Best $15 I ever spent

[frank81]

I swore off all battery HF tools. The drills etc I had that were battery operated sucked long term. Batteries couldn't hold charges, motors whined. I'm all about the craftsman 19.2. It's just held up for 10 years, no issues other than replacing the ni-cad with lith-ion. The longest HF drill lasted 1 year. If you are having success then great but that's one type of tool that HF has that was complete crap for me. Maybe things have changed.

I've always thought ALL battery tools sucked, name brand or not. Even the industrial grade stuff we buy through work, I'd rather have corded or air 100% of the time. And that's before factoring in cost.

[forrestb]

For $15 it's worth it even if it doesn't last very long.

Some years ago I, too, bought the Fein Multimaster and it has saved my bacon around the house more than once.

In addition, it has one of the best dust collection systems of any power tool that I have.

Now, if Fein just would start making the perforated sanding pads and perforated sand paper more widely available! Tool King has the pads but won't sell a large quantity (25) of all the perforated grits. Have to find out why.

Forrest

[dgale]

I own the original Fein multimaster and just love it. I paid $400 for mine and it is worth every penny. I can't tell you how much time it has saved me! It is wonderful!

http://www.feinus.com/en_us/oscillating ... p-0297187/

I have had it four years and have been remodeling my home. It holds up to just about any load. You can use it all day long without any problem and it never loses power. Yes the blades are expensive but I use the genuine Fein blades because they hold up as well. It is in the same class as my Shopsmith: high quality that lasts!

I guess this was sort of my point - I've always been someone who saved up to buy the best. I never saw an immediate need for this tool but when it was available for $15 I gave it a go and was very surprised at how solid and well operating it seems to be. I have no doubt the the top of line options will last longer but look at the price difference. This is a case where so far I really feel the HF tool has performed well and I give it a recommendation for the person like me who might have a more occasional need.

As for battery powered tools - I wouldn't buy them from HF. I did use to buy their cordless drills for use at work - I had a crew that worked in/around streams building fish traps and on top of that, they weren't an overly responsible lot...I got tired of spending $150-$200 on dewalt and Bosch drills, only to have them accidentally go swimming, get left out in the elements, or else disappear to someone's garage, so I started buying HF drills for something like $25...I knew they were short term and disposable but given the circumstances, they held up fine for the short term, where cheap to replace when they were damaged or failed, and people quit stealing them. I have a dewalt 18v impact drill I picked up at Costco 5-6 years ago for something like $150 and it works great - no battery or other issues to date. Other than that I'm more of a corded tool kinda guy.

[dgale]

Another thing I've always been Leary of is HF compressors and air tools - the prices just seem too cheap. I've never bought any and haven't talked to anyone who has, so no idea how they perform or hold up, but when I see the crazy cheap prices on this stuff, I always pass, figuring you get what you pay for.

I've never bought their blue tape - blue tape rarely performs well when you buy it from 3M, so I figured HF blue tape spoke for itself. I strictly use the more speedy green Frog Tape - that stuff truly works and holds an edge perfectly. I just yesterday put the finishing touches on repainting the interior of two houses...I went through probably 10 rolls of Frog Tape and it performed flawlessly. Blue tape has always left me cussing when I removed it to find it bled.

I was foolish enough recently to buy a bunch of HF packing tape (the clear stuff for taping up boxes) - complete junk...so thin it was useless. I did, however, buy a bunch of canvas painting drop clothes for a faction of the price they are found elsewhere - quality was fine for painting and they worked great, so there are good deals to be had there, it just takes a discerning eye.

[holsgo]

I've had 2 compressors from them. The first was a pancake type and lasted 7 years or so. Eventually the rubber stop valve cracked. I bought a larger wheeled compressor and its done well. No parts are available for any of these machines. Sometimes you get lucky and a major brand has put their nameplate on them and they may stock parts. The rubber gasket was fixed with a bicycle inner tube with the necessary holes punched. I just accept that I'll be making parts for these machines if they ever need them.

That said, I've almost never bought a Chinese made tool "thing" that I didn't have to fettle to work right. This includes vices, cabinets etc. always something wrong with them it seems. Missing screws etc. I bought a vice that had to be remachined completely to work right. I actually posted the process in a machining forum. The keeper on it wouldn't keep, the tops of the jaws were off, lacked hold downs etc.

[fiatben]

If you do any remodeling work at all, that $15 oscillating tool is an absolute must have. I even have a 2nd one in the box for when the first one craps out, because I know it will be right in the middle of a job. Actually, I'm on my second one (in three years) and I broke the first one trying to replace the brushes because I didn't look close at how it came apart/went back together.
I'd love to just have the money that people can spend on a Fein, but regardless at $400 I can go thru TWENTY-FIVE of these. I figure I won't wear that many out in this lifetime.
Of all my small power tools, this is my absolute favorite and MUST have.
I also have two of their compressors bought while on sale really cheap. No issues so far (an 8-gallon 2-Hp and a pancake one)
I won't say my luck with their hand drills (corded) is quite as good, but for the money ($12 on sale) they serve a purpose.
Their tape is junk. Their abrasives are just so-so but cheap. Everything with a motor is suspect until you get it out of the box and make sure it runs. But if it runs good, it will usually last.
I always read the reviews by real customers before deciding on the purchase and I do comparison shop with the big box stores.
Just my two cents....

[WmZiggy]

Well, in defense of HF battery power drill, and that's the only battery powered tool I have ever purchased there, they lasted on average 4 to 5 years. When the batteries go bad they've usually changed the design and I just buy a new drill with two batteries. The brand names WILL charge you $75 or more for a new battery and they all go bad. My Ryobi and Makitta, all expensive drills were useless in 4 to 5 years being outdated by newer voltage batteries and a price I would not pay for an outdated battery. Last summer I used the HF ToolMaster to drive thousands of screws into 300 feet of backyard fence I rebuilt and they are still running just fine. I have my Dad's B&D plug-in drill that must be 50 years old now, and I prefer plug in. But battery operated is wonderful in many settings where one doesn't want to run extension chords, or on ladders where you can get electrocuted by a bad chord.