A report from rec.woodworking was that it is impossible to tighten the HF screw tight enough, though wasn't enough of a problem to put the HF tool into the junk category.
Very clever. Patent the tool, then after that runs out patent the chuck that makes it usable. ;-)
It appears to be an oscillating, not rotating, tool. How did they eliminate vibrations?
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On stuff that you use a lot I agree. The best is my Metabo drill (a very reputable German brand). I really tortured that thing, stuff like sanding off the paint of >1000sqft of decking in 10h Marathon-sessions. The only thing that ever went kaputt in 35 years was the strain relief area of the power cord, fixed in five minutes.
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM.
This Bosch 4V driver looks insufferably cute:
For awhile I was "all Dewalt," but the Bosch PS40A changed that... I actually went out and bought a Dewalt impact driver, but at least 9 times out of 10 I still reach for the Bosch -- the Dewalt is bigger, heavier, and ironically its being faster is sometimes a drawback. (It does, of course, have more torque if you actually need it... which I seldom do...)
I was using the Rockwell Sonicrafter on Thursday/Friday to cut out a couple chunks of wallboard and the plywood behind it (in the ceiling... the chunks were removed where the wall meets the ceiling... we don't have an attic...) to run power for a ceiling fan in the master bedroom. It worked quite well, although the head does get a little hot for comfort under prolonged use. Still, far less dust than, e.g., a Rotozip-type tool, and a lot easier than trying to get a jigsaw or reciprocating saw up in the there.
---Joel
Happened to be in Lowe's this morning for other reasons, but I checked out the Dremel... looks like they've fixed the blade holder to be like Bosch et al.
I'll listen here for awhile longer before making my choice... I mainly need grout clean-up, but wish they all could do metal.
...Jim Thompson
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| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
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I love to cook with wine Sometimes I even put it in the food
So it is. I've never seen one. I note that it'll take 12V batteries too. Maybe...
The Milwaukee is a broken cylinder type. I hate them. I'd rather use a manual screwdriver.
I have the 18V Dewalts, if I need them. I got them for decks and such. BTW, if you're in the market for a circular saw, the rear-pivot Dewalt DW364 is really nice. Another tool I was very pleasantly surprised by. I got fed up with my old Ryobi (which was a large move up from a Crapsman).
I'm not familiar with the Sonicrafter. It looks like another one of the multi-tools, perhaps a light weight one? I use a cordless Rotozip[*], then spend hours cleaning up. ;-) Actually, I'm looking to replace it too, since I've just about blown the bearings doing particle board, cement backer board, and tile. It makes a horrible sound now. [*] Which reminds me. I gotta find it so I can get its batteries out of the garage. It's often over 120F in there.
I used my Rotozip to cut the grout out of the master bathroom in my VT house. What an expensive, time consuming, and frustrating chore! The bits are $10 each and Home Despot. I went through about two dozen of them. Fortunately, I found them for 3/$10 online after I found out how many I was going to be using. I certainly hope there never is a next time for that job, but if there is I'll certainly try a Multi* tool.
Even on stuff that's not used a lot. It's no savings to have a saw that can't cut a straight line.
I believe the idea is to cut or grind the surface rather than rip/tear it. Sorta like a reciprocating saw. Put the wrong blade in the thing and you'll go for a ride or perhaps even break an arm.
Hi Keith,
I'd be surprised if it accepts the 12V batteries, although I suppose it could... someone could have designed them a little buck or Cuk converter in there.
The charger is advertised as working with both the 4V and 12V batteries, which is good.
I was talking about this one:
We had the "broken cylinder"-type screwdrivers back, wow, ~15 years ago now where I once worked. I saw very little value in them.
At the moment the only handheld circular saw I have is a 14.4V Dewalt -- certainly not in the same league as yours there, although I'm generally just using it to cut through plywood, so it's adequate if not stellar. I've been occasionally kicking around the idea of the 36V Dewalt cordless circular saw, since AFAIK it's the only "prosumer" level cordless saw that accepts full
7-1/4" blades. I keep hoping they'll release a 18V (using the newer Nano batteries) version. (The current 18V version is 6-1/2"... grumble...)I think it's actually a bit heavier than the Dremel... but more expensive too ($120-$180 depending on how many accessories you'd like included in the kit vs. $100). So you're about 1/3 the price of a Fein Multimaster, and the reviews I read said it really was almost as good... except for having the old screw-lock blades that are prone to just out of position if you apply too much sideways torque. I bought it over the Dremel based on thinking I'd want the slightly-more-powerful motor and the perceived better availability of accessories, but objectively I have no idea how valid those thoughts are.
But I do know that it works and I'm happy enough with it to keep it. :-)
Hmm... I see that "everything Dremel" is now made in China, understandably enough. I bought my first Dremel tool back in high school, back when they were made in my home state of Wisconsin (in fact, my mother and grandparents spent years living in Racine, Wisconsin, where they started)... how times change...
Our pressure washer ruptured its (some sort of cast metal) output hose connection over last winter, which utterly amazed me (both because I wouldn't have thought much water would have remained in the thing nor that, in our garage in southern Oregon, it would have gotten down to freezing). Happily, the replacement part was cheap and readily available from Amazon. Amusingly, one of the customer comments about it began with, "I left my pressure washer in my garage over winter..." :-)
Amazon's best-selling "home improvement" list can be interesting to look at:
---Joel
On a saw, yes, that's bad. I've made that mistake. After moving across an ocean we needed to buy lots of stuff new. So that wasn't the time for large tool expenses. But I needed a circular saw so I got one on "sale" at ACE, a Black&Decker. BIG mistake, the bearing started to develop sideways slack really fast, no straight cuts possible anymore. Then I bought an older all-metal Skil at a yard sale, 12 bucks. Best saw I ever owned.
