Festool Vecturo Blade Recommendation Please

[elm]

I searched the posts but did not find exactly what I was looking for, so I decided to ask the brain trust here on FOG.  I am in the process of converting a van to a camper (long story and long project... pics to be posted when done), and I had to cut through some metal.  I use the Festool blades and found even for wood I have had to change them out quite often...in wood they have been burning the wood and not really cutting well (I tried various speeds).  When it came to metal (using blades for metal), I dang near went broke on blades.  I ran the Vectoro at a speed of about 3 (faster make it much worse) and still went through 8 blades on sheet metal.  In total I cut about 5 inches.  To the defense of the blade, about 2 inches was normal sheet metal and the other was double thick.  I am glad I had several blades (got them from the seller...bought used, but the blades were new).

To cut metal, what blade and brand have folks found works best?  How about for wood?  The blades I used were the Festool 500129 (USB 78/21/BI) and I also tried and Sabercut blade I had for wood/metal.  In all cases within 5-10 seconds the new blades were transformed into butter knives (no teeth left).  I also see there are adapters out there to use Bosch blades, but I also see the adapters slightly offset the blade.  Not sure if that makes a difference with an oscillating blade, but it seems to bother many.

Your advice is much appreciate before I blow more money on blades.

 

[Jim Metzger]

I'd buy a $50 4" or 4 1/2" angle grinder and some metal cutting blades at about $1 a pop. In my opinion the best way to cut sheet metal or tubing.

 

[elm]

Jim - I wanted to do that but needed to minimize the sparks due to the area I was working.  Also I needed to have higher precision than I have skills on the angle grinder.  [sad]

 

[six-point socket II]

Hi!

Sorry to say that, but definitely the wrong tool for the job. Oscillating multi tools can cut metal, but as you experienced its a time consuming and blade-eating process. I used mine on some cast iron brackets, with the bi-metal blades that worked quite well on my first project, on the second project I used a carbide blade and it sent it's teeth flying only seconds into the cut, but I got the brackets cut with one blade, that was literally destroyed afterwards. Bosch did send me a new one though. ...

If you don't want to use an angle grinder because of sparks/ work area, use a nibbler on sheet metal.

For burn marks on wood, you need to move the tool a lot. Forward, backward, all the time as the oscillating angle is fairly small and not enough to get all of the saw dust out. I will cake to your blade, get hot ... So movement is key.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[CeeJay]

Agree regards the nibbler. A $70 nibbler attachment on a Makita cordless worked exceptionally well when I built a shed out of corrugated steel for the angles, detents, gutters, flashing etc etc. An angle grinder for the sheet dimensioning.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jiggy Joiner]

Oliver is spot on in my opinion, cutting metal with a multi tool, unless it is very soft metal, will eat blades, which will get expensive, and is time consuming.
Grinder with damp rags is a good option, or a reciprocating saw, or a dremel.

 

[elm]

Thanks for the replies thus far.  They are deeply appreciated. 

I suppose I should have predicted this might morph into the wrong tool for the job discussion, but I did not think if that ahead of time.  I totally agree that in most instances this is not the right tool for what I wanted to do.  But I needed surgical precision for this one and even more importantly needed to eliminate any possibility of sparks.  I was also working in an insane section of the door that had very little room for any other tool. 

I was working on the inside of a sliding door to the van and the door already had been insulated and a rogue spark could take my year and a half project up in spoke (literally).  Maybe more importantly (as if that is not important enough), this is being built for my mom and she was there with me as I did this and would have gone over the edge with any sparks shooting into the door because of the fire possibility.  It was also a very tight spot to be cutting and I would normally get my Dremel out with a small cut-off wheel and be done quickly.  But again sparks were not permitted in this case.  A jigsaw also would not fit.  Also due to the area this was, it was tight and I needed the reach of the oscillating blade.  I even thought about packing the area with wet rags, but even that was not possible.  To make this more difficult, right behind the metal is the cables and connectors that open and lock/unlock the door.  Had to stay clear of those.  Right or wrong, the oscillating tool was the best tool I had to do this job, even though it was not the best tool to cut metal.

Knowing that, if you 'had' to cut metal with the oscillating blade, what have you found best?  Perhaps we can transition the example in the question to one that is more 'normal'.  If you were cutting wood that had some nails in it, what blade have you found works best?

I truly appreciate the comments thus far, I really do. I knew I could reach out to this forum for some great advice, so keep the advice coming.  I want to make sure I get the right blade replacement for the next time I need to use this thing for a 'normal' job.

 

[Cheese]

Like others have mentioned, my first choice would be be a RA grinder followed with a Sawzall with a fine tooth metal blade. However here are some Vecturo options for you.

Fein sells a carbide grit (63502156010) and a diamond grit (63502115011) blade, that could be an option. Fein also sells a segmented carbide (63502189010) blade.

Here's a photo of my Vecturo with a Fein blade adapter, 63733005010.
With that adapter I'm also able to use from left to right:
1. A Bosch carbide blade that's been used on some metal but mostly plaster.
2. A Falx blade manufactured by Fein that was specifically made for thick wood and wood with nails. Notice the bottom curvature that's made to expel the sawdust better and not burn the wood.
3. A Fein carbide blade on the top
4. A Fein HSS blade on the bottom that's specifically made for sheet metal work.
5. A Storm blade that's made for metal and is titanium nitride coated.

[attachimg=1]

 

[elm]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member], that is very helpful.  Thank you.  For the Fein adapter, I see notes that it may be slightly offset.  Did you see that and if so did it present any issues for you?  I also use the plunge for the Vecturo.  Are the Fein blades compatible (long enough...I assume they work with the magnet).

 

[bertv]

Diamond blades don’t cause sparks, right? I think there are diamond blades available from Fein.

Oops: just noticed that Cheese was ahead of me with this.  [unsure]

 

[elm]

I do appreciate the replies.  I shared with my mom that I had sent out inquiries last night and that several of you had given some very thoughtful replies and then described the detail you all went into. She was totally blown away at how helpful the community is.  I knew it was (thus the reason for the posting), but you have a new fan...my mom [big grin]

Thanks again.  I am off to order some of the blades [member=44099]Cheese[/member] recommended.

 

[Cheese]

I am off to order some of the blades [member=44099]Cheese[/member] recommended.

Hey [member=66175]elm[/member] I just went to the Fein website and found this Carbide Pro blade that is recommended for ferrous metals including stainless which is notoriously difficult to cut. It's TiN coated so it will last a lot longer than the round Fein sheet metal blade in my photograph. If this were my project I'd start with this blade and then bump up into more pricey solutions if necessary.
https://fein.com/en_us/accessories/e-cut-carbide-pro-63502236260/

[attachimg=1]

 

[six-point socket II]

When using that carbide blade, make sure you're supporting the Vecturo very, very well and go slow. If you skid off or hit the material to hard, the teeth go flying.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[rst]

I've cut a lot of metal with my Supercut, I mostly use Bosch blades (some carbide) anymore, but I have bought some of the new Fein carbide but have not use them  yet.  I have cut through 1/8" aluminum doors with Fein's saw blades buy used copious amounts of WD-40 while cutting.

 

[Michael Kellough]

The round Fein HHS blade cuts thin steel very well in my experience.

I once had to cut 1/2” steel bolts flush to a surface in a tight spot where no other tool would fit.

Found a Bosch blade that was like a scaled up version of the Fein blade. About twice the diameter and bigger teeth. Just bi-metal instead of HHS but was able to cut several bolts by rotating the blade on the spindle when a section dulled.