Customer Reviews

Fein MultiMaster FMM 250Q Top Variable Speed Sanding and Scraping/Cutting Tool with Case

5 star:		(122)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Tool and attachments, 6 Stars.. Case, 2 Stars.. Price, -3 Stars = 5 Stars

This Fein MultiMaster Top kit is one of those tools that cost too much but you can't do the job as fast without it. The last few years, attending woodworking shows, I would watch the demos on the MultiMaster tool. I was ALWAYS impressed as to what the tool was capable of. The price made me walk away. It was not on my list of "GEE, I've got to have that"! However I did see its potential.

Recently, I saw the ad for the new version with the quick blade release and the package supplied attachments, but was still held back by the price. Then it happened. I got a job that required this type of tool.

I had to do a job of installing decorative returns on an old house with period moldings. The old returns had rotted along with some of the crown rake boards. Making the new returns was not a problem; trimming back the 4-inch crown molding was going to be tedious to say the least. I purchased the Fein MultiMaster Top kit and felt the pain all the way back to the job..... Until I opened the box, fitted a (expensive) wood / metal cutting blade and trimmed back old rusty hard to reach nails and 4 inch crown molding to solid wood. The roofs 12/12 pitch made it almost impossible to perform the task at hand with any speed with regular tools. The MultiMaster accomplished the task in minutes. After trimming back 6 returns in under an hour, I was convinced the tool was worth the expense. It was kind of anti climatic however, doing all that work in such short time! $389.00 per hour and done so easily and quickly is what came to mind!

Since the initial purchase, I have found the MultiMaster tool to live up to all I've seen at demo shows. Once you own it, you will find yourself reaching for it more often than you planned. Time verses cost will eventually be offset as this tool pays for itself very quickly.

I find myself treating the attachments as if they were gold, considering their replacement costs. I guess Fein can get away with the high prices because there is no other tool like it that works so well. The blades by the way are very sturdy and long lasting.

Under-cutting doorjambs loaded with trim nails are a breeze. I was able to set tile under 6 doors and the blade teeth still look new. I am looking forward to trying out all the other attachments that came with the "TOP" kit.

The case has some issues. It is nice and square and stores well. It holds all of the supplied accessories and then some. BUT, after seeing the older metal case, the new plastic case is bigger and holds less. The old metal case has foam dividers that make finding each attachment quite easy. Sanding attachments and the paper can be seen on edge. The new case has 2 removable plastic storage cases within the main case. These cases have snap down covers making it difficult to see and grab what you're looking for. Within the small cases, there are no dividers; everything just sits in there bouncing around and store in no particular order. The outside of the main case is consumed by the nice handle, which is recessed in the top of the case when standing on edge, it chews up a lot of storage space that could have been used to have divided storage inside like the old metal case.

I have zero complaints about the quality of the tool and the attachments. They all do what they are supposed to do. My complaints lye with cost of product and attachments, and the poor thoughtfulness of the case storage areas. This tool will not be easy for most people to purchase because of the cash outlay. In my case, it was one of those tools that came to mind while in a predicament. I purchased it, and think of it as a Cool Tool!

This tool reminds me a little of the Rotozip. It works extremely well for the job it was designed for, Multimaster=Flush-cutting, Rotozip=cutting drywall, but isn't as good for the other purposes they are advertised for.

I have used this for a few weeks now and have used the flush-cutting and sanding attachments quite a bit already. It has come in extremely handy for those jobs that it is about the only tool that would work, and average at the other jobs like sanding and scraping.

I would give the tool 4 or 5 stars but the blades are way overpriced and don't last real long. You can buy generic blades that are much cheaper and in some cases better quality, but Fein is trying to stop people from making these blades.

By the end of the year Bosch will have their own version here in the states for much cheaper so wait if you can.

I requested this tool as a birthday present from the wife to patch my hardwood floor. After removing a closet as part of my kitchen remodel I had some square cuts on my oak flooring that I needed to stagger (ie: cut in between existing boards) in order to make the repair seamless.

Online instructions had said to use a chisel so I got my trusty Craftsman, sharpened it on the bench grinder, and started whacking away. To my dismay, the super-hard red oak barely budged....time for a Fein Multi Master!

Through trial and error I realized that the best bet is to score a line for the tool to start in (using a razor blade and the above mentioned chisel) otherwise it will wildly vibrate about ruining perfectly good floor boards. I used that technique as well as lowered to tool to the slowest speed to get a good cut line, then would give it full power. I have made about 15 cuts so far and the e-blade is still holding up nice despite the copious amounts of black smoke created when cross cutting the oak.

The tool it's self seems to be well made although the variable speed control is awkwardly located at the back and difficult to adjust (especially when it is running) - and there are no power indicators on it so the first couple times are trial and error. There is no lack of power with the Fein but seems that it could have more control. Perhaps I have shaky hands but I challenge anyone to put this tool on full blast and make a strait knife like plunge cut. It seems that the vibrating is not only side to side but back and forth to a degree. Another thing to be on the lookout for is the actual extension of the vibrating blade. With it moving so fast it is easy to get past where you want to cut as the blade edge is blurry and hard to view when running.

