was in a bathroom and access was
very limited. I couldn't get big ass wrenches on the thing, tried a
torch to loosen it up, nothing worked. If I got too heavy-handed I'd
end up breaking loose the nipple somewhere down in the floor, and I'd
have never known it until there was a big problem with mold or other
rot. I wasn't about to rip up tile or rip out the ceiling below.

Out came the Fein and a good metal cutting blade. I cut through the
valve vertically (perpendicular to the threads) in two places and made
a horizontal cut along the top of the two cuts. I had to cut through
~3/8" of old brass and it did take a while, but it worked and worked
beautifully. I had a strong light on the cut and I could see just
where the nipple threads started to telegraph through the brass in the
kerf. I took off the valve with the wrench and was _very_ pleased to
see that there was not a single mark on the nipple threads.

The MF tool took a little longer but was far more controllable than
any other tool. The variable speed was indispensable, as was the
quality blade. I essentially killed a $25 blade, but I would have
burnt through five or six of the crap blades, maybe two or three of
the Bosch blades. Still, for $25 I got a factory job and peace of
mind.

You are happy with your HF MF tool to cut pumpkins and the like, and
that's great, but you have no experience with a higher quality tool,
so you shouldn't go making blanket statements based on nothing more
than your emotions. That's some sort of advice - certainly not good
advice.


Thanks for playing "Guess the posters attitudes and experiences."
Unfortunately, you didn't win. Better luck next time.

I have used quality tools. In fact, I own TWO Stanley screwdrivers! (I used
to have three, but one grew legs. I suspect my worthless brother-in-law was
somehow involved since he has a screwdriver that looks suspiciously like the
one I used to have.)

You are correct about varying quality in steel. The usual trade-off is
hardness vs. brittlness. Harder steel lasts longer but is prone to
shattering - more malleable steel won't break, but won't hold an edge. Think
carving knive vs butter knife.

In your experience of using up a $25 dollar blade vs five or six $2.00
blades (HF 3 for $6), I'm sure there's an economic lesson there we should
all consider.

I'm glad it all worked for you.

P.S.

Just finished another experiment.

I took a "scraping" blade about 2" wide and notched it with a rotary dremel.
Cut about 20 notches, each about 1/16" deep.

The resulting modified blade cuts wood.

Not as fast as if it had pointed teeth instead of notches, but it DOES cut.