# Wow had no idea what an Oscillating Tool can do.



## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

Last year I bought a Harbor Freight Oscillating Multifunction Power Tool for under $20 and only used it for 4 cuts before tossing it a drawer. 

I’ve been cutting a lot of stopped dadoes and rabbits this past weekend and used a table saw for the long cuts then switched to a router and chisel for the ends. It was getting to be a pain especially with a dull chisel in plywood. I had one cut that was giving me trouble because I couldn't get the router in close enough and then I remembered I had an Oscillating Tool so I gave it a try.

OMG why haven’t I known about this years ago? :huh:

It worked so well that I made all my other dado cuts with this. I don't think I will never use a router and chisel again. It even worked in flattening a round saw blade cut without cutting past my stop. Tomorrow I’m going to buy some narrow blades to do ¾” wide dadoes. :yes:


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## jschaben (Apr 1, 2010)

I agree, the things are amazing.. I don't use mine much for woodworking but I wore out a dremel on my DIY and maintenance jobs. I ended up buying a Fein because the Dremel only made it out of the warranty. :smile:


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*It won't replace a router*

I might use it to square the ends of a stopped dado, but not for the whole length. I have the same one as you and for the money it's a real bargain. I use mine mostly for remoldeling where I can't get a saw in tight spots.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

woodnthings said:


> I might use it to square the ends of a stopped dado, but not for the whole length. I have the same one as you and for the money it's a real bargain. I use mine mostly for remoldeling where I can't get a saw in tight spots.


No I wouldn't even try to use it for the whole dado. I don't think the blade could cut that much anyway. I enjoy my Table Saw and use it the most. I know the router is the best tool for dadoes and I have 5 of them, but it's always such a pain for me to set up.
I can never find the correct fence or guide for the router I'm using and I do have a dado jig but it only works for one router. One of these days I'll build some more jigs for the other routers. :smile:


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## jschaben (Apr 1, 2010)

Sleeper said:


> No I wouldn't even try to use it for the whole dado. I don't think the blade could cut that much anyway. I enjoy my Table Saw and use it the most. I know the router is the best tool for dadoes and I have 5 of them, but it's always such a pain for me to set up.
> I can never find the correct fence or guide for the router I'm using and I do have a dado jig but it only works for one router. One of these days I'll build some more jigs for the other routers. :smile:


Why not just build one, or modify the one you have, to use a guide bushing instead of the baseplate? That way any router that will take a bushing can be used.:smile:
It also makes the jig more flexible for different size dados. I made mine with a 3/4" bushing and a 1/2" bit so now I can use any bit/bushing combination with a 1/8" offset. The real plus here is on smaller dados, say, for 1/2" plywood. A 1/2" bushing and a 1/4" bit will get me down to a 1/4" wide dado if needed. Still the same jig.


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## Maylar (Sep 3, 2013)

Umm... what are these oscillating thingies? What can they do?


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

I can't tell you how many times I've installed a base cabinet and had to cut the base moulding to get the cabinet to the wall. Yep, a hammer and a chisel WAS the way. Not the best way though if the base isn't tight to the wall.

So, after seeing some of the infomercials, I thought I would pick up one at HF on sale just as a fluke. It was about $24 IIRC. The first time I used it was when my microwave died, and I had to replace it. The old one finished off on top of the back splash behind the range. It was laminate on ¾" plywood, against a block wall.

The new microwave needed a ¼" cut off along the length of the splash (30"). So, I brought out my new tool, and I gotta say I got it to follow a pencil line the whole way, and a clean cut end to end. No other way to do that without it being a big PITA and a lot of shouting. It took about 10 minutes, but that tool earned its keep that day. 

Since then, I've used it on base, and it beats the heck out of a chisel and a hammer.:yes:


















.


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## Gilgaron (Mar 16, 2012)

Maylar said:


> Umm... what are these oscillating thingies? What can they do?


