Fein Multimaster

[Dar Lounsbury]

Has anyone used the multimaster? Looks very useful but things are not always as they seem. Pros vs. Cons? I know it is pricey, but if it really works as in the demo, it would be helpful to me.

Thanks, Dar

[Craig McCormick]

We use ours often in our home repair business and vintage trailer restoration business but very little in my wood shop. We use it mostly in cutting mode or grout removal between ceramic tile. I have not used it as a detail sander. It is most defiantly a quality tool.

Craig

[Steve knight]

just got mine a couple weeks ago. it sands like crazy a very fast sanding tool. I see a lot of uses for it in the future.

[Fred Floyd]

I've never tried the new ones. I found one for a bargain basement $75.00 with lots of accessories and sanding sheets. One of the members of my woodturning club had this one which was "surplus" to him. I have tried it for sanding, but its best use is for tile grout or cutting things like studs out of walls when you're doing a delicate remodel job. Recently I had to cut a stud out of a wall to put in a medicine cabinet -- that alone was worth the price.

[Peter Quinn]

I've used one at my local hardware store in a cool demo they have set up that lets you sand or cut. I plan to buy one as soon as finances allow or a remodeling task for which it is essential presents itself. It is a well built tool with lots of uses.

A former coworker with lots of cabinet installation experience kept one in his install truck. He claimed it had helped him out of so many tight spots he wouldn't be with out it.

Can you find a physical vendor to check one out? Many have interactive demo's set up to remove doubt.

[Phil Harding]

Has anyone used the multimaster? Looks very useful but things are not always as they seem. Pros vs. Cons? I know it is pricey, but if it really works as in the demo, it would be helpful to me.

Thanks, Dar

I spent the last few weekends installing a bamboo hardwood floor in my kitchen. My Fein Multimaster was a life saver. I used it with a flush cut blade to undercut all of the door trim and to relieve the drywall to provide expansion space for the flooring. I'm sure there are other ways to do this job, but I am very happy that I have a MultiMaster. Expensive, but the quality is superb. My only beef is that the blades are so expensive.

-- Phil

[Don Morris]

Expensive, yes, but that little sucker has bailed me out of a lot of tight spots over the years and I keep finding new tasks for it. When they say "multi" they meant it. It sits unused for weeks and even months, and then man am I glad it's there because it's just what the doctor ordered. As others have said the only drawback is the cost of new blades.

[David DeCristoforo]

I'm laughing inside. I bought one of these some years ago and used it for one job (some detail sanding that, as I recall would have otherwise been very difficult) and until I read this post I had completely forgotten about it. It's in my shop somewheres.....

[Mike Sandman]

I bought a kit with the previous model because it was discounted, but having used the tool I'd be willing to pay full price.

The Multimaster works by moving the blade or the sanding foot in a random orbital motion. So unlike a rotary tool, if you're cutting, the blade doesn't pull you through the material. That means you can control the depth and speed of the cut very precisely. The tool feels solid but not heavy and it doesn't vibrate in your hand. All the energy goes into the sanding or cutting device you've attached to it, and you don't gat tired holding on to it.

I got it for sanding profiles like molding, and it is quite useful as a profile sander. But it does much, much more. Example: we wanted to remove the old vinyl floor in a kitchen and install tile. The vinyl was glued to luan plywood, and both layers ran under the counters and the dishwasher. With one of the Multimaster's saw blades, it was relatively simple to make a clean, straight verical cut in line with the face of the cabinets, back under the toekick. That let me pull up the vinyl and luan from the open floor area and leave it in place under the cabinets. I don't know how we would have been able to do that with any other tool.

It's expensive and the new (250 TOP) version comes in a cheesy plastic case, although the metal case that the old (Model 625) version came in was stamped from very thin sheet metal that woud dent if you looked at it the wrong way. If you buy something other than "Top" complete kit, the tool comes in a cardboard box. But the case is the only light-duty item in the package. The tool and the accessories are definitely well made and the attachments that are available make it very versatile - and an expensive habit.

[Matt Black]

http://www.multiblades.com/

Much better deal on blades. I have the supercut and love it, a real problem solver.

[Jack Hutchinson]

As others note above - for plunge cutting and flush cutting it's the cat's meow. Most useful in renovation tasks. There are other good flush cutting tools, but I don't know anything in the ballpark for challenges like plunge cutting an electrical box centered on a stud in an existing wall.

For a single-handed free-hand tool, control is quite precise.

Very loud. Hearing protection required.

I also used it to sand a hardwood floor beneath baseboard radiators using cut-to-fit PSA paper on the 2 1/2" flush cut blade.

[Glenn Clabo]

One of my top tools. If you do any remodeling at all...you will find all kind of ways to use it to save time to do things that you would be hard pressed to do otherwise. I hardly ever use it for sanding...but it does that as well.

And for those who don't like the cost of blades...
http://home.comcast.net/~dldecker/fein.html

[Mike Sandman]

The prices of the aftermarket blades look good enough for me to give them a try. Thanks for the lead.

Mike

[CPeter James]

I have an air power Multimaster. It is even better than the electric. I have tried the electric and much prefer the air. It is smaller and more powerful. Also the speed control works better.

CPeter

http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/tylertool_2005_62787071

[Jeffrey Makiel]

This question is often asked...and it's a good one. After all, it's kind of an odd gizmo when I think about it.

The best answer that I've read is that you don't use the tool often as other basic woodworking tools, but when you need it, it sure is nice to have.

It's also a tool that's finds use in construction/home improvement projects as well as fine furniture making. However, if one is just getting into woodworking, it would not be a priority to me.

