Customer Reviews

Fein MSX-636-2START MultiMaster Start Single Speed Tool

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I prefer the variable speed model. Gives you a lot more control, especially in delicate situations. Here is my review of the variable speed model.
I installed French Doors off of the living room, with a landing, and handrails, and trimmed out the new opening. The Fein Multimaster was with me all the way. I started off needing a detail sander, that would get into tight places, that the usual sander with a larger motor, hanging out over the triangular sanding head would not reach. The motor head would get in the way. So a long body sander is what I needed. I went to Home Depot and bought a Ryobi, thinking it would suffice for as often as I needed to do corners. Wrong! No matter what grade of paper I put on it, it dug a hole, made a lot of noise, and refused to sand an even plane. I returned it. In disgust, I popped for the Fein Multimaster Kit. Wow, what a difference. The sanding function was smooth, but not so aggressive as to eat holes in the wood. It starts off with such a light touch, that you can even hold one of their jagged teeth cutting blade attachments against your skin without any harm, but when you apply it against the wood, and exert a little pressure, it slices right through it effortlessly, and evenly. So the more resistance, the greater the cutting or sanding action. The variable speed model is perferred. It is vibration, rather than a stroke, especially at the lower settings. Once you speed up the tool it goes all the way to a mini-stroke. Gives you a lot more control when working up against the edge of something. Truly a masterful tool.
You have the option of buying the sanding head with the holes in it, and the vacuum attachment, giving you relatively dust free sanding. Great if you are working in a clean environment, and don't want to blanket the room.
The cutting blade that comes with it, that is a half moon shape, does a nice job, but is designed as a freebie to go with the system, and is not as durable as their e-cut blades, which aren't cheap. The e-cut blades also are rectangular so they reach into tighter corners. Makes a perfect job, when removing the wood spacer-shims from the door surround, and cutting fine lines in most any application, where precision is the key.
When instaling the trim of the door opening, I had to make a cut at the base, that would meet flush with the tile, for the floor. The flush cutting blade, with its offset design, made me look like Michelangelo. :-) Well OK it is not the Sistine Chapel, but the mating of the wood to the surface of the tile was perfect. No effort, and easy to control. I laid the tile up against the wood, pencil scribed a line, then removed the tile, and cut the wood with the flush bit, just using the pencil line as my guide. Effortless. The fit was so nice, I had to snug the tile in under the line.

Bosch makes a flush cutter also, and the advantage to that, is that the blades are available locally. The problem is that the Bosch is not also a sander, and scraper etc. Cost almost the same, and is a one use tool.
I noticed that the paper for the Fein has a good backer on it. Saves you from a curling end, which leads to a buggered up backing on the sanding pad. Very exacting, and very well made.
You will notice in the Amazon sales rank, that the Fein outsells the Bosch. I love Bosch equipment, so I am not knocking the tool.
The optional mini e-cut blades kit is smaller than you would imagine. Combined with the precision vibration of the tool, enables you to work on smaller scale fine work as well.
When sanding with the coarser grits, and some pressure, you can remove a good deal of material in short order. By using a finer grit, and a softer push, you can polish the surface to a smooth finish.
I have the Fein RT-1800 Router, which is more of an industrial quality piece of equipment, and this Multi-Master will give me many years of reliable service, the same as the router. Fein makes first class stuff.
This is one of those tools, that you don't use as often as a cordless drill, but when you need to do something that it does, it's done effortlessly, and beautifully. Strong, yet gentle, durable yet light. It's the perfect mix. Definitely a five star piece of equipment, and worth every penny of it's hefty price tag. Buy it, you won't be sorry.

