HF Multi-function tool tested

[Kev Godwin]

7 weeks ago I bought one of the HarborFreight multifunction tools meant to be a clone of the Fein multi. I waited till now to say anything about it until I gave it some fair run time. To date, I have about 4 hours of actual run time with it.

When I bought this one it was on sale and I used a 15% coupon too. Total cost was $27.60 (tax included).

I must say I have been pleasantly surprised. I can tell it has a lot less oscillations compared to a Fein I have used but it sure does any task at hand I've thrown at it. I've used it for various repairs around the house as well as a some applications is the shop.

It comes with a scraper, sanding pad, saw blade and cutting disc. It also included a set of replacement brushes should you need any in the future.

I must say I'm very pleased with it so far - especially for the price. Even if it tanks later, I can still buy 2 more and still be well below the cost of the Dremel unit. I could probably buy 10 of these for the cost of the original Fein.

I can't imagine I would use one enough to justify buying one of "higher quality". My brother-in-law has been using it beyond my 4 hours as well. He said he is going to go get one also.

Bottom line - if you need one for occasional use, I think it is a good option. :)
Kev

[george wilson]

The Fein does 21000 opm. I'd think a cheap unit wouldn't last very long. But,you have to pay the toll for the Fein.

[Jim Kountz]

The Fein does 21000 opm. I'd think a cheap unit wouldn't last very long. But,you have to pay the toll for the Fein.


I guess only time will tell.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,

When I bought this one it was on sale and I used a 15% coupon too. Total cost was $27.60 (tax included).

Cheapest I've seen one on sale is $39.00.
That's a heck of a good price on a normally $59.00 item.

[Jerome Hanby]

I've used one in a big (for me ) project at my parents house. Had to tear out a water damaged floor in the bathroom.Then we laid maple laminate hardwood flooring there and in the adjoining Kitchen and Pantry.

I haven't logged how many hours we've put on the unit, but it's been worked hard. I can't begin to enumerate how many spots we used it to cut away crap we couldn't reach with anything else.

Other than breaking the first cutting blade (and that was operator error) the only problem we've had is the availability or blades from HF. Ended up buying a second unit just for the blade and ordering two sets from their website (took several weeks!).

Kind of hate to give kudos to HF, but I think that's the best $39 I've ever spent on a tool. I'm sure the Fein and Sonic Crafter are probably better, if so, they must be an absolute dream to use!

Haven't tried it for detail sanding yet...

[george wilson]

The Feins are very smooth to use. I have made my own blades out of 1095 blue spring steel,but you have to be a machinist to do it. I made a scraper blade also by brazing a piece of carbide 1 1/2" wide on the edge of a blue steel scraper. That thing will even cut into steel when you are scraping paint off of a sheet metal machine housing ! Have to be careful!! You cannot buy that scraper. I hate paying the prices for those saw blades. Any of the stainless steel saws or scrapers are worthless.

[Kev Godwin]

Hello,


Cheapest I've seen one on sale is $39.00.
That's a heck of a good price on a normally $59.00 item.

Rich
My local HF had it on sale for $29. Take off 15% and add back on tax = really cheap!
Kev

[donald yip]

Hi guys, I don't mean to pull up an old thread, but I've been interested in the Fein tool since I saw it on the TV. The amount of work it does, it seems amazing!

I've recently found the similar tool at HF also, and the reviews up top are fantastic! I may end up getting one since it seems to do the "little" jobs that I'll be ending up doing any how.
By no means am I any type of home renovator or contractor person, but I have little jobs here and there around the house, like cutting "thin" woods and some sanding jobs.

However, I'm wondering how well of a tool this will be for grinding? Say, if a nut or bolt was rounded off, would it be able to cut or grind the nut off? Sorry, I have no idea on how to give the size of the bolt/nut, but the bolt is about 1/4" in diameter. Thanks!

[Jerome Hanby]

I've got the HF multifunction tool. It works great, but I can't imagine grinding anything with it, think you're looking at an angle grinder for that.

[Kev Godwin]

I was surprised to see this post back when I logged on.

Since my original post I estimate we have about 14 or 15 hours of actual run-time on mine. Still doing very well.

It won't work well for grinding but it can easily cut off small bolts with the proper cutter installed.

