As previously stated, I have only owned the one Bosch cordless so I cannot compare apples and corded apples
As for the recharge time, it's fairly quick but unless I'm running it under heavy load constantly - which is rarely the case - I don't need to recharge it while working a project. As I said, I've NEVER had down time due to waiting around for a recharge. YMMV of course depending on usage.
Weakness as in quick change of blade or have you run into another problem with it?
Admittedly, I'd probably like a quick change option on it but as someone else mentioned in passing, "what you make on bananas, you lose on grapes" (or something very similar). Sometimes the quick change artistry leaves much to be desired in terms of strength and durability. At least when I torque down the blade on my Bosch, I know it's going to hold solid.
Now you've done it. Crap, that thing uses the batteries I already have for my Bosch drill. BTW, the new ones have a tool-less, instant change mechanism.
I think cordless makes a lot of sense for tools with regular use and certainly they are more convenient.
I prefer corded for a tool that does not see a lot of action.
In the mid 80's my wife gave me a right angle 1/4" reversible Makita cordless drill. It did not see a lot of use and therefore after it was
3~4 years old the battery always had to be recharged before use.The tool that gets about the same amount of use is my corded Fein Multimaster. I'm certainly glad it is corded and only for that reason.
Now let me backpedal.
I build a lot. I use my Domino extensively. I use the Domino to reinforce the rabbit joints on drawers with a minimum of 2 on each corner of each drawer. Day before yesterday I plunge cut 48 mortises after gluing up the drawers to reinforce the joints. The plunge with the 5mm bit is limited to less than the length of the 5mm domino tenon.
If I do not shorten the tenons before hammering them in they have to be cut after the fact.
Doing this with the TS is possible but you get tenons ends flying out like bullets all over the shop. You have limited capacity of doing this with the BS. This leaves cutting with a Japanese saw which takes way too long. You can sand them down but shortening half an inch of tenon tends to tear up the sand paper quickly.
The solution that I have repeated is to use my 12" disk sander to quickly shorten the length of the tenons before hammering them in to the mortises. Still this is imprecise and you often end up with a few that stand tall and I tear my disk sand paper.
Given all the steps start to finish to reinforce drawer joints with Domino tenons I was considering making all future drawers with box joints or DT's. These are more trouble than plain old rabbit joints but probably faster and less trouble than using the Domino tenons, consider all the steps involved.
Then, day before yesterday I thought about my Fein multimeter. On this time with the 48 tenons on the 6 drawers I put them in full length and there fore eliminated having to shorten them on the disk sander and trimmed all of them just a hair proud of flush after hammering them in.
Daaaaamn, 2~3 seconds per tenon and very little cleanup sanding at all.
It only took me about 115 drawers to figure that out. But who is counting?
Rambling on, maybe I'll sell my Fein Multimaster and get a cordless one with the tool-less feature. Naaaaaaa. ;~)
The Multimaster has certainly been a life saver and that can pay for the tool with only a few times of use but now I will no longer be sanding those tenons to length.
Just the blade change. It's hex key and there is no place on the tool to store it. It's just a minor PITA.
Sure. The other issue is the blades themselves. Some are not compatible with the Bosch, though that doesn't seem to be as much of a problem any more.
>
I didn't know that. Thanks! I guess there is nothing that says that a tool can't be upgraded in five years.
Why? If you're worried about battery self-discharge, LiIon all but solved that problem. They have a half-life of something like two years. Multiple tools using the same batteries also mitigate any such problems.
I probably have the same drill. It wasn't a huge issue because I also had a drill and 3-3/8" circular saw using the same batteries. The batteries didn't last all that long and were expensive, so replaced the drill. If I need the right-angle drill or cut off saw, I'll need to buy new batteries anyway. ...and the next time. ...and the next.
But LiIon batteries don't have a rapid discharge. Even if you don't use it for a year, it'll still have something more than half charge.
