Fein Multimaster 350W SANDING QUALITY?

[MichaelW2014]

Hello all. I am looking at purchasing a detail sander. I see two, maybe three likely candidates; the first two being the Fein Multimaster and the Festool Rotex 90 (Bosch at option #3).

The Fein appears to be an orbital sander, not random orbital. Will this make a difference on the finish I can achieve? I need to achieve professional results, even sanding finishes on picture frames, tables, slatted folding chairs, etc. I hardly ever go beyond 220grit on wood sanding. I like raw looking wood finishes, such as clear matt or semi-matte varnishes and wax or light oil treatments. So the wood grain has to have an evenly sanded finish.

Please shed light on this for me. Thanks

 

[Kev]

You're going to get varying opinions on this but for my thinking ... the RO90 is an incredibly versatile high quality sander with excellent dust extraction. The Fein Multimaster is a multi tool that "can" be used for sanding.

For me, it's a no brainer.

PS I also have the Fein .. I use it for cutting, the ROTEX - for sanding.

 

[DB10]

    IMO, the Multimaster although a great multi tool, sanding is not it's strong point, the dust extraction lets it down and if your looking for a profesional finish i'd disregard the Fein for these resdons.
If your going to be doing a lot of sanding then it would have to be the RO90. A very versatile little sander and the only Festool sander I used for along time before I bought the ETS. It might pay for you to have a look at the ETS's if your going to be doing a lot of furniture.

 

[MichaelW2014]

thanks guys. that's all i needed to hear. i think i will get a rotex 90 instead.

 

[Holmz]

Hello all. I am looking at purchasing a detail sander. I see two, maybe three likely candidates; the first two being the Fein Multimaster and the Festool Rotex 90 (Bosch at option #3).

The Fein appears to be an orbital sander, not random orbital. Will this make a difference on the finish I can achieve? I need to achieve professional results, even sanding finishes on picture frames, tables, slatted folding chairs, etc. I hardly ever go beyond 220grit on wood sanding. I like raw looking wood finishes, such as clear matt or semi-matte varnishes and wax or light oil treatments. So the wood grain has to have an evenly sanded finish.

Please shed light on this for me. Thanks

Is the door done?

If there are heaps of corners then you could use the corner attachment. I have a DX90 which preceded the RO90 for edges and corners. The DX90 is Orbital rather than a random-orbital or (Disc).
All the corners require orbital, not RO...
For slatted chairs and frames I would be considering an orbital., or maybe even going "old school" and using a scraper?
So I would not discount the Fein for that sort of stuff.

Another sander to possibly consider is the linear sander, if your sanding is linear.

I believe that the Fein would be dire on large table, and the RO-90 seems ideal for a Maloof chair.
For large tables, I seem to get flatter results with a larger sanding base. Scrapers also have traditionally been used on tables though.

"Slatted and/or intricate" and tables to me means either 2 sanders, or scrapers and planes, or a combination or sanders and scrapers.
Scrapers usually have a finish that is better than sanding on harder wood.

Some of the decision also is dependent upon the wood.

 

[MichaelW2014]

No I haven't had a chance to finish the door yet. But I found the metallic duct tape and so now I do have everything i need to complete the project. I looked into the adhesive strips by 3M and decided against them because I don't think they will be strong enough.

I run and airbnb so I have to wait till there is an gap in my bookings in order to take a couple hours to do the job.
§
Yes, I plan to use the corner/finger attachment. I need to get between the bars/slats on fold up wooden chairs. For small tables, getting the skirts and such will require a small sander. right now, my only power sander is a makita half sheet, which i love but is horrible to use on fold up chairs! which i did a lot of this year. I was rennovating old fold up chairs by stripping the varnishes off them. They look great in their raw form. I might add some tung oil or varnish to them but nothing too drastic.

So, for sanding corners why orbital instead of RO? So why orbital instead of RO for slatted chairs?

By "linear sander" you mean belt sander?

So Makita half sander for flat surfaces and Rotex 90 or Fein Multi for detail? Thanks for your message

 

[Holmz]

No I haven't had a chance to finish the door yet. But I found the metallic duct tape and so now I do have everything i need to complete the project. I looked into the adhesive strips by 3M and decided against them because I don't think they will be strong enough.

I run and airbnb so I have to wait till there is an gap in my bookings in order to take a couple hours to do the job.
§
Yes, I plan to use the corner/finger attachment. I need to get between the bars/slats on fold up wooden chairs. For small tables, getting the skirts and such will require a small sander. right now, my only power sander is a makita half sheet, which i love but is horrible to use on fold up chairs! which i did a lot of this year. I was rennovating old fold up chairs by stripping the varnishes off them. They look great in their raw form. I might add some tung oil or varnish to them but nothing too drastic.