The case is a complete disappointment as the interior is not blow molded but rather has a flimsy plastic cut out that the tool rests in that is about the thickness of three sheets of paper. Mine was broken from the get-go so I will be contacting Amazon for a replacement liner. Moreover, the case does not open 180 degrees but rather only 90 degrees. I am still not sure why it was designed this way as every other tool case I have opens fully. Unless your surface is flat, you run the risk of getting a finger slammed closed in it. All this in a case that costs over $100! Had I to do it over again I think I would forego the case and get a bag to throw it in.

Amongst other qualifiers I rate products on value. How does the Fein measure up? Well, it is HORRIFICALLY expensive for what it is and the replacement blades will run you to the poor house. However, it has the distinction of doing what no other tool can. Funny, this thing reminds me of my BMW M3....:)

Should you get it? If you can avoid it I would say no, but as I stated it has capabilities that no other tool I know of has. If someone made a cheap knock-off of it I would get that in a second being a DIYer. For a pro it is worth the money.

These guys have a decent tool, but go to buy a replacement blade after you've chewed up the piece of junk you got with the unit and you're going to be shocked. You're going to pay $28.00 or so for a piece of pressed tin that won't last you a week. They should caution "dont spindle fold or mutilate" on their packaging. Their blades are junk that you'll either pay their outrageous price for, or you'll have to abandon the tool. My advice would be to buy a tool that has blades available from different suppliers. These Fein folks don't understand the concept of customer loyalty. I guess they think that once you've bought their product, they've got a sucker on the hook who will pay whatever price they choose to ask for replacement parts. Do yourself a favor and look at the prices that Fein charges for each of their accessories BEFORE buying the Multimaster.

This is an expensive tool with expensive accessories, but in my opinion well worth it. I am an auto mechanic by trade and a homeowner that loves and appreciates quality time saving tools. Since my purchase 2 months ago I have used this tool to pattern cut and install a bath surround, cut and install plastic molding(using a simple adjustable square),trimmed out paneling while on the wall, removed a glued vinyl bathroom floor (with ease), plunge cut and removed damaged soffit material( with such precision that the removed wood could be used as a pattern for the new replacement wood)and scrape old paint off my house corners and soffits. I am very impressed with the tool quality and ease of changing attachments. The profile sanding attachment works good. The storage box could be of better quality but it serves it's purpose. If I were to purchase this again I would probably buy a bare bones kit and choose my accessories seperately. I have some attachments I will probably never use and would gladly trade for more wood and metal cutting blades. Hope this helps you out!

I LOVE this tool. I just upgraded from the previous model (MSXE 636-2 variable speed). I won't go into why this tool is so great because everyone else has already done that. Instead I'm going to compare this tool to its predecessor.

PROS:
This is now a perfect tool. Fein has elegantly fixed the minor gripes I had with the previous generation of the tool. My gripes were 1. Blades slipping and 2. Slow blade-changes using the awkward hex-key that always felt like it was about to cam-out and ruin the lock nut. Both issues have been neatly resolved by the new design. The new star shank on the blades completely eliminates any possibility of slippage, and changing blade, or repositioning it to get into a tight spot no longer requires a trip back to the tool box to get the hex wrench. I LOVE this feature. FEIN ALSO ADDED threaded holes on the body of the tool which function as hard-mount points. This allows you to attach small accessories such as a fence, a depth gauge, a rail guide etc. You can also use the hard-mount points to bench-mount the tool (so you can bring small or delectate work to the tool). This opens up a lot of flexibility on an already very flexible tool. I also like the more ergonomic shape and rubber grip on the new design.

CONS:
None to speak of. The new machine is a tiny bit louder than the old one, perhaps due to the more powerful motor, although it's louder even on the lowest speed setting. To be honest I'm just trying to find SOMETHING to say on the con side. It's really a perfect tool.

OTHER COMPARISONS:
At first I thought I had a slight preference for the larger speed control dial on the old tool, but again he NEW design is ultimately better because the smaller dial (on the tapered rear-end) allows for a more compact dust collection system and a slimmer profile overall. I do actually prefer some of the aspects of my old unit's metal case & divider system. The new case can actually hold more stuff but it doesn't organize the contents as well as the old case did. You can still buy the OLD case, but I'm sure I can easily make the new case as functional as the old case by adding some little dividers etc. The new blow molded tray is more durable, and there's more space allocated for the cord (which is welcome). If FEIN had put a divider system in the new case, it would have been a perfect redesign in my opinion. Perhaps Fein is trying to keep these GERMAN MADE tools made in Germany by cutting costs (instead of going to CHINA like many others have done). If the cheaper, simpler, divider-less case is part of that profitability strategy, I forgive them. I'm handy and so are you (that's why you're reading this review), so I'm going to quit complaining, and get busy customizing the case with dividers to suit my personal needs.

