Oscillating tool Blade quality Fein versus Festool

[PreferrablyWood]

I'm looking at blades for the Vecturo OSC is there a best but economical choice?

I'm looking at the FEIN STARLOCK PLUS ROUND HSS BIM SAW BLADE SLP 100MM 63502176210 Versus the Festool Træsavklinge HSB 100/Bi/OSC Starlock Plus.

Look the same but the Festool is close to double in price..

Anyone try the above blades? Any other recommendations for alternatives?

Thanks in advance for any help..

 

[RustE]

I’ve beat on enough Bosch blades in my Makita 18v oscillating tool to say that they’re good to go. I’m trying to recall where I got a bunch for a good price, might have been Amazon.

Only blades I tend not to like are Imperial. Tend to be soft and either bend or wear-out quickly.

 

[rst]

I use mostly Bosch, I like their carbide tipped ones.  Have to be careful as I have the older Fein Supercut and of course the new quick release ones don't work without grinding an extra slot...ask me how I know.

 

[PreferrablyWood]

Thanks for the tips on the Bosch. I'll see if they have an equivalent blade to the one that I mentioned in the OP

 

[RustE]

Probably the closest is this:https://www.boschtools.com/us/en/bo...i-tool-scraping-accessories-osl400k-142632-p/

It’s not a shape that I use often, but needs vary by tasks.

 

[rst]

Ruste, thatis my most used blade.  That blade in my 18v Supercut makes replacing glazing sooo much easier.

 

[RustE]

[member=25351]rst[/member] often I'm using the oscillating tool to trim a spot that the circular saw couldn't get or do a square cut-out (e.g. outlet box). On these tasks, the straight blades are working well for me.

 

[PreferrablyWood]

Thanks RustE

I'm going shopping for blades for the Vecturo OSC as I first posted. There was also a quite comprehensive set from Fein that look interesting, so I might start with the blade you mentioned for a specific job I'm going to do (shortening a 125 years old solid wood door In place) I'll use normal woodblade rectangular  with a guide on the floor which is uneven and do the finish edge with the circular blade coming in fra the rear side of the door. The dust ekstraction will be a must as the wood in a cold basement storage area is likely mould laden.

Best Regards

Prefwood

 

[RustE]

Fein E-Cut blades are nice too. I bought one of the older sets on sale a few years ago, since I don’t need the StarLock. Think I’ve only used one or two blades from it thus far.

 

[PreferrablyWood]

[member=63201]RustE[/member] Thanks for the input. I've read up more on the Vecturo OSC blades I specifically want to use the plunge base for the application I described and found out it's apparently necessary to use a blade with an offset that gives the proper contact to the magnet on the the base. So I've decided to go with a pack of 5 with 32mm width. I figure plunging through thicker wood would be more stable with that blade.

View attachment 2

The Bosch carbide blades in the short version look like a very good general purpose blade. I'll look for a pack of 10 of those in 50mm length.

I'm looking at the Fein and the Festool for the round finish blade 100mm it seems like a okay value as they can be rotated so you get more use out of it. I suspect it's able to go slightly deeper than a blade with the cutout. I'll get the Bosch blade circular blade as well for comparison as it's relatively inexpensive.

Otherwise I'll just get specialist blades as jobs call for them.

 

[Bob D.]

Festool blades not tested here, but an interesting test just the same of ten other brands including
DeWalt, Milwaukee, Bosch, Rockwell, Dremel, EZARC, Imperial, Fein, Bauer, and Hercules.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Nice video Bob, thanks for sharing.

Amazing how a $20 Milwaukee blade that's designed for metal can't even cut one single drywall screw.

I use blades from a cheap brand called Werckmann, at €1 a piece, and they get similar performance that's shown here of the much more expensive blades. I can cut 2 or 3 screws with such a blade.

Shows how much of a scam the expensive blades are. I buy the Werckmann blades for €4 for a 4 pack of different sizes from the Action store. Funny thing, the DIY store across the street, the Praxis, sells the EXACT same pack with a different name on it for €30.
 

 

[BigDan]

I'm still having a fit finding FEIN blades at a reasonable price so after reading this series of posts, can anyone tell me what blades fit the Fein Multimaster FMM 350QSL?  The blades I use are so old that the teeth are almost gone.... still does drywall well and I can almost use them for caulking and scraping uses...  [big grin]  Just want a "decent" blade at a fair price...