-Jeff :)

[Bruce Barker]

I purchased a Fein MM in desperation, in the middle of remodeling my house. I had several flush cuts to make where the contractor had installed before measuring.

Since that time it has been a lifesaver on many occasions, well worth the high price tag. I found I am using the rasp a lot. Often, on plaster walls, I have to rasp away some of the plaster before the woodwork will fit. And for flush cuts it excels.

As others have said, I probably wouldn't use one for fine woodworking but it's a fantastic tool for refurb'ing.

Why doesn't any other manufacturer make a similar product? Where's DeWalt's? Porter Cable's? Etc?

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Bosch and Ryobi made one. The Ryobi is not in the same quality class, but it's still a handy little tool for $40. Porter Cable has a similar contour sander but it focuses only on sanding operations. Also, the Porter Cable does not seem to get very good reviews on this forum.

However, your question is still valid. Perhaps other manufacturers recognized this type of tool as having a limited amount of buyers, and therefore, not worth the tooling investment.

-Jeff :)

[Mike Goetzke]

You can get one for 25% off right now if you use the live . com deal....tempting.

Mike

[Mark Singer]

I use mine pretty often. It is a great detail sander and gets in tight spots, removes glue that scrapers have difficulty with......I like it!

[Bruce Barker]

Bosch and Ryobi made one. The Ryobi is not in the same quality class, but it's still a handy little tool for $40. Porter Cable has a similar contour sander but it focuses only on sanding operations. Also, the Porter Cable does not seem to get very good reviews on this forum.

Well...yes and no. I own both the Fein MM and the similar-looking Bosch detail sander, and don't consider them duplicates. For my use, the Bosch is a better sander (orbital, whereas the Fein isn't orbital, and much less expensive sandpaper is widely available for it) whereas the Fein does all kinds of cutting and rasping tasks the Bosch can't.

At least that's my justification for owning both, and I'm sticking to it.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

That's correct. The Bosch, Porter Cable and Ryobi do not have cutting or scraping capability. That's a pretty important disadvantage for these tools which limits them only to sanding operations which may be fine for some. However, they are considerably less expensive too.

I'm probably comparing apples and oranges.

-Jeff :)

[Chris Matus]

You can get one for 25% off right now if you use the live . com deal....tempting.

Mike

What deal is that?

[Dennis Lopeman]

I got mine off craigslist - older model = $100

Very cool tool - my friends borrow it more than I use it!!! :)

[John Henry Newman]

Anyone heard of the Bosch PMF180 that is currently selling in Europe? It looks like an almost exact copy of the Fein. Any plans for Bosch to bring this to the states? I'd certainly like to see how it would change the price structure for Fein.

[Gary Ratajczak]

I did a little searching, and here is the Bosch lookalike.

http://www.lawson-his.co.uk/scripts/details.php?cat=Multitools%20Bosch&product=64549

There was mention on the "Multiblades" site that Bosch will be selling blades in teh US by the end of the year, and the round hole will also fit the Multimaster.

At that price, it puts it just over $100 dollars US.

Just found out about Multiblades, and will be ordering a few to try - great pricing.

I believe that Fein had some patents that are most likely up soon, so the competition may be moving in.

I stand behind all the glowing responses to the fact the Multimaster is a remodelers best friend. I am doing two rooms rignt now, and the flush cut saw saved LOTS of work.

I have not seen it mentioned, but the Multi does an awesome job at cutting drywall for window or outlet cutouts - very little dust!!!!

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I see situations quite often like this. A company goes thru all the developmental investment to develop a tool for sale in Europe, but doesn't sell it in North America. Perhaps vice versa also. I understand that there might be some electrical differences, like 50 Hz vs. 60 Hz, but that seems like a minor design modification.

Why not expand sales? :confused:

-Jeff :)

[Glenn Shotwell]

We have one at work. We commission new boats. Sometimes changes need to be made or systems need to be modified. We've had it for nearly two years. I can think of three times that no other tool could have done it as easily or at all. We got it for cutting only. I did a cut once where I was reaching full length and could barely see what I was cutting, cut through about 1/16" of glass and 3/4" ply for 24" perfect cut. No other tools would have gotten in there and done that. Sure we could have spent a day and a half taking apart the system and had access to what we needed to cut, but we still would have had to put it back together. But with the Multi-master it was done in an hour or two setup to finish.

[Dennis Lopeman]

...
Just found out about Multiblades, and will be ordering a few to try - great pricing.
...


Do you have any links to those? I have a MM, too - and would like cheaper "accessories"

I can offer this link: http://www.pawsofftools.com/
for reciprocating saws... I kept it JUST IN CASE!! :)

[Gary Ratajczak]

http://multiblades.com/

[Dennis Lopeman]

http://multiblades.com/

Well my garsh!!! That was just simple, huh!!

THANKS! :D

[Warren Clemans]

I second all the good comments above, but add just one caveat. Because the cutting/sanding/scraping surfaces are small on the multimaster relative to other types of saws/sanders/scrapers, you run through a lot of blades/paper in a hurry. I mostly use mine in remodeling projects for sanding into blind corners where my ROS won't reach. The fein sandpaper is good quality but expensive and clogs pretty quickly. There's no dust collection (at least on mine, which is a few years old). Still, it saves tons of time over the alternative (hand sanding). The machine is well built.

[Bruce Barker]

I did a little searching, and here is the Bosch lookalike.

http://www.lawson-his.co.uk/scripts/details.php?cat=Multitools%20Bosch&product=64549

At that price, it puts it just over $100 dollars US....

And that's where the price point SHOULD be, IMHO! Wish I could have waited.