;-)
For that use, I probably wouldn't mind a corded tool. All of the work is being done in the shop and there is already plenty of power around. Multi-tools tend to be used all over the house, though. It's nice to not have to haul extension cords around. For many jobs, hauling everything out and putting it away takes half the time.
Last week I was putting fold-down extensions on my down spouts. I needed to trim about 10" off the downspouts, add the splash blocks, and rivet the mess back together. Hauling an extension cord around the house would have been a PITA. I have cordless drills for this reason, the cordless multi-tool is a perfect match. I also have a small circular saw, for the same reason. I'll probably get a cordless saber or reciprocating saw one of these days, too.
How about cutting them to length before use?
Understood but I have a Bosch impact that came with 2 Li-Ion batteries. Probably 7 years old. Both batteries were toast a couple of months ago so I bought 1 OEM replacement. I got the Bosch when I already had a Makita impact that was on my second set of batteries. anyway I seldom use the Bosch, 18 volt. I preferred the 12 volt Makita. Some how or another I must have won the Bosch as there was no explanation.
The Festool Li-Ion batteries are still going strong and they are almost
4 years old.Tried that too, but the TS shot those too and I was not comfortable with repeated cutting something about 1 1/4" long and 3/16 thick and 3/4 wide down to 5/8" in length and that would be a set up for repeated cuts and really in the long run not IMHO faster than 2~3 seconds it takes to cut them with the Fein after being glued in place.
I have all three Bosch 12V tools (drill, driver, and Impactor, though no batteries came with the drivers) and picked up five or six more, cheap, when the BORG stopped selling Bosch. One or two died very early so that leaves eight or so. It's been at least four years, so they've held up well.
LiIon batteries last a long time. They're more limited by charge cycles than time.
That's what they invented these things called "jigs" for. ;-) I'd be worried about slipping and gouging the work piece all to hell.
I have the (or a) Rockwell machine. Universal head. I can buy what is out there for sale and use it.
It rocks. I got it to replace an exterior vent to the drier that was RTV'd onto brick. But haven't gotten to that job, but plenty of others.
It surprised my wife on how easy it was to use and got some looks like she might use it someday herself.
Possible - she has a nice drill and other tools for work on the house... (I use them mostly).
Martin
Tell that to the 5~7 charge cycles each of those batteries went through. Remember, I seldom used that impact compared to the Makita. I will give you that Li-Ion batteries do tend to out last others but they do have a limited life regardless of how many charge cycles they get.
Noooo no no. The blade is offset from the attachment point so you can lay the bottom of the blade flat on the work. The "wood only" blades teeth have very little set so there is no issue with damaging the surface. Piece of cake.
Everything has a lifetime but LiIon batteries should last a decade (or ~500-1000 cycles). There are early failures in any battery and LiIons are particularly prone, due to the protection circuitry not used for other battery chemistries.
The blade doesn't scratch the work?
No, not if you hold the blade flat on the work. It all, the joints, still needs to be sanded afterwards, I just do that last.
LiIon 18 volt
Snip
No, not if you keep the blade flat. I not using the blade that cuts metals too. I am using the strictly wood cutting blades with a offset flat.
I have little use for one of these, as my remodeling days are long gone, I thought. My wife forced me into gutting our bathroom and I borrowed my buddies HF multi-tool to cut the door moldings to accommodate the new ceramic tile floor. It was really loud, but worked fine. Later, I was at HF to get some cheap batteries on sale, and they had the Multi-tool on sale for a price I couldn't pass up. Anyway, I did actually use the thing twice, and it worked fine, but, it was MUCH quieter than my buddies. Not sure if it was because it was new, or not used much. My buddy said he used his a lot, which I doubt.
If you seldom use it, I would get the HF. If you use it a lot, I'd spend 10x's as much and get a decent one. If you make a living using this on a daily basis, use your best judgement. I think they changed the way the blades mount from the old ones, but I can't say for sure. I was watching a contractor use one, not sure what brand, but it was loud as hell, so don't count on any of them being too quiet.