So, for sanding corners why orbital instead of RO? So why orbital instead of RO for slatted chairs?

By "linear sander" you mean belt sander?

So Makita half sander for flat surfaces and Rotex 90 or Fein Multi for detail? Thanks for your message

Exactly! As the Makita 1/2 sheet works, then you probably want to compliment it, rather than repeat it.

Linear sander: http://festools-online.com/567852-festool-linear-sander-ls-130-eq-t-loc.html
If your slats are all the same, then you have one backing pad with the female version of the slat, and you sand the slats.
If you have round legs you use a 1/2 round.
Or you sand the slats with the 1/2 sheet and use a the LS130 for the gap areas.

At 0:51 to 1:06 you will see that the setting for the delta pad is on the setting which is on the 'orbital delta' setting.

If it wasn't then the delta would be spinning around like watching a wankle engine's rotor. As you want the corner to be in a fixed position, you are using small orbits, rather than letting the small orbits also precess around in large circles.

The delta pad would be whipping around like a weed eater if it was even possible to use it on the RO-90 in RO mode. As there is tang off the back of the delta attachment, that seems precludes you doing that, even if you wanted to. At which point what makes it better than the Fein? (It may be, but I don't know how).

If you are a shop near you, I would suggest hauling a chair in and flipping it over and attack it form the underside in order to work out how each sander works (Fein, RO-90, etc).

I would see if the chairs disassemble and do the slats off the chair. Or replace the chairs. The labor sounds like it could be more than the chair's value. (Probably not, as I am cheap... But it is worth considering).

 

[MichaelW2014]

The labor is definitely worth more than the value of the chair, new, but i can't get the aesthetic product I want any other way.
Thanks a lot for shedding light on the orbital action needed for corners. So I think the RO 90 is a good idea because it gives both random, orbital, and polishing. this will allow me to do all the tasks i need to do. Whereas the fein is only going to give me the orbital. which means it won't give me as good a finish on the rest of the parts. do you agree? the price for the ro 90 is high for me. with all the bits and bobs i am looking at 500 euros here in greece.

unfortunately there are no festool retailers i can go to with a chair and try it all out.

The chair can be broken down to a certain extent, but the slats are glued into the seat part.
§
hmm, that linear sander looks great. now i have think about it and look at a bunch.

 

[MichaelW2014]

is the rotex ro 90 well balanced? it looks like it could easily tip over when in use due to the weight being concentrated in the head/pad area of the machine?

 

[Holmz]

The labor is definitely worth more than the value of the chair, new, but i can't get the aesthetic product I want any other way.
Thanks a lot for shedding light on the orbital action needed for corners. So I think the RO 90 is a good idea because it gives both random, orbital, and polishing. this will allow me to do all the tasks i need to do. Whereas the fein is only going to give me the orbital. which means it won't give me as good a finish on the rest of the parts. do you agree?
...

No I do not agree, the 1/2-sheet already does 1/2 of what you need... But I also do not know enough to agree or not, so I would discount my opinion for what it is worth.

However I think if there is a Fein dealer nearby, then you could at least see if the Fein does what you need the RO-90's Delta for.
After that then you either know that the Fein is still "in contention" or not.

...
§
hmm, that linear sander looks great. now i have think about it and look at a bunch.

Well... It is more about presenting you with some ideas.
Not many have the linear sander, whereas everyone with the RO-90 is vocal.
I saw a used (110v) LS-130 on here, but it is close to RRP. I would like to try one, but I cannot justify it. It is the only sander I can envision getting because it does such a specific task. But I'll probably just fold up some sand paper and do it by hand when I need to do it.
http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tool-reviews/review-of-festool-ls130-linear-sander/
They even mention a scraper attachment?
Maybe this would also do you door issue?

I do have the DX93 (which is the RX-90 delta). It is good, but not a rocket on sanding.

I do not know what labor runs in Greece, but I assume from the news that it may be possible for someone to hand sand it and it looked like there were some people out of work?
If any sander required some hand sanding then maybe the cost of the labor would affect the approach you take?

I look forward to seeing the results.

