Oscillating multi-tools, what can they be used for?

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

So... m12 or m18. I have both battery platforms.

What does the m18 excel at that the m12 doesn't? The model i used was cordless and I believe Dremel so I have no comparison.

 

[Dumber than lumber]

The Fein really are better and well worth the money if you are going to use it for more than a few minutes at a time.

I bought mine for patching Masonite siding with Hardi siding. It the only way to cut the nails on the course of Masonite where you stop the patch.

How the heck does that electrical box blade actually work; I don;t get it.

Without the OMT the way i had to cut those nails was a hacksaw blade.
Hacksaw blade is an oldtimer trick for several things.
That HF box-blade wiggles enough to burrow through the drywall and make a one gang hole for the outlet.

 

[Crabman]

Suzuki

Can you link this please?

I guess now I need to figure out if m18 or m12...

Here is one that has the bit of back and forth

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8770560&highlight=omt#post8770560

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

If you repair a stick 'n tin travel trailer or camper, it's a must have tool. Without one it's like rebuilding an engine with a 12" crescent wrench. Trailer leak and the wood rots, so you have to cut out the rotten wood and splicing in new wood. So anyone with a stick'n tin older than a couple of years needs one. The other tools are a Kreg jig and narrow crown air stapler.

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

I mainly want it for home renovations. Cutting nails, up to 1/2 plywood, some pine board, sheet rock. Nail embedded wood, sheet rock with 2x4, plastic are all things I'll encounter with it.

Can anybody answer the m12 vs m18 question of what can the m18 do that the m12 can't?

 

[dogdog]

I bet no one used it to pick a lock

 

[DerekV]

I mainly want it for home renovations. Cutting nails, up to 1/2 plywood, some pine board, sheet rock. Nail embedded wood, sheet rock with 2x4, plastic are all things I'll encounter with it.

Can anybody answer the m12 vs m18 question of what can the m18 do that the m12 can't?

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

I saw that, it didn't answer much

 

[DerekV]

I saw that, it didn't answer much

I think the takeaway is, you’re overthinking it. Which platform do you prefer? Go with that one. No preference? Go with the cheaper one (M12). They’re both going to do the job very well.

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

I would go m18 due to them having more power but size is a factor.

Does anybody have a size comparison?

 

[jocww]

I would go m18 due to them having more power but size is a factor.

Does anybody have a size comparison?

Then get the m18.... comparison head on over to HD. it is bigger thats why i went m12

 

[mike strobe]

I get what Suzuki is asking. I’m considering it too as I’ve got both 12v and 18v batteries. The new M18 Fuel is just now available. Waiting to see real owners reviews and comparison between M12 Fuel and M18 Fuel besides the Milwaukee Pipelins.

 

[acer66]

To perfectly cut out sections of wall studs, without tearing up everything around them, nothing better IME.

I'll try this out on next electrical job, just for the hell of it.

https://www.harborfreight.com/electrical-box-cutout-saw-for-oscillating-multi-tools-56666.html

Great find!
Does anyone have some real life feedback on this one?

 

[M635_Guy]

I would go m18 due to them having more power but size is a factor.

Does anybody have a size comparison?

Now that there's an M18 Fuel version (which means the less vibration/noise isn't as big a thing), I think the M18 vs M12 question is mainly boiled down to power and time-on-battery. You can get a hell of a lot more energy density in M18 batteries, so if you need max time/single battery then that's your boy.

If size is a factor, I don't think the M18 is for you.

 

[DerekV]

I would go m18 due to them having more power but size is a factor.

Does anybody have a size comparison?

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHgj_X2jeqo/?igshid=rzfbug321u5i

 

[PDM]

Not super relevant to most but in the race community (auto-x and hillclimb) we clean up our race tires with these tools to clean up OPR ( Other People's Rubber) your hot tires pick up from the course or if you go offline picking up what they call "marbles" of shredded race tire pieces. Because our runs are short sprints from a standing start having clean tires without the garbage on the tire surface is crucial in our sport where timing is to the thousandths.

View media item 108011


This is the junk off my Formula Ford race tires after only six 45 second runs.

View media item 108012
Even 200TW street tires pickup OPR. Our E Street Miata tires after a day's runs.

View media item 108013
Oh...and I also use my Makita tool for regular house building tasks too.

 

[nadogail]

I asked my Cabinet Maker about the practicability of them because I considered buying one. He told me "Once you get one, you will wonder how you ever got along without it".

Time has proven him to be right. We used it to remove the tiles holding a kitchen sink in place so we could drop in a replacement, the labor savings paid for the tool. Another job we used the tool to cut out lavatory faucets from the underside. We like to tool so much I am considering buying another so we don't have to remember to move it from the workshop to the service truck and back again.

I have found that Bosh blades are holding up better than the cheap ones.

 

[jgromada]

Whatever oscillating tool you have I highly recommend a depth gauge. I have a nice one from DeWalt DCS355

Nice to know you can go through dry wall and no further so no fear of hitting cable underneath.






