HF Multifunction tool vs Makita cordless & apologies to Fein users...

[Rich Engelhardt]

Short - sweet and to the point...

The Makita is to the Harbor Freight as a unicycle is to a F350 4X4...and/or a Lambo.

I've had a couple of the HF tools for the last few years & really only had a miserable Dremel to compare them to.
Recently, I picked up a Makita cordless as a freebie with the purchase of a three piece set.

I had the occasion to use it the other day to trim a bit of a tongue off a shelf that gets glued in place (refer to the Sommerfeld cabinet system) that's usually trimmed off using a bearing bit on the router table.

All I can say is WOW!
What a difference!
No vibration, laser straight cut. Baby bottom smooth surface left by the tool.

I can appreciate now what the Fein users had been trying to get across.
The HF tool is ok, but, until I tried a much better made tool, I had no idea how crude the HF tool really is.

[Van Huskey]

The HF tool is ok, but, until I tried a much better made tool, I had no idea how crude the HF tool really is.

"There are known knowns. There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we do not know we don't know." D.R.

[Mike Cutler]

"There are known knowns. There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we do not know we don't know." D.R.

Ahh yes, Mr Rumsfeld.

To the OP
Those multi tools can be pretty handy. Not a tool you'll use every day, but they can bail you out on occasion.
Mine is a Rigid Model that I bought to carefully remove barn board and batten siding. Sure beat the heck out of a hacksaw blade wrapped in electrical tape.

[Jim Becker]

I don't know those two versions, but I did pick up a Ridgid a few months ago when I had a home-repair project that was going to benefit from one of these small saws. The price was reasonable and the warranty meaningful. (as long as you register it) I don't know that I'll use it very often, but it's a nice to have tool for sure.

[John TenEyck]

From the ones I've used, the blade seems more important than the tool driving it.

John

[Art Mann]

The Porter Cable model works well. It is occasionally just short of a miracle worker doing renovations of old houses. For example, I have used it for hours on end cleanly cutting off the bottoms of door casing to install tile.

[Bill Dufour]

The HF blades last about one minute cutting wood before all the teeth are gone. I do not mean worn. I mean worn completely off to a smooth chisel edge. It does not seem to slow the cut much by losing teeth. The diamond blade does work well in hard plaster. My one Bosch Swiss made blade has lasted at least 15 minutes so far. It cuts faster straighter and cleaner then the new HF blades.
Bill D.

[Rich Engelhardt]

From the ones I've used, the blade seems more important than the tool driving it.

Agree - somewhat. I use decent Imperial blades on my HF tool and the stock Makita blade on the Makita.
The HF blades - with the exception of the "half moon" one are terrible. The "half moon" and the diamond blade seem to work ok.
I'll have to pick up a good "half moon" blade for the Makita just to see how much difference that makes.

[John Goodin]

"There are known knowns. There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we do not know we don't know." D.R.

The most interesting quote from that administration. Without getting political these words made me question what I thought they thought they knew and what they knew was not the truth.

[Jack Frederick]

I have the Fein and it is excellent. I do call it "the tool I can't afford to use" due to the blade cost. When you are in a spot, they are terrific.

[Mike Kees]

I have a Dewalt,pawnshop purchase . I have been using imperial blades and get reasonably good life from them. This tool has turned into one of the ones that I thought I would not use very much to a tool I would not live without. I wonder if a fein is way bettter....

[Mike OMelia]

I had the HF version. Died within 6 months. Bought the DeWalt, that is a NICE tool. Seems with HF, any upfront savings are more than offset when replacing the tool with a quality version.

[Lee Schierer]

I have the corded Bosch multitool. The first one I used was a Dremel and after a few minutes of operation it got very hot. I liked what the Dremel was able to do, but the Bosch is head and shoulders better by far. The Bosch and Imperial Blades hold up well. The wood cutting blades definitely don't like hitting nails but work well in wood. I used mine when I remodeled our front hallway to install light switches in the door jambs for the closet lights. It works very well for shortening door trim so that laminate flooring can be installed without removing the trim. I also used it to shorten a top hat on my heat duct in the joist space where I could barely reach the duct work. I had done the same job earlier and it took over an hour to make the same cut I did with the multi tool in 5 minutes.

If you don't own one, you'll be amazed at what project problems it can solve quickly with the proper blade.

Added note: The multi-tool with a bimetal metal cutting blade makes short work of toilet mounting bolts. Far better than a hacksaw blade wrapped with tape.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I agree Rich, that cordless Makita is a nice tool. When my old Porter finally finishes dying I'll buy the Mak. One of the guys I work with has one I can borrow though....

Imperial blades are pretty darn good in my opinion.

[Nick Decker]

I'm on the verge of buying one of these things, never used one. With the proper blade, will they cut through a 3/8" stainless steel bolt?