 

[Kev]

The LS-130 is cool ... the profiles apparently deteriorate over time, so you should get them as you need them, so I'm told [sad]

 

[MichaelW2014]

I don't think i will find a fein dealer in this country who will let me open a box and try the tool. but i hear you and i think maybe i don't need the rotex machine. or, i find that i need it later, for a finer finish, then i can get it. for corners, bowed slats on a chair and for getting in between the slats of this fold up chair i need an orbital delta. so i can buy this machine for E300 and it will probably get the job done satisfactorily.

when i can afford the E500 machine then i will consider the detail sander or the rotex line.
§

obviously i can't make up my mind! so that's ok. if i can't make up my mind then i can get the fein for E200 less than the festool and be happy that i bought a good and versatile tool.

§

yeah, i am sure the labor is cheap here but i don't know if i want to bring some seriously poor immigrant into my home. plus, i don't know where to find laborers for hire. plus, i don't speak greek. maybe i should get over these minor issues and get some cheap labor! and cheap is probably like 3 or 4 euros per hour!

The labor is definitely worth more than the value of the chair, new, but i can't get the aesthetic product I want any other way.
Thanks a lot for shedding light on the orbital action needed for corners. So I think the RO 90 is a good idea because it gives both random, orbital, and polishing. this will allow me to do all the tasks i need to do. Whereas the fein is only going to give me the orbital. which means it won't give me as good a finish on the rest of the parts. do you agree?
...

No I do not agree, the 1/2-sheet already does 1/2 of what you need... But I also do not know enough to agree or not, so I would discount my opinion for what it is worth.

However I think if there is a Fein dealer nearby, then you could at least see if the Fein does what you need the RO-90's Delta for.
After that then you either know that the Fein is still "in contention" or not.

...
§
hmm, that linear sander looks great. now i have think about it and look at a bunch.

Well... It is more about presenting you with some ideas.
Not many have the linear sander, whereas everyone with the RO-90 is vocal.
I saw a used (110v) LS-130 on here, but it is close to RRP. I would like to try one, but I cannot justify it. It is the only sander I can envision getting because it does such a specific task. But I'll probably just fold up some sand paper and do it by hand when I need to do it.
http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tool-reviews/review-of-festool-ls130-linear-sander/
They even mention a scraper attachment?
Maybe this would also do you door issue?

I do have the DX93 (which is the RX-90 delta). It is good, but not a rocket on sanding.

I do not know what labor runs in Greece, but I assume from the news that it may be possible for someone to hand sand it and it looked like there were some people out of work?
If any sander required some hand sanding then maybe the cost of the labor would affect the approach you take?

I look forward to seeing the results.

 

[Kev]

yeah, i am sure the labor is cheap here but i don't know if i want to bring some seriously poor immigrant into my home. plus, i don't know where to find laborers for hire. plus, i don't speak greek. maybe i should get over these minor issues and get some cheap labor! and cheap is probably like 3 or 4 euros per hour!

For that sort of money I'd get a couple just to operate the light switches [eek] [wink]

 

[Holmz]

yeah, i am sure the labor is cheap here but i don't know if i want to bring some seriously poor immigrant into my home. plus, i don't know where to find laborers for hire. plus, i don't speak greek. maybe i should get over these minor issues and get some cheap labor! and cheap is probably like 3 or 4 euros per hour!

For that sort of money I'd get a couple just to operate the light switches [eek] [wink]

I'll take a couple as well [member=13058]Kev[/member]

If there is all you can drink Ozo, plus room and board, I can book the flight [member=27363]MichaelW2014[/member] and bring my own tools.

 

[Kev]

We're all going on a .. sanding holiday!

(in my best possible Cliff Richard)

 

[MichaelW2014]

Haha! Yes, sad but probably true! The average monthly salary in this country is E450-500, and that is for nationals. So you can imagine what these starving immigrants are paid. I can't imagine paying so little but....

Yeah, you welcome, as is every festool fiend, to come for a visit. It's very cheap and nice here in Greece. This is my airbnb:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6206965

 

[MichaelW2014]

We're all going on a .. sanding holiday!

(in my best possible Cliff Richard)

sweet!

 

[Kev]

Haha! Yes, sad but probably true! The average monthly salary in this country is E450-500, and that is for nationals. So you can imagine what these starving immigrants are paid. I can't imagine paying so little but....

Yeah, you welcome, as is every festool fiend, to come for a visit. It's very cheap and nice here in Greece. This is my airbnb:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6206965

Based on some back of a napkin math (lacking the quantum capabilities of bistro math) I could rent my place in Sydney and retire in your BNB [eek]

 

[MichaelW2014]

wowzers! i pay 450 rent for my 3 bedrooom, 122sqm.

 

[Holmz]

... festool fiend ...

I assume that the misspelling was forgetting to capitalise the Festool? [big grin]