BLADE COST:
As you may know, the blades for this device are somewhat expensive but Fein is now group-packing blades for meaningfully lower cost than before. Basically 3 packs for the price of 2, and 10 packs for the price of 6. This helps. So now I can keep ONE blade of SEVERAL types and yet affordably buy SEVERAL blades of the ONE type I 'consume' regularly. I've recently also seen aftermarket blades on eBay which are cheaper than the FEIN blades, but I've never actually tried them. For all of the trash-talk, I'm always impressed with the longevity of the wood/metal E cut blades.

A FAVORITE TOOL:
This is definitely one of my favorite tools, and I HIGHLY recommend it. Everyone who watches me use mine buys one for themselves. I could write several pages describing all of the things I use it for.

If you own an older model, an upgrade is worthwhile if you use the tool with ANY regularity. The upgrade cost me a mere $100 because I sold my old one (with blades & accessories) on eBay.

If you upgrade not only will you be doing yourself a favor, but you will be making your previous model available to someone else who can't quite afford a new one, or who hasn't yet made the plunge.

I bought this tool after I began refinishing some painted woodwork. I got the full kit primarily because it came with the sanding and vacuum attachments. That was a mistake. The sanding attachments are clever, but won't work with paper-backed sandpaper. The paper doesn't hold up. Five small squares of cloth backed sandpaper are included (three different grits), but it's hard to find cloth backed sandpaper later. So I've made little use of the sanding attachments to this point. I also haven't used the vacuum attachment because it's critical to keep the sanding triangle level to the work, else the edges can easily dig into the surface. Adding the vacuum attachment and dragging a stiff hose makes it very difficult to keep the device level.

On the positive side, the sanding action is excellent. This is my first hook-n-loop sander and I'm sold on this type of sandpaper. My only complaint is the very high cost of Fein replacement pads. I'm investigating buying sandpaper in 4.5" rolls and cutting my own pads. I figure I can cut the paper cost by 2/3 that way.

Net net, the tool is excellent but buy it first and then get only the attachments you need after verifying that the attachment works and holds up in your situation.

Edit #1: Just used the metal cutting attachment to cut through a chrome flange around a pipe to make room for a pipe wrench. The multimaster did an excellent job. Clean, fast cut. No damage to anything else, no hassle with hacksaw or trying to "tear" flange off with channel-locks.

And be SURE to get one of those sanding disk/belt cleaners, the oversized art gum erasers. They REALLY help lengthen the life of the sanding pads.

Recently purchased the multimaster top, and have used it quite a few times, though only for cutting. It saved having to take off some kitchen panels that ran down to the old flooring when I laid new over the top. Just took a small piece of the new flooring, laid the Multimaster blade on top and cut the panels off at just the right height to be able to slip the new flooring in under. Beautiful result. My experience was a little different on the blades, as it seemed like they lost their edge quickly even though I was only cutting wood.

After working for hours, trying to remove old carpet from our RV, I knew there had to be a better way. When I saw the advertisement for the Fein on television, I just had to give it a try. My husband thought I was nuts for spending that much on a tool, but when he used it to cut sheet rock for our new den, he changed his mind. We also used it when we remodeled a bathroom. It worked well for smoothing out the rough surface under the tile we had removed. The attachments are a little expensive, but worth it if you have a back breaking job to do. I'm so glad I took a chance, and purchased the MultiMaster.

The Fein MultiMaster is a fine product and performs up to expectations BUT the attachments that come with it are the pits. I recently pulled up all the flooring in my house to put down ceramic and hardwood. So immediately I went to the 'door jam' trimmer blade. What a incredible timesaver it was. Within 5 minutes I had the jams on 5 doors trimmed to fit the new height of my flooring. Sounds like a winner huh? Now the downside. After the first door I lost 3 or 4 teeth. After the second door I lost 3 or 4 more teeth. You can see where this is going. By then end of door 5 the blade was no longer usable. I only had 6 or 7 teeth left. On top of it all this blade didn't even come with the $399 product. I had to spend another (I think $39) for it.

So now that my jams were trimmed I went on to tackle the stone fireplace because I had to slide the hardwood underneath the stone. So I pull out the 'carbide' cutter to cut away the mortar below the stones. That blade lasted about 1-foot of the 5-foot mantle. After that it wouldn't cut at all. So back to my well trusted and proven (and cheap) cold chisel which finished the job (but it certainly took longer).

On to another attachment, the triangular corner sander. I used it to sand the inside corners on a step stool I made. I was trying to remove the 'old' stain. I went through 5 sanding pads on 4 corners. The attachment got so hot that when I removed the pads the Velcro part of the attachment pulled off at one of the corners and now the very expensive attachment has a corner that won't stay. I've tried to glue it back down but it won't hold.

I have tried to rationalize away the cost of the accessories. I've told myself - "hey it only took 5 minutes to trim those jams, you would have taken 1/2 hour to do it with a flush cut hand saw. That is a savings of 25 minutes." But at $39 a pop for the blades even my poor mental math doesn't add up.

Moral of the story? If you need to get something done fast and somewhat accurately then this tool is for you. Just be prepared to spend a boat load of money on the blades, sand paper, etc. They are incredibly expensive and won't last long at all.