I installed French Doors off of the living room, with a landing, and handrails, and trimmed out the new opening. The Fein Multimaster was with me all the way. I started off needing a detail sander, that would get into tight places, that the usual sander with a larger motor, hanging out over the triangular sanding head would not reach. The motor head would get in the way. So a long body sander is what I needed. I went to Home Depot and bought a Ryobi, thinking it would suffice for as often as I needed to do corners. Wrong! No matter what grade of paper I put on it, it dug a hole, made a lot of noise, and refused to sand an even plane. I returned it. In disgust, I popped for the Fein Multimaster Kit. Wow, what a difference. The sanding function was smooth, but not so aggressive as to eat holes in the wood. It starts off with such a light touch, that you can even hold one of their jagged teeth cutting blade attachments against your skin without any harm, but when you apply it against the wood, and exert a little pressure, it slices right through it effortlessly, and evenly. So the more resistance, the greater the cutting or sanding action. It is vibration, rather than a stroke. Gives you a lot more control when working up against the edge of something. Truly a masterful tool.
You have the option of buying the sanding head with the holes in it, and the vacuum attachment, giving you relatively dust free sanding. Great if you are working in a clean environment, and don't want to blanket the room.
The cutting blade that comes with it, that is a half moon shape, does a nice job, but is designed as a freebie to go with the system, and is not as durable as their e-cut blades, which aren't cheap. The e-cut blades also are rectangular so they reach into tighter corners. Makes a perfect job, when removing the wood spacer-shims from the door surround, and cutting fine lines in most any application, where precision is the key.
When instaling the trim of the door opening, I had to make a cut at the base, that would meet flush with the tile, for the floor. The flush cutting blade, with its offset design, made me look like Michelangelo. :-) Well OK it is not the Sistine Chapel, but the mating of the wood to the surface of the tile was perfect. No effort, and easy to control. I laid the tile up against the wood, pencil scribed a line, then removed the tile, and cut the wood with the flush bit, just using the pencil line as my guide. Effortless. The fit was so nice, I had to snug the tile in under the line.

Bosch makes a flush cutter also, and the advantage to that, is that the blades are available locally. The problem is that the Bosch is not also a sander, and scraper etc. Cost almost the same, and is a one use tool.
I noticed that the paper for the Fein has a good backer on it. Saves you from a curling end, which leads to a buggered up backing on the sanding pad. Very exacting, and very well made.
You will notice in the Amazon sales rank, that the Fein outsells the Bosch. I love Bosch equipment, so I am not knocking the tool.
The optional mini e-cut blades kit is smaller than you would imagine. Combined with the precision vibration of the tool, enables you to work on smaller scale fine work as well.
When sanding with the coarser grits, and some pressure, you can remove a good deal of material in short order. By using a finer grit, and a softer push, you can polish the surface to a smooth finish.
I have the Fein RT-1800 Router, which is more of an industrial quality piece of equipment, and this Multi-Master will give me many years of reliable service, the same as the router. Fein makes first class stuff.
This is one of those tools, that you don't use as often as a cordless drill, but when you need to do something that it does, it's done effortlessly, and beautifully. Strong, yet gentle, durable yet light. It's the perfect mix. Definitely a five star piece of equipment, and worth every penny of it's hefty price tag. Buy it, you won't be sorry.

I bought one of these three years ago, and use it constantly. As a fine sander, it is without equal. But my favorite are the saw blades -- unbelievable control and precision. I have used it for everything from fine work on veneer, to opening fiddly holes in sheetrock around electrical outlets. Possibly with the exception of my cordless drill, this is the most useful hand tool in my cabinet full of 20-plus power tools!

The Fein MultiMaster appears to be a well made power tool with a well thought out power cord. My purchase was intended to assist in the repair of tile by removing grout without creating the dust clouds so common with a grinder or cut out tool with the appropriate disks / bits respectively.

In addition to the MSXE-636-2 Multi-Master Electric Variable Speed Kit, I also purchased the Tile Kit. The tile blades are expensive, as are all of their attachments, but one did not last more than four 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" tiles. I contacted the manufacturer and they stated that the life of the blade is impacted by the backing for the tile. Drywall doesn't bother them, but mortar or concrete board will shorten the life of the blade if it comes into contact with it. At $ [amount] a blade it is just to expensive to operate. They suggested using a finger to limit the depth that the blade goes. This was not mentioned anywhere in the literature with the tool or the Tile Kit.

Additionally, Fein accessories are not only expensive, but hard to find in Southern California due to their very limited dealer network. If it is hard to find here it will be impossible in other parts of the country. Fein stated that they had elected not to use Home Depot or Lowes as a retail outlet. Of course you can purchase through Amazon, but will have to wait on shipping, which may not be a good thing if you are in the middle of a project / job.

Final score: You may be able to afford to purchase this tool, but will be hard pressed to afford to operate it and replace the attachments as they wear out. All of the attachments are consumable and may wear out quickly depending on your application. Sandpaper, saws, specialty saws, scrapers, etc. - are very expensive for this tool.

I agree with the sentiments about the expense of Fein's acessories, but this is an amazingly versatile tool and a great sander. I've made my own grout removal blade using the blade from a cheap hand grout-removal tool, and my own "finger" sander using a short strip of hardwood wrapped with velcro. I also make my own triangular sanding sheets using scissors and larger velcro discs.

