On 9/19/15 5:41 PM, J. Clarke wrote:
In article ,
says...

I know this group and what a huge can of worms I just opened up,
but we'll see if I can though this with any actual information.
:-D

I have the Harbor Freight and I wrote the book on it. It is well
documented in here that I have been its staunchest defender. So
even though it probably will, I would like this thread to not
quickly escalate into the same, tired, old, rehashed over and over
again too many times already, HF multitool debate. :-) After
probably eight years with the thing, it's still going strong, but
I'm looking to upgrade for a few reasons.

1. Noise & Heat. The HF gets so hot you could fry an egg on it.
Plus, it's so fricken loud!!! 2. The new oscillating tools I've
seen have a quick release and that's very appealing to me. 3. I'm
hoping the brand name tools actually perform better. After using
the HF for so long, I think I will able to very quickly determine
if this is the case.

So again, this may a be futile request, but I would like opinions
about oscillating tools from those who have actually used them. I'm
looking for quieter, cooler, faster, non-tool blade release, and
probably NOT battery operated, although I might be able to be
convinced.

Blade universality isn't that important since most have adapters
or already accept all blades.

LAST THING: I already know Festool is the best and Fein is a
close second. But I don't have six hundred bucks to spend on an
oscillating tool. All the other brands have options under $150, so
I'm sticking with those.

Festool _is_ Fein--their oscillating tool is a rebadged Fein
Supercut-- the Supercut is Fein's "pro" line and it's actually
somewhat specialized--it's not really any better for general purpose
use than the Multimaster.

And I'm not sure where you're getting six hundred bucks. Home Depot
has the Fein 250 Start for $179 (if you can find one--it's
discontinued) and the 350 Start for $199. Starting price on the
Supercut is under $400.

Note that "Start" refers to the accessory bundle--there are three
kits for the Multimaster--"Start", "Systainer", and "Top"--which
differ in accessories. According to the Fein site the "Systainer"
version has the same accessories as the "Top" but comes in a
systainer instead of the purpose-made Fein case. That one is
available from Coastal Tool
http://www.coastaltool.com/a/fein/fmm350q-systainer.htm for
$269.00 and is the package I'd recommend as the value of the
accessories included is considerably more than the price difference
between that and the "Start". Note that Coastal is a
brick-and-mortar store local to me where I do most of my tool
shopping, but also has a thriving online business.

Personally I'm mostly happy with my Fein (which I got from
Coastal)--I got the last model before they went to the "star" blade
mount and wish it would die so I'd have an excuse to get one with the
new mount, but it just keeps chugging on. Other than the old mount,
which slips, it's an amazing tool that is far far more versatile than
I realized when I got it.

If Fein went out of business and my Fein died, I'd have to do some
research to figure out what to replace it with.



I threw $600 out there because that's what the Festool kit at
Woodcraft was going for when I stopped in. If I'm willing to throw $150
at the Bosch, I will have to take a closer look at the Fein starter kit
for $179.

Thanks for the info.


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

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