Alternative to Fein Multimaster?

[Feltwell]

Apparently the patent on the Fein Multimaster tool has come to an end, so there are now cheaper copies appearing on the market.

The Fein tool has a reputation for being a great bit of kit but is eye-wateringly expensive - both for the tool itself and for replacement blades. Maybe worth it if you are a trade user who is going to be using it a lot, but for us mere DIY-types it seems overkill.

Has anyone "taken the plunge" (bad pun intended) and bought a copy? Was it any good? There seem to be a few out there - Einhell do a very cheap one (that looks cheap), Bosch are doing one (which gets mixed reviews), this CEL one seems to get good reviews:-

http://www.cel-uk.com/work/ac/mt3

For £100 you could get yourself the tool plus a big pack of blades, which seems quite good.

 

[middi]

I have used the Fein Multimaster and must admit it is a brilliant piece of kit. Borrowed it from a very good friend of mine to fit oak floors on a 1930's house, it cut through the bottom of architraves and door lining like knife through butter !!)

My friend fits floors for a living ( mostly in modern properties) and he uses the tool more or less everyday, he also mentioned the the " cheapos" on the market would be no good for him
I was contemplating buying one until he mentioned something like £ 380.00. He did suggest that if I only use it occasionally it may be better if I purchased a cheaper version.
I said " no thanks, on the occasions I need one i will borrow yours"

....( I haven't received a Christmas card ,as yet, this year :wink: )

Middi

 

[Gervase]

The MultiMaster is superb, and I've lost count of the number of times mine has helped me out of a tight spot, but the initial patent on the tool did expire a year or so back, prompting a number of manufacturers to rush to market with their own versions. A friend bought the Bosch model and swears by it, and I believe Erbauer and Hitachi also now do MultiMaster clones. All three are reputable manufacturers, so I don't imagine you'd go far wrong with one of their knock-offs.

 

[Moo]

I WANT ONE !!!

 

[Feltwell]

I have heard it's Christmas soon Moo. Better write a note to Father Christmas. :wink:

 

[TomW]

I'm ashamed to say I've never heard of this tool until recently , despite 30 years of DIY on old houses.
What's the advantage over other more "normal" power tools.
I don't know if Fein have responded to market forces, but the cost of the original doesn't seem much more than the copies.
http://www.feinmultimaster.co.uk/fein_multimaster.htm

 

[Andrew Bodenham]

Feltwell,

I had a Fein multimaster for about 5 years, until the electronics went bang. A good tool, but overpriced, especially for replacement saw blades etc. Sanding backing pads kept falling apart too.

Now got the Bosch cordless version - excellent, highly recommended. Li-ion batteries are amazing. Bosch now do a mains professional version (blue) and a mains diy version (green). I do think this is something where you get what you pay for. Don't know about other mfrs copies.

An invaluable tool - wouldn't be without one. The sawing function alone has so many applications, e.g. installing electrical boxes into lath & plaster walls with surgical precision, leaving the surrounding materials undisturbed. Great for cutting access traps in floorboards, or cutting that awkward copper pipe round the back of the hot water cylinder.

Re: expensive blades. I get round this by making my own - strips cut from retired Japanese handsaw blades with a 10mm hole drilled in one end. By the way, the blade attachment on the Bosch is much better than on the Fein.

 

[Moo]

I shall add Andrew's comments to my letter to Santa Claus.

 

[TomW]

I'm afraid I'm with Feltwell on the Bosch tool, at least the battery model.
Some mixed reviews here, http://www.toolstop.co.uk/blog/2009/12/21/bosch-gop10-8v-li-multi-tool-what-do-you-think/
I have plenty of jobs where this tool would be useful so might try the CEL mains version, with extra blades. For £100, if I can't break it in under a year, it's probably paid for itself.