Dremel Multimax is what I have, lots of brands of them out there. They can be detail sanders, flush cut saws, grout removers etc based on attachments. Think of how a rotary tool is used for a variety of purposes. Like a rotary tool they won't be used every day, and sometimes aren't even the best thing to use, but you'll be glad you have it in some bizarre situation where it is the only tool on hand that will do what you need.


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## ctwiggs1 (Mar 30, 2011)

Installing laminate flooring is where mine really earned it's keep. I could rest the cutter on a piece of scrap around doorways and cut a perfect line so that my Pergo would go under the jam. Other than a chisel, I'm not sure how else I would have done it. Regardless, it took a one-hour-per-door process and turned it into a 10-minute-process-per house.

Curtis


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## rbk123 (Jan 10, 2013)

ctwiggs1 said:


> Installing laminate flooring is where mine really earned it's keep. I could rest the cutter on a piece of scrap around doorways and cut a perfect line so that my Pergo would go under the jam. Other than a chisel, I'm not sure how else I would have done it. Regardless, it took a one-hour-per-door process and turned it into a 10-minute-process-per house.


They make jamb saws for the purpose of doing it by hand exactly as you described. However once you do it with a multi-tool like you are, there's no going back...


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

rbk123 said:


> They make jamb saws for the purpose of doing it by hand exactly as you described. However once you do it with a multi-tool like you are, there's no going back...


 Oh man I sure wish I had one when I did this job. I first had to cut a straight line between the two different flooring materials and then I used a jamb saw for the ends, but it was a real pain in the butt.



















I was so frustrated that I even tried to do it with a SawZaw.:shifty:










It took a while, but I finally managed it. :smile:


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## Jim West Pa (Jul 27, 2010)

They are indeed a priceless tool when needed.
I got mine out ( a cordless Craftsman Extel, or something like that) two days ago and the allan bolt to change the blade stripped out.
I just got back from Sears. My tool was a Christmas gift two years ago and tonight they didn't even question an exchange. In fact, since they no longer carry the cordless model, they pulled two corded models from the shelf and told me to pick the one I wanted.
Like I said, a priceless tool when needed and .....
Bravo Sears :thumbsup:


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## johnep (Apr 12, 2007)

Fein have a video on the site which shows everything. 
johnep


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## jharris2 (Jul 9, 2012)




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## Fins59 (Oct 16, 2011)

Recently I built a cupola for my garage. Used regular asphalt shingles on it. Used the HF oscillating tool with the half moon blade to trim the roofing shingles. Really worked well. Did my entire house roof a few years ago and used a roofing knife to cut shingles, a real PIA.

Don't how accurate this is, but I heard Fein invented and patented this tool for the purpose of removing plaster casts from people. (you can turn on tool and hold your finger against blade and it won't cut you unless you put pressure on blade). Somehow the tool caught on with woodworkers, etc. I think Fein was selling these things for around $400 according to some TV infomercials I saw a few years ago.

Then the patent ran out and any tool manufacturer then could make them, hence the price came way down. 

Just remembered........ I used a HF tool to trim the vinyl siding I installed on a new 30x48 garage. Actually burned the tool out from so much use and promptly went down to HF and purchased another one.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

I have yet to check out all the other blades, but I’m interested now. For the price of the HF tools you could go through a few of them for the price of the others. I’m very happy so far with my HF oscillating tool. 

I’ve been thinking about my original comment on the router and Bill is correct it will not eliminate the router, but the oscillating tool sure makes it easy to square out the corners. I really need to perfect my skills with the router and make some jigs. 

The thing that drives me crazy with the router is that I can’t make a full depth cut. I hate having to readjust the depth so many times and sometimes cut too deep because of it. Plus I’m usually in a hurry and burn up a lot of bits.


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## jharris2 (Jul 9, 2012)

sleeper said:


> ...the thing that drives me crazy with the router is that i can&#146;t make a full depth cut. I hate having to readjust the depth so many times and sometimes cut too deep because of it. Plus i&#146;m usually in a hurry and burn up a lot of bits.


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