variable speed for sonicrafter that important?

[Deuce Lee]

hi guys,

I just picked up a single speed sonicrafter from menards on sale for a tad over a benjamin. it's in a case so that's kind of nice.

I'm having buyer's remorse and wondering if I should get the variable speedy model instead. they were out of stock for that one. I'd have to wait until another sale or pay full price for it.

can anyone vouch that single speedy is plenty and that's all you'd really need anyways, or that multi speedy is def the way to go and i'd regret it if I didn't go with it?

thanks

[Joe Scharle]

I can only relate to the Fein and say that to use the detail sander attachment, you must use the lowest speed.

[Deuce Lee]

I can only relate to the Fein and say that to use the detail sander attachment, you must use the lowest speed.

good point...

yes this would related to Fein or the Multimax since I'm wondering about speed...

crap!!

yeah i think I might return it then...:(

[John Denture]

I constantly vary speeds on the multimaster to accommodate various attachments (sanding pads, detail sander, cutting blades, scrapers, etc), the type of material I'm working with, etc. A low speed can simply be less effective, but too high of a speed can damage the workpiece or attachment.

I think the value and usefulness of the tool would be greatly diminished if it was a single speed unit.

The HF unit, while single speed, is really slow, but the single speed Sonicrafter appears to run at 20,000 OPM which is much too fast for many applications.

[roman fedyk]

I wonder if you could not use one of those router speed controls. Plug the Sonicrafter into one of them and adjust the speed with the knob. They cost about $12 or so at HF and of course, at other stores....I have used them in the past for other power tools that needed variable speed, like my angle grinder and it worked fine.

[Josiah Bartlett]

My wife likes to use my Dremel tool with a sanding drum on her feet running at low speed. Low speed is also useful when trying to shape plastic without melting it.

I have the Harbor Freight multi tool and I can't say I've ever felt the need to turn the speed down.

[Mike Henderson]

I wonder if you could not use one of those router speed controls. Plug the Sonicrafter into one of them and adjust the speed with the knob. They cost about $12 or so at HF and of course, at other stores....I have used them in the past for other power tools that needed variable speed, like my angle grinder and it worked fine.
The HF has a universal motor so the speed control should work. It'd be good to hear from someone who's tried it, however.

I haven't hit a situation where I felt I needed speed control on my HF but I don't use it very much either.

Mike

[Wade Lippman]

My multimaster is variable speed, but the instructions say to use the highest speed for everything. So, no, I can't imagine why you should feel you made a mistake.