multitool - oscillating blade power tool - recommendation

I don't have one but a woodworker I used to know had a cheap one which worked but when it died he went a bought a Makita IIRC to replace it and he said it was much better than the cheap one and was glad he spent the extra money.

I remember when oscillating multi tools first started to become known. Before they became the cult like fad they are today.

"Look you can use it like a saw." Yeah, but wouldn't a saw work better as a saw?

"Look you can use it like a scraper." Yeah, but wouldn't a scraper make a better scraper.

"Look you can use it like..." HOLDUP. Can I use it for setting rivets? "We'll no."

How about as an engraver, "Maybe I guess."

Does it drill holes? "What?"

Can I drive nails with it? "Huh?"

What does it do better than the tool it emulates? "I don't know."

Okay. What does it do that no other tool does?

CHIRP! CHIRP! CHIRP!

Don't get me wrong. Obviously thousands of people have decided its a worthwhile tool. I am obviously wrong. I just don't understand it. Making cricket noises naybe? Nah, a cricket does that much better.

P.S. I saw one used one time for a use that might have been difficult for any other tool. They used it to cut the bottom edge off drywall to slide flooring underneath so they could seal a floor were the home owner didn't want baseboards. There is a whole lot wrong with that you can unpack if you like, but there was one instance where I'm not sure of any other tool that would have done the job more efficiently. Maybe a compact circular saw of some kind could have done it faster if the spacing could be worked out.

There is a type of circular saw that is used by flooring installers that cuts the bottom of door jambs off so the flooring can be slid under . Oddly enough , it's called a jamb saw ...

What other kind of saw will make a plunge cut flush to a surface through a variety of materials including nails?

Besides fast accurate plunge cuts it fits in places no other saw will fit, and the sanding pad with 36 grit paper is great at stripping paint bits left behind by scrapers and larger sanders. With the right cutter it is the fastest way to cut in holes for electrical boxes in drywall or plaster - sometimes speed matters.

There are lots of uses where nothing else will do the job as fast. I have

2 of them, a cheap Ridgid corded tool which works fine but I no longer use because the Milwaukee M12 tool is easier to use especially on a ladder. I also considered the Milwaukee M18 tool, better for heavy duty work but harder to use for precision plunge cuts per reviews. I only looked at Milwaukee because I already have their batteries, other brands could be as good.

Not too many metalworking uses though :-).

Glen

That's as I understand it. Plunge cuts. Very awkward narrow access spaces. Sliding the blade under things, often at floor level

The point about almosty never metal - yes. Ceramic especially old grout removal. Wood, *GRP/fibreglass*. Latter much valued

You did say it cuts nails...

and toilet bolts

If you really want a good one & plan to use it & not let it sit get a Fein Multi master , I think their the best one out there . I use mine almost daily & i'm on my 3rd one but I have a HF budjet not a Fein budget . They are also very handy for removing cast;s from arms & legs .I'd like to see one cut nails . animal

Fein is definitely top of the line. I use Fein sanding pads & paper on my Milwaukee.

Nail cutting test:

There are also diamond blades for grout removal. They are a bit expensive, so I am planning on cutting off a segment of old diamond masonry blade and welding it to the end of a worn out bit, so I can plunge cut through stucco. I have heard of users welding pieces of hacksaw blades to the end of worn out multitool blades also.

Glen

Wow , that's pretty impressive ! I can't say I'm surprised at the wear rate on those blades though . thanks animal

Thanks words of wisdom.

Seen those half-round fitments of removing grout with multitool. I used an angle grinder for that with a disk which is looks conventional - a "carborundum"(ish) type - but optimised for ceramic/masonry. Words portending doom mistaken - did two bathrooms in no time non-event. Maybe "going the wrong way fast" would be if angle-grinders weren't a familiar every-day tool?

Great test that guy does. It's a Tradesperson / craft thing sin't it doing tests? Just dawned on me. My PhD research - novel methods. Finding a method to test strength of fillet welds and finding that is "inexplicably" way-way high. Etc. Comes from this type of thinking. We just look at things and think "There must be a way of finding out the real deal here" - and find things which work.

Thanks, Rich S

You can buy flush-cutting diamond blades for an angle grinder, used mostly for stonework. I modified an old one by grinding six "teeth" into it using the bench grinder. It does a fine job of flush-cutting timber (because of the teeth) and nails (because of the residual diamond). Not for all-day use, but for the rare occasions where this special cut is required.

I can imagine a job that a multi-tool would do better, but I've never encountered such a job in real life.

Clifford Heath

I can imagine a job that a multi-tool would do better, but I've never encountered such a job in real life.

Clifford Heath

-----------------

Will a multi tool make a square cornered plunge cut, as for a door hinge recess?

Thanks.

When angle-grinder is a familiar tool and with this 3mm-ish ceramic abrasive disk, the cut is so very very smooth - to operate and the result.

I'll back-off because I cannot compare. I use 12-inch "Stihl saws" for masonary with such hard-particle-embedded steel disks.