I picked up one of these for $49.95 yesterday. When I got it home I was surprised that it seems to have a soft-start function. The box and instruction manual do not mention it; but there is a brief pause when I turn it on and then it comes up to speed smoothly, similar to a soft start router.
Normal?
RonB
Never mind. I finally found the right Google combination and apparently it is normal.
RonB
Could be an under powered motor struggling to come up to speed. If that tends to go away with use things may have been too tight for the motor. I really can not see a need for a soft start.
I finally found a search combination on Google that got me to a few related reviews and forum comments. It does have a "soft start" feature that is described as anywhere from "nice" to "humorous". I does take a few uses of the machine to get used to it. One rather critical fellow said he starts it, goes to lunch, then comes back to use it :^). Not quite that bad but it takes a full second or more to come to speed.
RonB
I finally found a search combination on Google that got me to a few related reviews and forum comments. It does have a "soft start" feature that is described as anywhere from "nice" to "humorous". I does take a few uses of the machine to get used to it. One rather critical fellow said he starts it, goes to lunch, then comes back to use it :^). Not quite that bad but it takes a full second or more to come to speed.
RonB
If it works and you are satisfied that is all you need especially considering the price. Wishing I had not needed the Fein 5 years ago...
Since I posted earlier this morning I have been in the garage playing with it and various attachments, materials. Durability notwithstanding, I think it is going to be a great tool to have, probably one of those that will find new uses as I go on from here. It appears to have plenty of power and I was very surprised at the control. Their ads show someone doing rather precise cutting on hardwood flooring and I had doubt. But with practice I think that might be feasible, I saw a couple of complaints about noise that I do not understand. Without an attachment, the tool is quiet. Cutting through a piece of plywood scrap with the saw blade was noisy; but that is the speaker-cone effect on the plywood.
Wish I had owned it a year or so ago when we were trimming door frames in the new house.
RonB
Unless the motor is rather gutless and has no significant torque, I appreciate a soft start feature in any hand-held power tool where the start-up torque might cause the tool to wrench and twist in my hand. I don't like surprises.
I am just the opposite. Had I known just how hand this little tool could be, I would have plopped down the $275 they wanted for the stripped down, no box, tool with one blade and a scraper version they were selling at the time.
I have used the absolute crap out of this tool, and this $35 version has paid for itself many times. Even the damn blades are good and seem to last quite well. I never had any idea this tool was so versatile.
I was put off by the price (remember when the variable speed kit with box and accessories was $600 on Amazon?) but then the price of the consumables got me, too. I couldn't see a stamped steel blade for $35 that would have to be replaced on a fairly regular basis. $8, I can stand.
The longer I have it, I wonder how much time and money I would have saved even paying full price for the Fein before their competition hit the streets. Now it doesn't leave the truck.
Robert
I am just the opposite. Had I known just how hand this little tool could be, I would have plopped down the $275 they wanted for the stripped down, no box, tool with one blade and a scraper version they were selling at the time.
I have used the absolute crap out of this tool, and this $35 version has paid for itself many times. Even the damn blades are good and seem to last quite well. I never had any idea this tool was so versatile.
I was put off by the price (remember when the variable speed kit with box and accessories was $600 on Amazon?) but then the price of the consumables got me, too. I couldn't see a stamped steel blade for $35 that would have to be replaced on a fairly regular basis. $8, I can stand.
The longer I have it, I wonder how much time and money I would have saved even paying full price for the Fein before their competition hit the streets. Now it doesn't leave the truck.
Robert
Don't get me wrong I love the Fein, I just wish I would have had the choices of less expensive that todays market offers.
When I sold my countertop company, everything went along with it. I have a lot of projects which require tools. Darnitall. I bought the cheap multitool... and would under no circumstances buy a Fein at this stage of the game. But I did buy one years ago, and it made me a lot more efficient. Great tool. (Imagine taking out a countertop by cutting it with a jigsaw, grabbing the Fein and cutting that last 2 inches to the wall...THAT alone saved me countless hours and damaged walls. I am amazed how good those 8 dollar blades are.
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