Thanks
Dan

 

[Cheese]

Here's a photo of the Festool blade & a Fein blade. I wouldn't be surprised if Fein manufactures the Festool blades.

[attachimg=1]

 

[Michael Kellough]

Nice video Bob, thanks for sharing.

Amazing how a $20 Milwaukee blade that's designed for metal can't even cut one single drywall screw.

I use blades from a cheap brand called Werckmann, at €1 a piece, and they get similar performance that's shown here of the much more expensive blades. I can cut 2 or 3 screws with such a blade.

Shows how much of a scam the expensive blades are. I buy the Werckmann blades for €4 for a 4 pack of different sizes from the Action store. Funny thing, the DIY store across the street, the Praxis, sells the EXACT same pack with a different name on it for €30.

I bought a 3 pack of Dremel carbide blades for cutting metal. My impression was that a single blade would have been plenty. I think the guy made a mistake adding weight to the drywall screw test. My preferred blade for cutting hard metal is the Fein round high speed steel blade using light pressure and moving around the cut, but you can’t do that cutting blind in nail embedded wood.

 

[Bob D.]

I was wondering about the amount of weight he used too. Thinking I don't put that much force into the blade when I run into a nail or screw.

But since all the blades were run in the same manner with the same force applied maybe it doesn't matter too much.

A second round of testing with one or two pounds would have been nice to see.

 

[Packard]

I'm not sure a second round would help much.  This is a "relative" test.  It does not tell you how many nails you can cut, it says that one cuts more than the other.

In our industry they rate plating/painting by using a standardized "salt spray" test.  It is a "hostile environment" created in a chamber with a specific heat, humidity and saline solution.  The parts are then inspected every two hours for rust.  At the point that rust appears, that is the salt spray rating. 

For example zinc plating has a salt spray rating of about 100 hours.  Nickel plating has a salt spray rating of about 25 hours and powder coating has a salt spray rating from 150 to 400 hours depending upon the thickness of the coating and the specific coating used.

These tests don't tell you how long something will last; it just tells you that in a harsh environment that the zinc plating will last significantly longer than nickel plating and powder coating will last even longer. 

It makes no claims about abrasion resistance nor does it say that a plated item will last six months or 12 months.  The ratings are relative for making comparisons. 

Does that mean that the EZ Arc will last longer than the Dewalt when cutting wood?  No.  But there is a strong indication that it will because it did last longer in a standardized cutting test. 

The real question is, "Is this test a valid and repeatable one?"  It appears to be repeatable.  Is it a valid test for these blades?  I think so. 

An invalid test would be to see which blade sank in water the quickest and somehow relate that to durability. 

In any case I could not find other testing online to reference and since the EZ Arc was competitively priced on Amazon.com I did buy an assortment of blades.

 

[Coen]

Nice video Bob, thanks for sharing.

Amazing how a $20 Milwaukee blade that's designed for metal can't even cut one single drywall screw.

I use blades from a cheap brand called Werckmann, at €1 a piece, and they get similar performance that's shown here of the much more expensive blades. I can cut 2 or 3 screws with such a blade.

Shows how much of a scam the expensive blades are. I buy the Werckmann blades for €4 for a 4 pack of different sizes from the Action store. Funny thing, the DIY store across the street, the Praxis, sells the EXACT same pack with a different name on it for €30.

Well, what the Praxis sells and at what price is always a giant gamble...

Eg plywood, plaster, cement, etc.; all cheaper than basically anywhere else.

Same with the Gamma... recently needed some hollow ceiling junction boxes. €2,10 at the store I usually buy my electrical stuff. €7 at the Gamma. Only 3.33 times more expensive..

Their rebranded stuff is also weird. Some if it is just repackaged ABB or Wago stuff. As if anyone would trust their householdbrand more than ABB or Wago  [huh]

Here's a photo of the Festool blade & a Fein blade. I wouldn't be surprised if Fein manufactures the Festool blades.

[attachimg=1]

Yeah, that has been my suspicion all along  [tongue]

Multitool blades is just one of these things where Fein can get away with charging a premium beyond the quality premium because some competitors just sell junk and comparable prices.

 

[Steve1]

A pretty good explanation at this link, on the color coding and general of the Starlok mounting system used by at least Fein and Bosch.
(although they do try to confuse the reader by first saying Starlok fits all oscillating tools, and then mention, all except the ones that it doesn't fit or need adapter)https://www.kelvinpowertools.com/blog/blog/new-bosch-fein-starlock-system