I have 2 HF tools, this thing, which I rarely use, an air pin nailer/staple gun which I also seldom use, but it works when I use it. If it weren't for HF, I wouldn't own either of these tools, but they almost give them away.
On a whim, I bought the Fein 350Q for $200 and WOW.... just wow. As for my criteria... It's remarkably quiet for an oscillating multitool. No discernible heat whatsoever. The quick release is a thing of beauty. So easy and fast, it is no longer even a second thought whether to reposition or change blades. I just do it. It's about as fast as changing hand position. As for performing better than the HF. Well, it costs 15x as much and easily performs 15x as well, as I always suspected. I'm still just as much an advocate of the HF because it does very well and for the price, it does a whole lot better than it should. But I'm very happy I finally bought a *real* multitool. But the Fein cut much faster, much cleaner, and is much better to use.
Pleasant surprises about the Fein: SOFT Start! I had no idea it did this and wouldn't want it any other way. There are so many advantages to this. Virtually vibration free! My hands used to get a bit numb with the HF after continued use. With the Fein, you almost don't know it's on and it hardly moves if you set it down while running. I mentioned it's much quieter. The 17ft. cord! One of you mention not liking it and Karl mentioned liking it... well, I'm with Karl in this one. I always needed to have an extension cord with the HF but I don't think I'll ever use one with the Fein. It's a very high quality, braided sheathed, cable so I don't see it getting kinked up any time soon. It's smaller around than the others I looked at. Not a whole lot, but it's a lot when you hold it and have to maneuver it. I don't have big gorilla hands, so it's an advantage for me when using it. It takes Dremel and Ridgid blades (and likely others). Using only their own blades was a big issue when the Fein first stormed the market, but things seemed to have changed and blades are more universal.
I'm actually still thinking about the cordless Bosch, but I needed to use this today and no local stores carry the Bosch. But if I end up keeping the Fein (or returning it and getting the deal at coastaltool), I don't think I'll ever look back.
Soooo, you like it? :-) FWIW. The blades for that thing 7-8 years ago were a minimum of a about $37.00 each. Now that Fein finally has some competition there are a lot of options for blades. You might want to also look at Imperial for replacement blades, I understand that they are good and make blades for most any multi tool brand. I have not yet tried them, I wonder if anyone here has ant experience with them.
Thanks for the interesting review of the Fein, Mike. It's always interesting to read of others experiences with new tools - the reviews not fueled by ad dollars coming in or slipping away,
Blades are expensive, no doubt about it. My tactic has been to watch for sales of the house brand or others at Menard's, et al. While I use my Bosch every chance I get, it still is not "overworked" and I have a nice supply of blades that I got on the cheap. IIRC, I bought one of the "batches of blades" at Menard's for maybe 80% off.
I have yet to say "Damn! I sure wish I'd bought a better blade so this job would look better, go faster." IOW all have been adequate for the job. Might a better blade last longer?
Well, I'm reminded of the 85 year old who hooks up with the dynamite hooker while visiting the casino in Reno. As they head up to his room, the pit boss cautions him about the intended exertion and he replies, "Hey, I'll take the risk. If she dies, she dies!"
Crappy blade? Still cuts well enough and if it dies on the job, what do I care? Not worried about screwing up a $20 blade, I am more "creative" with what I attempt with the multi-tool
Hopefully it has been a while since you have bought blades, they can be had for as little as $2-$10 each in sets now, even with Fein.
For sure. Haven't really looked at them for a couple years. Fell into a couple of the aforementioned "good deals" back when they were sky high and...
I'll bet I have better than 30-35 new blades left and doubt that I have $30 invested in the lot. Those that bite the dust often find themselves at the grinding wheel having what's left of the teeth ground off and squared and sharpened for use as power scrapers.
Waste not, want not
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.