I posted this review on Amazon, and thought it may be of interest to the FOG members if I post it here as well. My son and I did a small test with three tools, and results were not quite what we expected.
We compared three oscillating tools which cover the whole range: almost $600 Festool Vecturo, $250 Bosch, and $15 Harbor Freight (Chicago Electric). Even though I bought a Vecturo for a specific task, until this test I thought somewhere deep inside that I was too much into just collecting green staff. I thought it was the same as Bosch, just higher priced and nicely packaged. The test provided the proof I was looking for.
It was not meant to be a comprehensive in-depth test, just a quick reality check which my son and I had in our plans since late spring, but got to it only now.
"How much better is a high end tool compared to a low end?
I had an opportunity to compare three oscillating tools side by side. I owned a Bosch tool since about 3-4 years, it served me very well. I bought a Festool Vecturo about half a year ago because I had an application which required a plunge base for very accurate cuts. Finally, I bought a Harbor Freight tool as a sacrificial tool to do some drywall work over the head (I did not want to get drywall dust into my better tools). Hence, so it happened that I ended up with three tools which cover the whole spectrum, from about $15 on the low end to almost $600 on the high end. I was very tempted to try them side by side to understand if the difference is at least remotely similar to the difference in price.
The key to such test is to use the same blade on all tools. I had a “Japan tooth” saw blade (the one with relatively large teeth) which was compatible with Harbor Freight and Bosch tools. This is an appropriate blade to cut wood. I used a Fein adapter to install the same blade on Festool. The task was to cut through a half inch plywood (make a plunge cut). Both, my 10 year old son and I took turns making cuts. We measured the time to accomplish this goal for every tool.
The parameters of the three tools compared were: (1) Chicago Electric (Harbor Freight) Item # 62279, fixed speed, 1.6 Amps, 21,000 rpm, 180 Watts, oscillation angle unknown, made in China ($14.99). (2) Bosch MX30EK-33 Multi-X, 3 Amps, 8,000-20,000 oscillations, 2.4 degree oscillation angle, made in Switzerland ($249), 3) Festool Vecturo Set , 400 Watts, up to 18,500 oscillations, 4 degree oscillation angle, made in Germany ($595).
The first test was how the tools feel in hand. Chicago Electric was the lightest, the fit was nice, non-slippery, comfortable to hold. Five stars. Bosch was noticeably heavier, non-slippery handle, feels a little on the large side, but it worked fine for me and surprisingly my 10-year old son felt comfortable holding it, too. Hence, 4.5 stars. Festool felt a little weird in comparison, it lacks non-slippery surface to hold on to, and it is much longer than the other two tools because of a plug-in power cord (which I think is totally useless without dust extraction) – but despite all this, it does not slide in your hand and works fine. I always struggle a little finding the best spot to hold it. 4 stars.
The second test was how easy was to install the blade. Chicago Electric was a chore, one has to use a metric Allen wrench to tighten the bolt which holds the blade in place. 3 stars. Bosch was by far the best, with quick release star-lock mechanism. It is just plug and play. 5 stars. Festool had very hard lever which one has to flip (my son was unable to do it at all), and a couple of parts which should be removed (and can be lost in the process). Quite uncomfortable, not much superior to Chicago Electric, 3.5 stars.
The third test was turning on the tool. It may sound like a ridiculous test, but the power switch on Chicago Electric is so hard that my son could barely turn the tool on. For me, it was also a problem. 3 stars. Bosch was on second place, the switch was perfectly manageable, 4.5 stars, Festool was the most user-friendly when it comes to turning on, 5 stars.
Now, to the cutting part! The first tool was Chicago Electric. Cutting through plywood was a struggle. It took me 35 seconds to make a plunge cut, while my son accomplished the same task in 33 seconds. This tool has a fixed speed. The other two tools have variable speed, and we set both tools to the max oscillation frequency. According to the tool specs, it got us roughly in the same ballpark. Bosch, with the same blade, was cutting amazingly faster. Both my son and I cut through half inch plywood, with the same blade, in 6 seconds. The difference was amazing, we expected that Chicago Electric may be worse, but not that hugely worse. Well, Festool has beaten that record easily. I accomplished the same plywood plunge cut (again, with the same blade) in 3.5 seconds, while my son completed the cut in 4 seconds. Just for the fun of it, at the end we installed on Festool it’s own (longer) plunge blade, and that one cut through the same plywood in astonishing 1.5 seconds! Wow! What a difference! From 35 seconds to 1.5 seconds!
Hence, Chicago Electric ranks as 1 star (can barely do the job), Bosch rates at 4 stars ( adequate), and Festool ranks at 5 stars (superior cut speed). I think the reasons for this huge difference are two: power and oscillation angle. Festool has both the highest power and the largest angle of oscillation. Frequency of oscillations does not seem to have a decisive impact because all three tools in the test ran at similar RPMs: Chicago Electric has the highest frequency (21,000), followed by Bosch (20,000), and Festool was the lowest (18,000) – and yet it cuts faster.
Quality: Chicago Electric is by far the worse. It is a low end, low cost China in all respects, from quality to look to feel to even packaging. The tool which we used was actually the second we got, the first one had to be replaced because the power switch did not work properly. Both Bosch and Festool are built very nicely. Both come in plastic cases, but Festool Systainer is clearly another step up over Bosch (albeit Bosch case is more compact and is a better thought-through for the use with this tool).