After reading a bunch of reviews, escpecially all the glowing ones by "boat builders" (seems like they should know something about wood and tools), I was hooked and got this kit. I originally intended to use it primarily to undercut the trim on my doors where I was doing remodel tile work. Was I ever disappointed. This barely had the guts to plow through the softwood trim. After only one cut, I found that the blade was much duller. As mentioned by others, and you can see for yourself, the blades for this tool (OEM) are astonishgly pricey. I had to find another way to get through that project.

I was very disillusioned with my "mult-master," and it sat on a shelf for quite some time gathering dust. So, why the five stars? Eventually, I began turning to it again to use for sanding. I've found it to be excellent for detail work. The ability to control the speed and placement make for a an easy to use tool. It gets into a lot of finicky spots and it removes material just as you need it. I've used it to prep both wood and metal with good success. The sand paper isn't cheap either, but if you shop around, you can find products other than Fein's propriety brand that works just as well.

One job this really shined on for me was scraping. I re-sided my whole house this summer. Once I got the old material off, I was faced with a hard, unsightly ridge of old dried caulk on all the trim..... lots of it. I couldn't sand it off, none of my sanders would remove enough of it, and a grinder set up with a backing pad was way too aggressive (goodbye trim). I was despondent at the prospect of having to try to scrape it off with putty knife (endless hand-cramping tedious hours). I remembered the scaper blade that came with this kit. I went to work, and voila'! The Fein chowed through all that caulk in less than a day's total time. It was truly amazing, and as far as I'm concerned, paid for itself in that one job. I would bet that it would work well for other scraping jobs: old vinyl, laminate, putty, etc.

So, I would definitely give this tool a plus for sanding and scraping. I use it even more than my PC profile sander (except for any interesting shapes that those pads are better fit). I would tell you not to bother wasting any of your money on sawing accessories (if you need that capability, look at the Bosch finecut saw... very nice).

I first saw this Fein sander in a tool store in Portland, Maine. They were flying off the shelves to boat builders and owners for their wood boats. I had wanted a sander to get into corners and for fine finish work and after feeling the power and very little vibration, I was impressed. At the time though I thought the price was extremely high. Not only for the tool, but also for the sand paper and other accessories.

To make a long story short, I coughed up the money and bought the Fein sander and have never looked back. I rarely use my other sanders because this one can be used for almost any application. I have pulled up a old linolium floor with the floor tool (very easy) and done a lot of sanding. Nothing cuts wood better than this sander and the speed controls and comfortable position in your hand make it a winner. You also have no after effects of vibration when using this sander for long periods of time.

Is it worth the money? Yes, every penny.
Are there any negatives? Accessories including sand paper are expensive and hard to find in local stores. Most purchases for these items are made over the web. Even Amazon has reduced the amount of sand paper options they sell.

Best tip? Make sure you order a hook and loop sanding head and sand paper. It is a much easier system if you sand a lot.

Don't be cheap, buy the best. This Fein is very fine.

I bought a Multi-master a few years ago, and have used it steadily since then. The tool aint cheap- you can find other sanders for much much less. But, for detail work, it is the best one I have found and of the highest quality despite the cost. The tool itself is very well made and can stand up to hard use, despite the rather delicate advertisements and images that usually accompany it whenever posted on the web or in print. I like the fact that the tool oscillates rather than vibrates, so the sanding action is smoother and the bones and muscles of your hands don't become numb (or deteriorated) from extreme vibrations. Having said that, let me caution anyone purchasing this item that accessories and replacement parts-sanding pads, blades, cutters, and the like are VERY EXPENSIVE and highly OVERPRICED. Moreover, most of them simply dont last. Take the circular cutters, for example. Despite the cute pictures of someone using the tool to undercut molding to allow a gap for tile, or slicing through plaster or sheet rock to make a repair, make no mistake that even basic use for purposes such as these will burn out the blade teeth and render it useless in no time. The cost of replacement for a simple 3.5 inch HSS blade is around $30-$40; larger blades are even more expensive. Replacement sandpaper sheets are also a fortune, and trust me that they get worn out very quickly. So any afficianado of this tool better be prepared to spend big bucks on the very replacement items needed to keep using it effectively. Once I found out how expensive the replacement saw blade for this machine was, I decided to find alternatives to the rip-off prices Fein charges for the uninitiated.

