Bosch Oscillating tool TODAY

I need to buy a new oscillating multi tool today. I beat my old cheap Mastercraft one up one too many times cutting into oak trailer floors and now it is only good as a noise maker.

In any event I am looking for one that should take a beating and I came up with two. The Fein and Bosch MX30. I am planning on the Bosch since it comes with an adapter where you can use most any blades so finding them when I need them shouldn't be an issue. AND it is available at the Lowes store on the way to my job where I need to use it tonight.

Other than cost does anyone have any complaints or other things I should consider before I pick it up? This one is $200 but I need it and need a good one that will work when I need it to.

I will occasionally use it for home use projects but my main use is going to be cutting squares or grooves in the oak flooring of semi trailers for repair patches. This is where a circular saw will not get to. It seems this stuff is pretty damned hard compared to say oak trim. Maybe because it is 1 1/4" or there abouts.

I also **** at searching apparently since I can NEVER seem to find what I am looking for when others can. But that is a post for another day...

Thanks guys.

The bosch is a great one. I have one and it has worked spectacularly for me. Probably the best bang for the buck on oscillating multi tools. You may also want to bring the jigsaw if you punch a hole with oscillating multi tool you can use a jigsaw to cut the rest of that piece out.

Is this your full time job? They make saws specifically for making rectangular cutouts. OMT will do it, but you're wasting blades and 95% of your time.

i.e.

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-lKYXnVSnKg?start=55&rel=0&showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

edit, cordless version:




<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/r6QMSQKG4ls?start=63&rel=0&showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I've used mine a lot over the last couple years and it's worked very well. Very easy to control. I honestly have no experience with any others. If I found one that was significantly quieter and worked as well I'd go for it (they're loud), but not sure how the competition stacks up with regard to noise level.

First things first. You have to learn to let the tool do the job. Not to say one of these can't or won't ever die, but I've had my HF one for more than a decade and it's probably got a thousand running hours on it. Still works like new you just need to not push it so hard.

So that being said, choosing between the Bosch & Fein I chose Fein. If you have both local to pick up, go with whichever gives you the most value, ie blades you will actually use, longer cord, etc. A depth gage like on a hammer drill (not blades marked with lines you can't see as it's cutting) is a huge benefit sometimes, I know the 'basic' Fein comes with one.

If it's a tool you use regularly it's worth having a backup. I'd pick up a HF one for that purpose. Get the variable speed one, in fact with these tools most of the time you don't want the higher speeds for cutting.

rice rocket said:

Is this your full time job? They make saws specifically for making rectangular cutouts. OMT will do it, but you're wasting blades and 95% of your time.

i.e.

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-lKYXnVSnKg?start=55&rel=0&showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

edit, cordless version:




<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/r6QMSQKG4ls?start=63&rel=0&showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Click to expand...

The work is full time but cutting holes in floors is not. It is just one of the things I need to do.

Thank you for the links but those tools just look like a fancy circular saw to me. I don't see in the video where the tool is specifically for cutting rectangles. It looks like it might get closer to a wall than my circular saw but still won't cut to the edge from the front of the saw which is one of my issues. And inherently the circular blade will not cut a square.

I have the Bosch MX-30, It's made in Switzerland. It is the Schiit!

Bosch GOP40-30xx corded OMT with the new Starlock blades.

The ** varies depending on which kit you get.

https://www.boschtools.com/us/en/boschtools-ocs/corded-oscillating-multi-tools-25337-c/

Or the Fein MultiMaster FMM 350 QSL, again with the Starlock blade interface. Again, different kits available.

https://fein.com/media/datasheet/342759en_us.pdf

https://fein.com/en_us/

https://fein.com/en_us/multi-tools/tools/fein-multimaster/

Yeah, it's a bit annoying that Fein and Bosch came up with a new OMT blade mount interface. But it works.

And both of the tools I mentioned have a pretty nice tools-less and no-touch blade mount or dismount system. No touching a hot blade to change it, just eject it!

Both the new Fein and Bosch OMT versions are (relatively) quiet (for an OMT, all things considered. Still need hearing protection when using them at full speed, but the Bosch is quiet enough on low speed that it isn't really heard in the next room in the house. At night. ). And they are much smoother operating with less vibration into your hands. Variable speed, and more power than most 'older' versions of OMTs.

For me, the Bosch seems to have a bit more 'value' in the kit than the Fein (Bosch kit at around $200 had most of the blades as the Fein FMM355 QSL TOP kit at ~$350 IIRC).

cheechi said:

First things first. You have to learn to let the tool do the job. Not to say one of these can't or won't ever die, but I've had my HF one for more than a decade and it's probably got a thousand running hours on it. Still works like new you just need to not push it so hard.

So that being said, choosing between the Bosch & Fein I chose Fein. If you have both local to pick up, go with whichever gives you the most value, ie blades you will actually use, longer cord, etc. A depth gage like on a hammer drill (not blades marked with lines you can't see as it's cutting) is a huge benefit sometimes, I know the 'basic' Fein comes with one.

If it's a tool you use regularly it's worth having a backup. I'd pick up a HF one for that purpose. Get the variable speed one, in fact with these tools most of the time you don't want the higher speeds for cutting.

Click to expand...

I had no issues with the cheap one until it up and died. I have had it for a few years but now that it has paid for itself I am looking to upgrade to a better one. Quite frankly this one didn't have the balls it really needs to
do what I need to anyway so yes I was probably overworking it a little. The specs say the Bosch is a better unit for heavy duty work.

Thanks guys. I am springing for the Bosch. I just found out I won't need it until tomorrow but I will try to let you know how it worked in comparison to the cheap one.

I just bought the gop40-30c. it has worked great the few times I have used it. I like the starlock blades. I think you will see more manufacturers go to this standard.

If you dont need it "today" let me know. My HD just had the Fein on clearance so I picked up 2. Now I have the universal Bosch model you are talking about and 2 brand new Feins.