 

[Penners]

Like Middi, I've only ever used someone else's Multimaster. I'm fortunate enough to have a very good friend with whom I regularly exchange borrowed tools, to the point where we sometimes forget who owns what.

Funnily enough, he never seems to have forgotten that the Multimaster is his!

An excellent tool for many jobs. I found the very thin, spring-steel bade excellent for sliding under ceramic tiles, to remove them cleanly.

 

[Moo]

I have one particular job for which this tool seems to be the only solution - shaving a couple of mm from the bottom of a cupboard door so that we can open it without straining the ancient hinges.
Do you think that your friend would lend it to me for a day?

 

[Penners]

I'll willingly ask him, after Christmas (he's away at the moment). But I'm not entirely sure that this is actually the best tool for that job.

Can the cupboard door be taken off, in order to be worked on?

 

[middi]

Penners is right Moo, that tool, whilst capable, is not the best tool to cut long(ish) linear sections in an accurate stright line. That tool is ( more or less) indispensable to "hack away" very quickly and accurate small sections in confined spaces where it is difficult to use a saw or a chisel aor other tools that are more destructive.

In your case it would be best to remove the door and cut it with a conventional saw.

It is a reciprocating saw ( or sander) working on the reciprocating cycles similar to barbers electric hair clippers, it uses extended blades, interchangeable, blades taylored to the material one needs to cut.

Middi

 

[Moo]

Ah well. We'll just have to live with it as it is, then. It's only a little door, giving access to a cramped cupboard that, in its turn, enables us to get to the valley gutter for clearing out the pigeon muck. Unfortunately it looks as though its been there for a few centuries, and getting it off could be a problem - which is why we've lived with it for so long.

 

[Penners]

If you can get it off, I could plane it down for you. Or, as Middi said, if the amount to be removed is more substantial, cut it on my table saw.

 

[Moo]

That's very sweet of you, Penners (as usual).
The only problem is the actual removal of the door which, as I said, seems to have been there for a very long time indeed. When I go up to bed this evening I'll have a close look at the hinges and try to work out whether they've been screwed or nailed in place. As we can't open it because of it binding on the carpet, I've always assumed that we'd have to remove the hinges from the face of the door rather than from the framework.

I'll have a look and report back.

 

[Penners]

I'll have a look and report back.

Roger. Carry on. Over and out.

 

[Feltwell]

Well, I've just invested sixty-four pounds and ninety pence of my hard-earned cash on a mains-powered CEL unit (which I've bought from CEL themselves but via Amazon - no postage charge, if you go through CEL's own website they charge £5 for the postage).

I shall let you all know in due course if it was a wise investment.........

 

[Penners]

That's a lot cheaper than the Fein gizmo. I shall be interested to hear your views on it.

 

[Feltwell]

My CEL unit turned up very promptly, just had my first chance to use it properly - cutting an electrical back box into a lath & plaster wall, including cutting into a stud to notch it to accommodate the depth of the box and give something to screw the box to.

I'm very impressed - it was a wallpapered wall, I've managed to plunge cut the box in with no damage to the decoration or plaster beyond the box at all. I can't compare it to the Fein unit as I've never used one, but the CEL unit seems fairly sturdy and well made, with a nice grippy rubber material on parts of it so it doesn't shake loose from your grip. The on/off switch feels a little cheap, only time will tell if that is a problem.

It is noisy - no doubt about that, having used it once I will wear my ear defenders when using it in future (I am more sensitive to noise than most). I can't imagine that the Fein unit is that quiet though, I think it's just the nature of this type of tool.

The Fein unit has a quick release blade change mechanism now I understand. Changing the blade on the CEL involves undoing 1 allen bolt, takes about 30 seconds all in - not as quick but perfectly acceptable.

All in all, I'm pleased - for the money this unit seems to offer very good value. The blades are much cheaper than the Fein items as well, which are horrifically expensive. The CEL unit does come with an adaptor so you can use Fein or other manufacturer's blades with it if you want to.