I hope I have as good of luck with the HF 12 inch disc sander now on sale for $100. I picked one up this last week and used the 20% off coupon. Got it for $85.60 (tax included).
Kev

[Duane Bledsoe]

Hello all. This is my first post to this forum. I am interested in one of those tools also. I saw the Fein on TV and it looked fantastic, then I saw the Harbor Freight version of it and didn't give it a second thought.........until now. So you say it's a decent tool?? Cause I've really seen some uses I would have had for it. Now I may get one. I've seen it on sale a lot, and I get coupons in my Field & Stream magazines all the time so it might be my next tool purchase now.

I'm looking forward to reading here and learning more about wood working. I worked in the field of home improvements for the last 5 years so I have a working knowledge of a lot of tools, and have dabbled in wood working some in the past as well. Now I'd like to make it a full time hobby.

[Stephen Edwards]

That settles it for me. I'm going to get one, now. I also have the coupon. This isn't a tool that I'll use often so if it performs as described in the previous posts in this thread, it'll be perfect for my limited needs.

It's beginning to sound as if this tool may be one of the HF "gems" that have been discussed in many previous threads. Indeed, many of us are well pleased with some of the HF tools that we've purchased. That doesn't mean that I'm going to buy a major shop machine from HF. But, I've learned not to to snub my nose at everything that they sell.

[Wes Bischel]

I picked one up a while ago to use for removing the grout from the tub surround tile. I didn't want to ruin a $3-400 tool with the dust and grit from the grout. The HF model worked well. I have not used a Fein, but the HF version did what it was supposed to do - a lot better than doing it by hand!

FWIW,
Wes

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
I'm going to also jump on the "HF gem" bandwagon here.
I bought one for $32.00 (on sale - $39.00 and used a 20% off coupon) a few weeks ago.
I had to remove a whole wall of cork panels which had been glued up for decades. The HF unit worked well.
I must have a good 20 hours of hard use on mine on th ecork wall alone.

I also have a Dremel.
While the Dremel is a bit more refined & has better blades, the HF unit has a more solid feel & also a little more depth of cut capcity.
The HF unit has a 2" blade, where the Dremel is less than an inch and a half.

[Jerome Hanby]

HF, according to the their clerk at the Birmingham-AL, has a grout removal blade, but didn't have any currently in the store. They gave me a part number (which is at home) but I never found it on the web site. The ~$30 Dremel multi-max blade from Home Depot will fit and works great.

Only problem I've had with the tool itself, in the first one we had (later bought another just to get one of the blades, the store was back ordered on them) one of the wires came loose on a motor brush. I think I can probably fix that, but the tool comes with a spare set of brushes, so no big deal.

It would be nice if HF stocked a good assortment of blades for this thing. I think Fein blades would work, but they are priced to the same scale as their tool. Dremel blades work. I haven't tried them, but I'm not sure than the Rockwell Sonicrafter blades would work.

Biggest bad points I can see with the HF unit (other than it's from HF).


It's single speed
That single speed is slower than all the other knock-offs I've seen
Blade availability at HF
The motor brushes are a little delicate

Biggest good points


It's so cheap you can buy several and just throw them away when they die
They work. If the Fein (or the others) work better, they must be incredible!
It may be the exception to the extended warranty rule. Usually those things are not worth the money, but catch the HF on sale and the whole thing with a multi-year replacement warranty comes in around $50. Buy two and never worry about down time.

I saw a blurb in the latest issue of Wood mag that Craftsman is coming out with a 12 volt cordless clone. Not sure I'd give the tool the time of day, but if the blades fit, Sears could be a handy source.

[Matthew Joe]

I purchased one of these HF multi-use tools around Christmas, for about $80. Even given this much higher price, I'd still say that the tool was well worth it, since it does a great job of making otherwise very difficult tasks easy.

I did notice two problems with my unit, though. First, it runs very hot, and can burn wood or your hands if you're not careful. I've experienced this heat even when I don't put the unit under load, simply turning it on for a minute or two. Second, I've found that the nut holding the blade won't tighten enough to keep the blades from loosening after a few minutes of use. I don't consider this loosening to be dangerous, and it probably wouldn't damage the workpiece, but the constant re-tightening becomes quickly annoying.

Has anyone else experienced these issues, or have I purchased a defective unit?