My advice is as follows: use this tool as a detail sander, or for othe basic tasks (grout cleanup, polishing, wallpaper trimming, etc). You will be very happy. DONT buy Fein replacement sandpaper sheets- get some self stick velcro, apply it to the sanding pad that comes with the machine, and go to HD or Lowes (or order online) 10-12 inch hook and loop sanding pads, such as those that are used with large disk sanders or floor sanders. Cut your own sandpaper sheets and stick them onto the hook and loop pad on the sander. Actually Fein offers hook and loop sanding pad replacements for this machine that are modestly priced and allow you to use any hook and loop sandpaper as described. The cost is minimal and the results are as good if not better than using Fein sandpaper, which is nothing special. I believe BOSCH also makes a similar detail sander that uses hook and loop sandpaper that will fit the Fein just fine (ha ha!). If you envision using this tool for heavier cutting tasks, be smart and buy a Rotozip and you will have almost every base covered. The Rotozip is vastly more powerful and excells at slicing wood, metal, sheetrock, plaster, and the like. It can also be used as a horizontal sander, and replacement cutters are relatively cheap and last much longer than their FEIN equivalents. Just don't get suckered into paying the big bucks for genuine FEIN accessories unless the specific task at hand requires you do so-caveat emptor, as the saying goes

The Fein Multimaster consists of a well made motor and case with an unusually nice length of electrical cord that doesn't requrie an extension to get across short disttances. The high speed oscilating vibrator has numbers attachments and they are all CONSUMABLE and are VERY EXPENSIVE. Like some expensive foreign cares, you might be able to afford to buy it, but can you keep it running. Additionally, dealers (even in Southern California) are extremely rare and Fein states that they have elected not to use Home Depot or Lowes as an avenue of retail distribution.

My original intended use was for tile repairs around tub and shower surrounds. The tile kit consists of numberous blades for removing grout. Having used either a cut out tool with a carbide bit or a grinder with a masonry or diamond wheel I was hoping to minimize the amount of dust created removing the grout line and broken tiles. The MultiMaster excelled at minimizing dust, but a $ 30.00 blade only lasted through four 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" tiles. I contacted the Fein office here in the US and they explained to me that the endurance of the blade is dependent of what the backing is. If it is concrete (mortar or hardy board) and the blade comes into contact with the backing then it is shot. This small bit of advice is found nowhere in the instruction that come with the MultiMaster of the $... Tile Kit.

My advice: Save your money for a better shop vac and go about it the old way.

I had the same problem as a previous reviewer: The hook and loop sandpaper moved around on the sanding pad. Some sheets were better than others. The problem is the sandpaper, not the tool. I used some hook and loop sanding disks and cut them into shapes to fit the Fein. It worked well. Better yet, I ordered a 75' roll of loop-only sticky Velcro tape and used that to make my own sandpaper. Cut the shapes from regular sandpaper (which is essentially free), apply some velcro sticky tape on the edges, and it sticks better than you need it to. It works great! If you buy Velcro in bulk, it's much cheaper than buying the pre-made sandpaper.

Even better: order the "Fein 63806137017 PSA Sanding Pad (2-Pack)", and use PSA sandpaper. It works perfectly, and PSA sandpaper is very cheap. In fact, you can get it in rolls and cut your own. One advantage of hook and loop is that you can change sandpaper without damaging the sandpaper. While I don't like to be wasteful, I don't think throwing away a half-used triangular piece of sandpaper, worth about 10 cents, is a crime. So I think PSA is the way to go for this tool.

Variable speed vs fixed speed: I bought the fixed speed model for several reasons: I didn't want all of those fancy attachments that come with the VS model, because I didn't want to get hooked on them. They are very expensive. I don't even want to know how great they are. Plus, I am mostly interested in detail sanding. I have flush cut saws and scrapers and other hand tools for other applications. Finally, you can make your fixed speed into a variable speed with a light dimmer. I can hold the dimmer in one hand and the Fein in the other and have great control over what I'm doing. The last remaining advantage of the variable speed model is that it has a longer chord. So I use an extension chord.

Like many reviewers, I was skeptical at first. How could this tool be THAT much better than the 25 dollar versions at local stores? It really is. It's well built and REALLY does the job. It's a very aggresive sander that is easy to handle.

So throw out the poor sandpaper that comes with it (unless it was just in my model -- maybe there was switcheroo at some point since leaving the factory) and enjoy!