I know they exist for Fein, Bosch and Porter Cable.

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHgj_X2jeqo/?igshid=rzfbug321u5i

This right here made me go m18...

 

[jgromada]

Great find!
Does anyone have some real life feedback on this one?

Yes i got one, & i love it. For $15 it is a bargain, works well.

 

[mike strobe]

Thanks for that comparison clip. I’m going with the m18 as well

 

[DerekV]

This right here made me go m18...

[emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

 

[DerekV]

Thanks for that comparison clip. I’m going with the m18 as well

[emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

 

[gtsgarage]

This right here made me go m18...

If you have both batteries that’s a good decision.

I’ve only got m12 and lots of them. Just got the fuel version from the 11/11 deal at HD. Can’t open until Christmas.

 

[jocww]

m18 is also heavier than the m12. Im only 35 but Im already seeing the light of lighter tools.

 

[acer66]

Yes i got one, & i love it. For $15 it is a bargain, works well.

Will try it out then, thank you.

 

[acer66]

m18 is also heavier than the m12. Im only 35 but Im already seeing the light of lighter tools.

Yeah, most of my go to tools are 12v.
Some 18v tools seem to get bigger, stronger, heavier with powerful big batteries that they get to cumbersome for me.

 

[ThatSickRip]

This right here made me go m18...

The HD deal for the M12, the radio charger and 2 3.0 batteries made me go with the M12. It was $219, so $10 less than the M18 bare tool. Couldnt pass that up, and I already have that radio and the original M18 OMT lol

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

The HD deal for the M12, the radio charger and 2 3.0 batteries made me go with the M12. It was $219, so $10 less than the M18 bare tool. Couldnt pass that up, and I already have that radio and the original M18 OMT lol

Is this existing?

 

[ThatSickRip]

Is this existing?

No, it was one of their Special Buys of the Day last week.

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

I bought the m18, 2836-21

 

[zendriver]

I like putting every power tool in its own case with blades/accessory‘s.

If it didn’t come with it’s own, I’ll re-purpose one from somewhere else. I had a very sturdy D Walt box from the dumpster, but it had plastic partitions inside from whatever product it originally had.

I just use a multi tool, with a offset plunge blade that pretty easily and evenly hacked out all of the partition plastic, making a nice case for my Stanley electric staple gun and staples



Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

MMM, cutting plastic. A handy use.

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

MMM, cutting plastic. A handy use.

Just made some cuts in a Rubbermaid type container the other day. Worked awesome!

 

[honcho]

removing grout, removing caulk, cutting pvc drain pipe in tight locations. Just today used my Makita to cut corroded hardware off.

Have used Fein, Harbor Freight, Dremel and Makita, all corded. Fein is definitely the smoothest running, Harbor Freight has the most vibration but worked fine. I wouldn't want to use the HF version for a a long stretch of time. Dremel and Makita are closer to, but not nearly as smooth as Fein, though much less expensive.

 

[C lectric]

Borrowed one to trim the wall/floor moulding under where some large floor to ceiling mirrors were mounted. I was not going to move the mirrors as they were glued. I was installing the new flooring and needed to get the clearance. About 15 ft of wall moulding to trim. Did a great job by placing the unit on a scrap of flooring and used the 1/2 circumference cutter. Of course all the door jambs and trim for flooring clearance.

After I bought my own I cut off the dead kitchen faucet. Saber saw maybe but there was not much room and I figured it would be hard to control. One slip would have done a lot of damage. No room to get at the nuts either. It took a bit of time but it did a good job.
Used it on the boat and so on.

Since then I have found a number of other jobs. It is not fast but it can, as others have said, be gotten into areas that would have been almost impossible otherwise without a lot more work dismantling/destroying something else.

 

[Jamie in wv]

Apparently when searching for accessories google says some women use them with a life like body part attached to them!

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

I guess they have to be locked up.

 

[jeepnut24]

Mine shakes the **** out of my arm.... I haven’t used it nearly as much as I thought I might. Used my porter cable today and had to stop due to fatigue. Anyone have any suggestions for new attachments beyond the toothed blades, scrapers and sanding pads? They seem like that would remove rust well given accretive attachment or two. Any suggestions on getting more precision from them?

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

Funny enough, dog was sniffing around a piece of wall board I replaced months ago due to rodent damage. I cleaned it all up, sprayed down in there and blocked up what I could with wood. They were climbing up the chimney that is next to that portion of the wall and nesting. I assume this one came down the side of the chimney through a small gap at the top of the wall cavity (I assumed if they couldn't climb up, they wouldn't be able to get higher than that point) and got stuck. Died. Well, I was able to take my OMT and nicely cut out the wall section to see which cavity it was in and remove the mouse. Cut out the new piece of sheet rock with OMT, trace on wall, cut out that and replace. I'll sand spackle with OMT and be done with it.

I used to dread using a utility knife with sheet rock. I'm happy now!