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM.
Ah, yes. I misread the page. I'm not so interested if it takes yet another battery type.
Yes, that looks a lot like the Bosch.
I have the 18V circular saw too. It's OK, but I still reach for the DW364. I bought the cordless saw to more or less replace the 3-3/8"
9.6V Makita. It was great for cedar siding, but not much good for anything else. Since my current house has cement siding...Really? Is this a different one? I know nothing about them and just found this with a search.
Maybe that's why Arrow and Avenet are always visiting us. We still manufacture our own stuff.
Living in VT sorta forced a respect for freezing water. Here in AL, they don't even have frost-free silcocks. Scares the crap outta me, since everything is built on a slab.
Amazon knows my address well. ;-) I bought a Unisaw from them a couple of months ago and there are smiley boxes all over the garage. The Unisaw was too good of a deal to pass up (a slow economy has its benefits). Even SWMBO didn't flinch, too much. "It didn't cost any more than the quilt on our bed (that the cats sleep on)." ;-)
Hi Keith,
That's the one. Kinda cheesy web site there... (I bought mine from Amazon.)
Here's a review:
They have a link there to a "round up" of others too:
Nice!
I have the Craftsman version of the Ryobi BT3000 saw, which is sufficient enough for my current needs. My favorite saw is a Makita LS1214FL compond sliding miter saw that my wife bought me a couple years ago for my birthday... it's a beautiful piece of machinery that I expect will easily outlive me. Even the purring sounds of the gears and the motor as the blade spins up and down are a joy to listen to. :-)
I do think we're about to hit the golden age of cordless power tools... the improvements in battery life (driven largely by laptops and cell phones, I imagine) have really helped their performance within the past decade.
---Joel
The blade mounting screw is an M8 cap screw according to the parts list, with nominal diameter min/max of 7.78 to 8.0 mm The thread diameter for the blade mounting screw measures .31" with the caliper, so that's verified. The hole in the blade is, of course, a little greater than .31" diameter. I think the hole size is all that matters, but I measured the shoulder of the spindle that the blade sits on anyway. My caliper is
0-1 inch, just a bit too small to measure the shoulder of the spindle that the blade is mounted to. The ruler says 1 1/16" for the spindle shoulder.Haven't seen the Fein blades, but I would bet they are more durable than the Harbor Freight blades.
Ed
Yes, it is definitely oscillating. I have no idea how they minimize the vibration, or even if it is necessary. The oscillation amplitude is very small, and frequency is rated at 11000 cps. Vibration might be a factor if you use the tool for a long time - I don't know. My testing was brief.
Ed time
The blade order form that came with my Fein when I bought it in 2004 lists prices between $30 to $48 for various blades. I think you can see why I'm looking for another source of blades. The screw size doesn't really help. Fein uses an M6 screw, but the screw doesn't actually center the blade. The mounting the blade sits on has a
10mm diameter lip that mates with the blade hole to keep the blade centered. (The blade holes are actually 10.1 mm, the tool lip measures exactly 10mm). I'm trying to find out whether Harbor Freight blades will fit the Fein. I need either the blade hole size or the size of the feature on the HF, be it spindle, shoulder or lip for centering the blade.Michael Robinson Inscribed thus:
If you access to a lathe, turn a collar to take up the difference ! It wouldn't be the first time that I have skimmed a shoulder to take a smaller centre.
On my Makita the blade mounting is a loose collar that is reversible so you can turn it over for a larger/smaller hole.
--
Best Regards:
Baron.
Why not just buy the HF tool and use it for anything where you don't need the precision of the Fein, in case there turns out to be enough of a difference?
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I wonder why Amazon is 3X the price? Has it been discontinued?
Interesting. As the site indicates, I'd be a little concerned by the "who is Rockwell" question. BTW, who *is* Rockwell. ;-)
Good information. Thanks. I think it convinced me that the Bosch is what I want. I'm not anticipating using it for sanding. I am concerned about it killing a battery in eight minutes. A 7.5C discharge rate sounds incredibly hard on the pack.
I need to cut some bamboo flooring. One of these tools is the only way I can think of to cut the flooring up to the wall. I'll use a circular saw out in the middle so I don't need to cut all that far. OTOH, I may just rip up the whole floor and start over. ;-) Actually, if it weren't glued down, I probably would.
Unfortunately it's too hot to use it now.
That's a nice saw. As I said earlier I have the HF 10" SCMS and am considering upgrading it. The thing is on a Dewalt stand that cost twice as much as the saw did. ;-) Do you consider the 12" saw to be a big advantage over the 10". I was going to stay with the 10" so I didn't have to buy new blades. Both my Crapsman RAS and Unisaw are
10" and I have a few nice blades. 10" blades are also considerably cheaper than 12". I don't cut too many 4x4s, and I've always used a hand-held with the cut-n-flip routine.I think we're already there. I would have scoffed at the idea of a battery powered circular saw. My 15YO Makita is good for clapboards, but a 1/2" piece of plywood will choke it. The Dewalt 18V has a blade that's twice the size and it'll chew right through plywood.
I had a Crapsman circular saw that came with such sloppy bearings and a sabre saw that's blade insists on following the grain. I won't make that mistake again. I buy good tools so I won't get stuck with junk.
A worm-gear drive saw? I don't like those at all. Next time you're at a Lowes, or such, check out the Dewalt rear-pivot circular saw. It's simply amazing.
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