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Fein Multimaster

Tony Falotico

Tony Falotico

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519
Location
Lake City, Florida
Okay, I've looked at this machine for several years, had some desire for one, but never bought one due to the price. No doubt in my mind it is an extremely well made tool and probably worth the asking price.

Question is, how useful is it? My main desire is the detail sanding attachment for getting the tight areas that that make the fingers cramp up when hand sanding. Secondary, it looks useful for small cuts, such as pvc pipe, metal bars, those wire metal shelves and all the stuff you pull out the blasted hack saw for (me and the hack saw have never been best of friends). And if you make cuts (or cut outs) with it, how accurate are they?

So my question is, for those of you who have one -- really how useful are they day to day in the shop, or does it become another expensive dust collector?

Thanks for any input --- Tony
 
I've had mine for at least fifteen years.

I seldom use it as a sander, but it works quite well when I do.

I seldom use it instead of a hacksaw, but it cuts quite well.

I've used it a lot for plunge cuts, or for cutting door frames to accept thicker flooring, etc.

It's an excellent scraper for removing glue residue on a floor, taking up tiles, etc.

It's also great at removing grout, for re-grouting.

It's one of those tools that, when you need it, nothing else will do. I've reached for mine many, many times after scratching my head ove 'how am I gonna do that?' YMMV
 
Ditto what Jim said.

I seldom use mine, but there are times when it actually is the right tool for the job. And it's one of those tools that's a pleasure to hold and use because it's quality. When you turn it on it's smooooth...doesn't buck and jump like a bunny rabbit trying to get away from you.

Is it worth the money?...tough call for as seldom as I use it. But now that I have it and the sticker shock has long ago worn off, I wouldn't sell it.

I think I read somewhere that the patent has expired, and I've seen some cheap clones showing up (ie, Harbor Freight). Maybe this will cause some price reductions in the Fein. On the other hand, a guy down the road is a Festool rep, and when I mentioned to him the track saw clones that are appearing, he said that it's actually helped their sales. Who woulda knew.

Cheers.
 
I have the dremel version and so far I like it. I always wanted to get the Fein but just couldn't justify that sort of outlay on it.
 
For that kind of money, you can buy individual dedicated tools.
If you are going to just use it to sand, you can save considerably by buying almost any other brand.
Would not be a wise investment, IMHO.
 
I recently got the Dremel version, All I have used it for so far is flush-cutting all the screw hole plugs on a large project I'm doing...it sure worked great for that!
 
Just recently, I was working with a friend on a project and he had the Dremel clone of the MultiMaster. Worked well, variable speed, but got HOT. It was about $100.

I decided I should have one of those tools for the times when nothing else will do so I bought the Harbor Freight clone on sale for $29.99. The HF is not variable speed but seems to work well.

I'd only buy the Fein if I was going to use it every day. It's just too expensive.

Mike

[The HF is on sale until Jan 22. Copy of the flyer here.]
 
I got a Fein about 5 years ago. It's great for certain tasks - especially getting the old glazing out of wood windows, undercutting wood trim, removing tile grout, and scraping paint. It's also a very good detail sander.
I do like the fact that the newer Ryobi bits / attachments fit my older Fein. This saves a lot of cash. The Fein bits / attachments are stupidly expensive in my opinion. The Ryobi tools have worked perfectly on my Fein.
paulh
 
I just saw the Harbor Freight version on sale for $29.00.
For that kind of money you could pick one up and try it out. If you find that you are going to use it frequently spend the extra $ on a fein.
 
Frank Fusco said:
For that kind of money, you can buy individual dedicated tools...
Click to expand...

Thing is, it does some things that there aren't well covered by other tools. For example, it'll sand (or cut) in places where other tools can't reach.

I don't have one, but if the need came up, I'd probably end up with the Harbor Freight version, since as others have mentioned, I'd have a hard time justifying the Fein price unless I was using it a lot.
 
Tony,
I picked up the HF version to re-grout the tub (as Jim mentioned it worked great). I especially didn't want to ruin an expensive tool in a gritty, dusty environment. The HF version worked well. Used Dremel blades. It did get hot, but then again, I was using it for 45+ minutes at a shot.
I'd do as Bob mentioned - pick up a cheap version and see what you use it for.

FWIW, Wes
 
Thanks for the info everyone -- I was at Woodcraft yesterday and had one in my hand but just couldn't part with that many $$'s to take it home. The salesman suggested I wait until the Rockwell units arrive, said they should be in next week. His suggestion ( much like most of yours) was if your going to use it every day professionally get the Fein, If it's an occasional user -- go for something else, of course he suggested the Rockwell.

Anyone seen, held or have the Rockwell SoniCrafter??

Thanks for the input, you saved my budget, at east for now!

Tony
 
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