Despite these problems, for the odd jobs that I needed the tool for (I cut through my hardwood floors to add flush hardwood thresholds between rooms), the tool worked splendidly.

[Jerome Hanby]

I put a good bit of "moxi" on the Allen wrench when I tighten the blade. When I don't, I've seen the blade loosen just as you describe.

I've also noticed the unit runs a little warm. Nothing to compare it to, so I didn't think much of it.

[harry strasil]

Likewise, only I use a back up wrench when tightening the blades on. It has performed very well for the jobs I purchased it for. On a whim I even used it to cut the sides of a deep mortise. The heat is not a problem, just extended periods of use might make it go poof.

[Craig Coney]

The heat is not a problem, just extended periods of use might make it go poof.

Isn't that what the extra set of brushes are for? :D

[harry strasil]

I was referring to the gear box head.

[Tom Godley]

I bought one of the HF tools a few months back when they had them on sale plus a coupon -- got it for under $30.00. I purchased it to see if it would undercut some baseboard and trim on a project -- the thing worked great. I have since used it to clean up some drywall.

I have no idea how it compares to the more expensive unit - so I can not add anything.

I went to a HF the other day and they had quite a few attachments -- I picked up two replacement blades and some sandpaper. Plus they had a small round diamond blade that I purchased

[Jerome Hanby]

I went to a HF the other day and they had quite a few attachments -- I picked up two replacement blades and some sandpaper. Plus they had a small round diamond blade that I purchased

I just saw that blade in their catalog (along with the grout blade, neither of them on their www that I can find). What would you use that blade on? Tile, maybe?

[Mike Goetzke]

I have a Fein but had to try the HF at around $30 especially for those dirty jobs. I too have found the HF works good but the blades do come loose under heavy use even with hefty clamp load. I think I saw somewhere that the tool has been redesigned to help keep the blades tight???


Mike

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,

think I saw somewhere that the tool has been redesigned to help keep the blades tight???
You might be thinking of the Dremel. I know my Dremel is a post-fix model which has the cupped washer to hold the blade tight.
My HF unit also appears to have a washer with a slight cup to it, so it's possible they both suffered from the same defect.
I know I'm very careful to put the washers on both the same way all the time & unless I haven't really cranked down hard, i don't have any problems w/the blade coming loose.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I used mine today for the first time on a door repair job. The strike plate area had been broken out. It made quick work of the job. If for nothing else, cutting off shims, it's worth it's price. Called my son, who is in a similar business, and told him how I was satisfied with mine. He stopped at HF and bought one. Friday, I will pick up another for a spare.

[Noah Katz]

Good timing, it's on sale now for $40.

Are any of the HF blades carbide?

Is the sandpaper PSA or H&L?

[Tom Godley]

I bought the round diamond blade just to have around - over the years this type of blade has come in handy around cast parts and plastic.

I have a carbide grit type blade for my Sawzall, jig saw and a hand saw -- and they are great for some applications.

And yes it does look like it would wok for tile

[John Gregory]

The Fein does 21000 opm. I'd think a cheap unit wouldn't last very long. But,you have to pay the toll for the Fein.

I have the Rockwell (http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2063967/24885/Rockwell-Sonicrafter-Deluxe-Professional-Kit--Variable-Speed--72pc.aspx) one. And I have used it a lot. More costly than the HF one but less than the Fein one.

It is interesting that HF includes replacement brushes, how often have you seen that? Seems like they expect them to fail.

[donald yip]

Hey all!

I'm still on the fence as to whether or not I need such a tool... heh. I would like one, but I figure it'll turn into one of those tools where I use once to cut something and it'll sit for about 6months before the next use. :rolleyes:

Anyway... I surfed the internet for some deals and came across this:

Dremel Multi-Max Oscillating Tool Kit @ http://www.woot.com/
$59.99 + $5 shipping
CONDITION:
Refurbished
PRODUCT:
1 Dremel 6300-02L Multi-Max Oscillating Tool Kit
http://sale.images.woot.com/Dremel_Multi-Max_Oscillating_Tool_KitcbdDetail.jpg

This deal is only for a limited quantity and a limited time (until about 10pm PST Sept 04)

So, if anybody is worried about "brand name", here's your chance. Of course, it is "refurbished". At least it has variable speed (from 10K RPM to 21K RPM)