fein multimaster

[bob]

good morning,has anyone had experience of using the above and if so what they thought of it and fein tools in particular,tia

[Roger Mills]

Yes, I've got one. It's an excellent all round tool for the sort of jobs[1] which it does well - but rather over-priced. There is a cheaper Bosch tool which does more or less the same job, and the likes of Lidl and Aldi offer even cheaper alternatives from time to time.

[1] I find it particularly useful for cutting jobs - such as cutting neat holes for switches in plasterboard, cutting through the tongues of floorboards prior to lifting them, and cutting through pipes in inaccessible places. The scraper is also good on old paint and varnish, etc. It does a good job of detail sanding, but there are much cheaper ways of doing that if that is *all* you want to do.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

If you already have all the conventional power tools, well worth having. There's not much it will do you can't do in other ways - but it will be faster for many of them. It looks like it will last forever. If you don't actually use it much a cheaper copy might make more sense.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd not find it worth getting out of the box for that - a padsaw does the job easily.

[Roger Mills]

Each to his own! In my view the Fein does a much neater job and disturbs the board a lot less because the cutting strokes are in the plane of the plasterboard rather than perpendicular to it.

[The Medway Handyman]

I have the Bosch PMF 180 - a cheaper copy. Only downside to these tools IMO is the price of the blades. Bosch are cheaper than Fein, but still very expensive for what they are - and they don't last that long.

However, there are some jobs where they are an absolute godsend.

Got a panic call yesterday from a regular customer who couldn't get her (timber) conservatory door open. She couldn't get out into the garden - more importantly neither could her dog!

Turned out to be a rack bolt stuck, removed the escutcheon (lovely word that) & had a look - the mechanism had collapsed leaving the bolt in the keeper. Outward opening door.

Tried to pry it out, no joy.

I was able to remove the jamb & use the Bosch to cut out a pocket of timber around the offending rack bolt & with a pry bar managed to open the door leaving the rack bolt in the frame. Because of the very fine kerf of the blade, I was able to glue the timber back in. Bit of filler & some sanding & you will never see it.

Can't think of any other type of tool that would have done the same.

[John Rumm]

Yup, I find mine ideal for tasks like lifting floorboards and other cut in situ operations. Very handy for cutting out sections of tiles or degrouting etc.

More general info here:

[Pete Verdon]

I used my Aldidl copy today for some tricky fibreglass cutting on a boat. Can't think how I would have done it with any other tool; with the multimaster it was dead easy, very precise, no drama at all.

I'm a fan.

Pete

[Dave Liquorice]

cutting

And the multimaster will plunge cut which a pad saw won't so you have to drill a hole to start with a pad saw. I don't have a multimaster (yet...) so the hole and pad saw is may current plasterboard method.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I was assuming you'd already have a drill present for the box fixings. By the time you've got the Fein out of its box and fitted the correct blade the job would be done with a padsaw.

Of course it might be more fun to make the hole with the Fein...

[dom]

Mine rarely goes back in its box - too damn useful.

Whilst technically true that anything the Fein can do, can be done with a chisel and saw - awkward cut-outs (usually involving hanging upside-down in a void) are much quicker and less tiring with a power tool.

For joinery-standard work, I'm going to produce considerably better results with a chisel - but only if access is reasonable, I'm not working at the very limit of my reach etc.

But if it's not joinery standard work, or for people that aren't good at accurate work with a hand chisel, or for speed - I'd recommend the Fein.

(Other brands may be as good etc - no experience of them - other than to say Bosch blades in my old model Fein are just as good).

[Dave Liquorice]

multimaster

method.

I'd be using a drywall box (no screws, clips to the plastboard) unless I knew there was something to screw the box to in which case it would just a be a screwdriver...

I guess if you are fixing to dot 'n dabbed plaster board you might have a SDS nearby to cut the block/brick back but then you'd not really have the clearance behind to use a pad saw effectively.

[dennis]

[Dave Liquorice]

multimaster

method.

NO!!!

14 stitches (8 across one 6 across another) the last time my fingers encountered a stanley knife and plaster board. That was 10 years ago and I still have no touch/pain feeling in the end 1/2" or so of one finger, it does have hot/cold though.

[John Rumm]

Mine goes back in the box - but a blade stays on it, so its ready for use.

You can't cut a thin kerf with a chisel...

Its fair to say its less useful as a cabinet building tool.

[AlanD]

I have the Fein, which is great for cut in-situ jobs like others have mentioned. I've used it for cutting architrave and skirting prior to laying wood flooring, floor board tongues, boards that go under walls right up against the wall (circular saw couldn't get close enough), plastic door sills etc etc etc. I also have the sanding kit for it which was great at getting paint off mouldings on a staircase and doors.

I've also used a friend's Bosch clone, which seemed more noisy and less efficient at cutting, could have been rubbish blades though!

[John Rumm]

I have used the Bosch blades on the Fein, and they seem as good as the real ones. This is however the second comment I have seen that suggested the Bosch does not perform as well as the Fein. Difficulty seems to be is that few folks have used more than one model/brand to be able to make and objective comparison.

[Zen83237]

I have a Fein and then bought a Bosch to do one special job. The Bosch has a option for a much narrower blade. The Bosch is cheaper but nowhere near as good as the Fein. The only down side with the Fein is that I can never get the damn finger sanding pads to stay stuck on.

Kevin

[Edgar Iredale]

8> I have a Fein and then bought a Bosch to do one special job. The Bosch has

Can you identify what makes the Fein better? Is it better at doing the job (faster action? more or less throw on the blade? longer lasting blades?), better equipped (more blades?) or is it that it seems a better lasting machine?

Edgar

[The Medway Handyman]

I only have the Bosch, so I'd like to know as well. Is it just build quality?