Dissapointed by Fein Multimaster

[krismusic]

Hi guys, I recently bought the Fein Multimaster. A brilliant tool while the blade is sharp. Unfortunately that lasts about two minutes before the tool scews up anything that it comes into contact with. :evil: When I spoke to my tool dealer he said " Oh yeah, a lot of my customers bring in twenty or more blades at a time for sharpening". With blades costing atr least a tenner and sharpening £8.50 a go this seems lunatic. Especially as I only seem to find out that the blade is blunt after it has messed up the work. #-o Am I missing something here?

 

[Ateallthepies]

I resharpen my blades with a 3 square diamond file. You can even sharpen the bi-metal blades with it which is what I mostly use.

I use a cross-cut pattern and get 10 or more full sharpens with very blunt blades before the diamond wears off the file. Unless I hit a nail or screw or masonry I can just touch up a dulling blade and get many more sharpens out of one file.

I am not sure about ever messing up the work with blunt blades but I use mine for stuff like lifting floor boards and other rough work and even blunt blades will work though smoke a little more in the wood.

Axminster have a new range of blades for the Multimaster which are a little cheaper and seem OK.

Steve

 

[The Wood Butcher]

I have to concur with our pie-eating colleague and say I've never noticed a blunt multimaster blade to be an issue, but like Steve I brutally use mine for all manner of rough work, such as cutting ducting routes through thick noggins and cutting floorboards out. Those sort of jobs are where the genius that is the Fein is to be found.

I will be using his tip about sharpening with a diamond file.

 

[RogerS]

The Fein...best tool I ever bought. Got me out of so many holes.

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

I can't say mines ever messed any thing up. Even the blunt blades cut quickly. What was you doing at the time??

 

[krismusic]

Thanks for the replies guys. I may try the sharpening tip. I know that it can be really handy for rough work but it is marketed as a precision tool, which would be a zillion times more interesting. The last time it messed up was when i was trying to trim back some engineered flooring. That was freehand but i also tried triming against a fence. Again with poor results.

 

[The Wood Butcher]

With a straight blade or a circular blade? I do that sort of job with it all the time using one of the circular blades, and I take a sort of light scoring cut first to establish a kerf for the blade to run straight in. It works really well.

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

You can get an accessory to make it more like a circular saw.

 

[milkman]

??? I didn't know you could sharpen the blades! I thought they were point-hardened thingys like cheap throw-away handsaws. 3 square diamond you say? Got to give this a go!

 

[krismusic]

With a straight blade or a circular blade? I do that sort of job with it all the time using one of the circular blades, and I take a sort of light scoring cut first to establish a kerf for the blade to run straight in. It works really well.

I'll try the circular blade. I don't think I have yet. Part of the appeal of the tool was being able to cut right into corners though... From the responses here I can't help thinking I am missing something. I take it no one is running twenty blades?! :?

 

[Anonymous]

it is a fantastic little machine, never had a problem with it! i used to cut sash pockets with mine, just practice with it before you dismiss it!

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

With the "plunge" type blades if your not careful you can cause a catch at the ends. This is why a circular blade for "ripping" is the better option. If you have the quick release version (if not you can buy the quick release chuck and fit yourself) when you get to the corners you can quickly swap blades.

I have one "plunge" type and one circular type, although I have looked into the worktop mounting jig and the smaller saw blades and rasps.

 

[Ateallthepies]

??? I didn't know you could sharpen the blades! I thought they were point-hardened thingys like cheap throw-away handsaws. 3 square diamond you say? Got to give this a go!

Yes those Bi-metal blades are very hard and nothing else will touch them. I also tried to anneal one to try and soften it to sharpen with a normal saw file but I just stripped the files teeth!

Here is one I just started...

For rough work they are excellent and can be touched up as long as you have diamond left on your file. One of my blades has been sharpened almost down to where the blade sides are parallel and saved me a lot of money!

If you get a good diamond file you should get quite a few sharpens out of it but even if a file costs a couple of quid and lasts for one sharpen you still save a tenner over buying a new blade.

Steve.

 

[The Wood Butcher]

With a straight blade or a circular blade? I do that sort of job with it all the time using one of the circular blades, and I take a sort of light scoring cut first to establish a kerf for the blade to run straight in. It works really well.

I'll try the circular blade. I don't think I have yet. Part of the appeal of the tool was being able to cut right into corners though... From the responses here I can't help thinking I am missing something. I take it no one is running twenty blades?! :?

That's what the segmented blade is for. It's a circular blade with a flat edge, easier to look at then describe:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/fein-fein-multimaster-segmented-hss-saw-blade-prod19593/

Try not to look at the price however... You run the flat face into the corner, works a treat. The straight blades are really only for trimming and plunging, in my opinion.

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

That's what the segmented blade is for. It's a circular blade with a flat edge, easier to look at then describe:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/fein-fein-multimaster-segmented-hss-saw-blade-prod19593/

Try not to look at the price however... You run the flat face into the corner, works a treat. The straight blades are really only for trimming and plunging, in my opinion.

Thats the blade I use. I will say that yes its good for corners but due to the radius of the blade its not always ideal.

 

[Ateallthepies]

Have you tried using the bi-metal blades for the corners? I find the fine teeth don't skip around as much as the wood only blades and they are stiffer and more rigid and a fine cut can be made tight to the edges.


steve.

 

[Hivenhoe]

Argos were recently sell the bosch blades quite cheaply, also check Focus they may still have bosch blades available in their closing down sale?

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

Argos were recently sell the bosch blades quite cheaply, also check Focus they may still have bosch blades available in their closing down sale?

Bosch blades don't fit the quickly release system if you have that model or chuck BUT I had noticed the other day there was an adapter now

 

[Keenedge]

The Multimaster is one of my better buys, I highly recommend the WSE bimetal blades, if the machine is moved side to side so the sawdust is cleared, it can stop the build-up of heat.

 

[oddsocks]

and I thought i was the only one that sharpened the blades to look like the one in Steve's photo! I discovered a few years ago that even a rough set of teeth filed onto the blade would cut very well (and this was on normal not bi-metal blades). I use a diamond taper file that I bought in a cheap kit years ago at a woodworking show.


I just realised what my last use for it was.....cutting the plastic fascia in my Mondeo between the stereo and the air vents so that the air vents could be removed (the stereo refused to release even with the correct keys).....that job could not have been done with any other tool and I used a resharpened blade.

Even when /if you Fein finally explodes (mine did spectacularly) parts are available - the capacitor in the speed circuit is a 'common' item and it goes with a bang but (from memory) it was less than £15 delivered. My fein is the older version that can take the cheaper bosch fittings
Dave