Dremel vs Sears vs multimaster

tim72 · Post by **tim72** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 6:25 pm

Now that Fein has lost its patent it seems a lot of stores or mfg's are carrying a similar product to the fein. The fein is about $300 to $400 dollars and the others are $50 to $150. Has anybody tested or tried these who could give some input on performance? I wonder if consumers report would test them? lol!

cincinnati · Post by **cincinnati** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 7:53 pm

tim72 wrote:Now that Fein has lost its patent it seems a lot of stores or mfg's are carrying a similar product to the fein. The fein is about $300 to $400 dollars and the others are $50 to $150. Has anybody tested or tried these who could give some input on performance? I wonder if consumers report would test them? lol!

Harbor Freight has their version. Can be had for $24 on sale. I have not used it a lot but it works.

curiousgeorge · Post by **curiousgeorge** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 8:39 pm

Yep! I used the Harbor Freight version to replace some tiles on my bathroom floor. It worked great for removing the grout as well as smoothing off after removing the old tile.

still_waters_43 · Post by **still_waters_43** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 9:49 pm

Yep, although I liked the look of the Fein I held off because of the price. So, I ended up buying the Sear's model (a kit on sale for $99) because of the positive reviews, the power (12v) and because it's cordless.

So far I am real happy with the purchase. And I just loaned it to my son and he likes it too!.

a1gutterman · Post by **a1gutterman** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 11:34 pm

still_waters_43 wrote:Yep, although I liked the look of the Fein I held off because of the price. So, I ended up buying the Sear's model (a kit on sale for $99) because of the positive reviews, the power (12v) and because it's cordless.

So far I am real happy with the purchase. And I just loaned it to my son and he likes it too!.

Do you think you will get it back?:rolleyes: At least you know what you can get him for Christmas!:D

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 12:19 am

The guy that came in to do my tile used a Bosch unit. Interestingly it stopped working. He messed around with it and got it working but the next day he had a new one.

I asked him about it and he explained that he used the thing almost constantly for 2 years. He loved it! When he left my house the night the thing stopped working he took apart and found the switch was shot. 2 years of tile dust, tile grout, thinset and other very abrasive things had taken it's toll.

I thought it was a real testimony to his like for the machine to go buy a new one exactly like his previous one. The Bosch unit is priced at around $140-$150 and the blades are reasonable.

My son in law had a Fein unit, the semi circle cutting blade was $49 which to me is ridiculously expensive especially when you consider most circular saw blades are cheaper, have carbide tips and cut far more linear feet than Fein blade.

paulmcohen · Post by **paulmcohen** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 1:41 am

tim72 wrote:Now that Fein has lost its patent it seems a lot of stores or mfg's are carrying a similar product to the Fein. The Fein is about $300 to $400 dollars and the others are $50 to $150. Has anybody tested or tried these who could give some input on performance? I wonder if consumers report would test them? lol!

I have the newer Fein it was just under $400 on sale with all of the accessories and I love it. I redid a bathroom, removed door bottoms without removing the door, removed tile grout and have done a lot more with it. That said for the price of a single blade I could buy one of the other tools. The price of the blades are crazy AND they don't last that long, I went through a saw blade just cutting the bottom off two doors and at $50 each that is expensive.

The built-in vacuum works very well and there are a lot of accessories. One thing I noticed is on my saw blades they are completely smooth on one side so it does not mar the finished surface when removing the heads of plugs but on other brands the blade is not truly flat and does damage the finished surface.

If I had to do it again I would opt for the Rockwell at under $100 and the Dremel or Sears battery operated versions also under $100 and pocket the other $200.

markap · Post by **markap** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 12:01 pm

Question for you all with these multi-tools....I removed the carpet from the family room which is on a concrete slab. The carpet tack strips are nailed into the concrete and nearly impossible to pull out without taking a divot of concrete with it each time. Will these multi-tools do a good job of cutting the nails off flush with the floor? Can't get quite flusk with my current Dremel rotary tool and cutting wheel.

Thanks!

curiousgeorge · Post by **curiousgeorge** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 1:10 pm

I think any of these would handle a tack strip easily with a metal cutting blade.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 2:32 pm

curiousgeorge wrote:I think any of these would handle a tack strip easily with a metal cutting blade.

Does that depend on what was used to nail the tack strip to the concrete floor?