Good Vibrations

I blame the persistent cold and gray weather, and some floor radiator-vents at the Low Granite Outcropping that are not fully operational. Namely the vent-flaps cam-down and stop against the wooden recesses in the sub-floor. We replaced all the cheap, beige-painted tin-vents from Home Depot with nicer bronze-finish steel ones, but the original holes cut into the floor don’t fully accommodate a complete range of motion.
Looking down in there, the base of the “box” that holds the vent-tin and ducting needs to be relieved, but my Sawzall is too big and long-stroke, even with a short blade while the Jigsaw is too short-stroke and physically un-accommodating. It simply can’t fit down in the hole there and make (any) of the cuts without a juddering mess. So I hit upon a tool-idea that should solve the problem and got my Amazon on…multimaster
I really liked the Fein drill I had a few years back, and had checked these tools out but was not convinced I had an actual need. Since that time a number of improvements have been made, patents ran-out and competition has emerged from everywhere to drive more innovation – like interchangeability, tool-less blade-swapping – and more power/less vibration. Since nobody else is going to get me this for Christmas, I figured I’d have to be my own Santa, because: Home Improvements.
I got the basic starter-kit and a couple additional pieces; a circular-saw blade with a depth-stop to control the amount of cutting. We’ll see how it goes, Reportedly the Bosch blades work nicely and in some application may be superior…
UPDATE: Cropped-down pic from MultiMaster Website – I’m thinking something like this will get into tight corners and spaces:
MultiMasterSawCut
The original plaster-cast saw came out in 1967. In 1969 after I broke my wrist ice-skating, they used one on me to remove the cast (after a month of itching and scratching). I thought sure as hell they were going to cut my arm off, but you could actually touch the blade and nothing happened, they showed me and it was pretty cool, and seeing a picture of it again was a real flash-back.
multimaster-history-1

About NotClauswitz

The semi-sprawling adventures of a culturally hegemonic former flat-lander and anti-idiotarian individualist, fleeing the toxic cultural smug emitted by self-satisfied lotus-eating low-land Tesla-driving floppy-hat wearing lizadroid-Leftbat Califorganic eco-tofuistas ~

12 thoughts on “Good Vibrations”

  1. that’s new to me and it looks interesting so let us know how you get on.I’ve enjoyed your posts this year and I hope to read lots more next year so a Merry Christmas to you and yours and happy blogging.

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    • Thank-you Thud, I’ll take some better pictures when it arrives! It should be able to get into corners and awkward-spots where other tools can’t. Your posts on stone-work are inspiring, so keep it up! Have a Tin-Cup Merry Christmas!

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  3. Does it also accept Magic Wand attachments?

    She’s givin’ me the excitations …
    AAAHHHHHHHHHHH!
    Good, good, good, good vibrations

    Yeah, I went there. 0:)

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  4. You won’t be disappointed with Fein. Or Festool if you get that far. The American companies produce products to a price. Like $35 circular saws at the big box stores. The Germans design a product and then decide what the price needs to be.

    My Fein Tools oscillating cutter is more than 10 years old. Looks and works like new.

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    • I really liked the 14v. Fein cordless drill I had, but when the battery wore-out and died after several years they had switched to a different type and it was unsupported. Their vacuum/dust-collectors are world-class, and quiet. I have to wear hear-pro when I run the Rigid shop-vac!

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  5. Bought me one of the battery-powered jobs about 5 or 6 years ago, name-branded by built on mainland China.

    It works well for the chores where it’s needed, for damn sure.

    Saw the Fein many years ago now when visiting the in-laws in Krauterland, the FIL stood there at the bauhaus with obvious lust, and he was a professional machinist. I figured it must be a good tool if it met his standards.

    Good luck.

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  6. The evolution of power hand tools follows necessity. I invented the tool shown for undercutting door jambs for floor installations. Different applications soon followed. My original idea came after I witnessed use of a semi rotary bone cutter used in surgeries. Of course bringing an idea to market is the crux. I am not saying someone infringed on ‘my’ idea but to say many talented people often have same idea. Fein makes very good tools or did when I was active. Necessity will drive the market.

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  7. That’s not cheap! I’ve been using the Horror Fright corded model. Fried the first one. They don’t profile the contact surface of the motor brushes on the cheap Chinese tools, so if you work it hard before they can wear in, the heavy draw causes a melt-down. I profiled the brushes on the replacement tool, and it worked for a couple years before it let the smoke out. Picked up two for replacement, so I’d have a spare.

    Very handy tool. Cuts plastic conduit, and wood. Being able to cut sheetrock and lumber without needing clearance on the back side is where this type tool shines. Flush-cutting is real useful, also.

    Try to use blades that are rated for both wood and metal. If you hit a nail with a non-metal rated blade, it chews it up instantly, and blades are expensive.

    I wear earmuffs when using it. And gloves, if cutting for any real time length. I’m considering getting some gel-filled anti-vibration gloves, to counter the hand numbing effect when I use it for an extended time. Haven’t tried any sanding, yet.

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