Oscillating Multitools: Your Versatile New Assistant

By Matt Weber

Oscillating Multitools Take the Market by Storm

These days, oscillating multitools are among the hottest items at the hardware store—not that they’re exactly new to the market. In fact, Fein Power Tools Inc. had cornered the oscillating multitool market for nearly 25 years before the company’s patent expired in 2009, opening a window for major tool manufacturers to swoop in and introduce competitive multitools of their own.

The dictionary defines oscillate as a verb meaning “to swing back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm.” By utilizing high-speed oscillation rather than rotation or reciprocation, these versatile instruments can scrape, sand, plunge cut, flush cut and more, using a broad assortment of accessory blades. The oscillating action allows the user to perform either fine, detail work or to tackle more aggressive applications.

The reason the clumsily named oscillating multitools have not been a workshop staple for the last couple of decades rests primarily on the price of the Fein unit. While still considered the “Cadillac” of oscillating tools among many professionals, the company’s flagship kit, the MultiMaster FMM 250Q Top, costs nearly $400—a price many remodelers and most DIY’ers cannot justify. You do, however, get what you pay for, as the Fein unit has rock-solid construction, low vibration, a high-powered 250-watt motor, a quick-change blade system (nice!), as well as other bells and whistles that qualify it as a standout among the competition. Still, that high price is often simply cost-prohibitive, compounded by the fact that Fein’s accessory blades cost a whopping $20 or more a pop.

Compare those prices to the new Rockwell SoniCrafter ($150), the Dremel Multi-Max ($120), Bosch Multi-X ($160) or the Ridgid JobMax ($100). For the penny-pincher, you can even find the Genesis GMT15A Multifunction Oscillating Tool at Amazon.com for about $40.

However, those prices, as it seems is the case with most of the latest multitools, are contingent on the contents of the kit. Most major manufacturers offer a streamlined kit that includes a multitool with only a few basic blades at an introductory price, while offering alternative packages that include more accessory blades and are priced accordingly.

The functionality of the tools lies in the type of accessory being used. Available are sanding pads in a variety of grits, scraper blades for removing tile adhesive, flush-cut blades that eliminate the need to purchase a dedicated jamb saw … and many, many more.

The back-and-forth action of the multitools can reach speeds of 21,000 oscillations per minute.