Accessories: Bosch comes in a kit with a variety of blades. Festool’s kit does not include blades, but includes a plunge base which is a great attachment for making controlled precise cuts. In my opinion, the only version of Festool which is worth purchasing is the set with the plunge base. Bosch has a small advantage that it also comes with sanding pads (which are not all that useful, except in tight spots).
None has dust extraction. All are pretty noisy.
Overall rating: Festool came first in terms of performance. It cuts amazingly fast. Bosch has the best quality and performance to price ratio. It does not cut as fast as Festool, but it does a solid job. I decided to rate both Festool and Bosch five stars. Each has its disadvantages and advantages, none is perfect, but both are great performers. When it comes to cutting fast, Festool is the best in this test by a factor of two. When it comes to value for the money, Bosch is a little ahead. Chicago Electric… well… after the test, I told my son that he can take it apart to see what is inside then throw it into the dumpster – which is where it belongs. Chicago Electric is an incredibly inexpensive tool which can (sort of) do the job if it is bought just for a single task, in which cost is paramount but time is not critical. It works, but as a tool, meaning as a tool to do jobs over and over again, it is a joke. You get what you paid for. "
We compared three oscillating tools which cover the whole range: almost $600 Festool Vecturo, $250 Bosch, and $15 Harbor Freight (Chicago Electric). Even though I bought a Vecturo for a specific task, until this test I thought somewhere deep inside that I was too much into just collecting green staff. I thought it was the same as Bosch, just higher priced and nicely packaged. The test provided the proof I was looking for.
It was not meant to be a comprehensive in-depth test, just a quick reality check which my son and I had in our plans since late spring, but got to it only now.
"How much better is a high end tool compared to a low end?
I had an opportunity to compare three oscillating tools side by side. I owned a Bosch tool since about 3-4 years, it served me very well. I bought a Festool Vecturo about half a year ago because I had an application which required a plunge base for very accurate cuts. Finally, I bought a Harbor Freight tool as a sacrificial tool to do some drywall work over the head (I did not want to get drywall dust into my better tools). Hence, so it happened that I ended up with three tools which cover the whole spectrum, from about $15 on the low end to almost $600 on the high end. I was very tempted to try them side by side to understand if the difference is at least remotely similar to the difference in price.
The key to such test is to use the same blade on all tools. I had a “Japan tooth” saw blade (the one with relatively large teeth) which was compatible with Harbor Freight and Bosch tools. This is an appropriate blade to cut wood. I used a Fein adapter to install the same blade on Festool. The task was to cut through a half inch plywood (make a plunge cut). Both, my 10 year old son and I took turns making cuts. We measured the time to accomplish this goal for every tool.
The parameters of the three tools compared were: (1) Chicago Electric (Harbor Freight) Item # 62279, fixed speed, 1.6 Amps, 21,000 rpm, 180 Watts, oscillation angle unknown, made in China ($14.99). (2) Bosch MX30EK-33 Multi-X, 3 Amps, 8,000-20,000 oscillations, 2.4 degree oscillation angle, made in Switzerland ($249), 3) Festool Vecturo Set , 400 Watts, up to 18,500 oscillations, 4 degree oscillation angle, made in Germany ($595).
The first test was how the tools feel in hand. Chicago Electric was the lightest, the fit was nice, non-slippery, comfortable to hold. Five stars. Bosch was noticeably heavier, non-slippery handle, feels a little on the large side, but it worked fine for me and surprisingly my 10-year old son felt comfortable holding it, too. Hence, 4.5 stars. Festool felt a little weird in comparison, it lacks non-slippery surface to hold on to, and it is much longer than the other two tools because of a plug-in power cord (which I think is totally useless without dust extraction) – but despite all this, it does not slide in your hand and works fine. I always struggle a little finding the best spot to hold it. 4 stars.
The second test was how easy was to install the blade. Chicago Electric was a chore, one has to use a metric Allen wrench to tighten the bolt which holds the blade in place. 3 stars. Bosch was by far the best, with quick release star-lock mechanism. It is just plug and play. 5 stars. Festool had very hard lever which one has to flip (my son was unable to do it at all), and a couple of parts which should be removed (and can be lost in the process). Quite uncomfortable, not much superior to Chicago Electric, 3.5 stars.
The third test was turning on the tool. It may sound like a ridiculous test, but the power switch on Chicago Electric is so hard that my son could barely turn the tool on. For me, it was also a problem. 3 stars. Bosch was on second place, the switch was perfectly manageable, 4.5 stars, Festool was the most user-friendly when it comes to turning on, 5 stars.
Now, to the cutting part! The first tool was Chicago Electric. Cutting through plywood was a struggle. It took me 35 seconds to make a plunge cut, while my son accomplished the same task in 33 seconds. This tool has a fixed speed. The other two tools have variable speed, and we set both tools to the max oscillation frequency. According to the tool specs, it got us roughly in the same ballpark. Bosch, with the same blade, was cutting amazingly faster. Both my son and I cut through half inch plywood, with the same blade, in 6 seconds. The difference was amazing, we expected that Chicago Electric may be worse, but not that hugely worse. Well, Festool has beaten that record easily. I accomplished the same plywood plunge cut (again, with the same blade) in 3.5 seconds, while my son completed the cut in 4 seconds. Just for the fun of it, at the end we installed on Festool it’s own (longer) plunge blade, and that one cut through the same plywood in astonishing 1.5 seconds! Wow! What a difference! From 35 seconds to 1.5 seconds!
Hence, Chicago Electric ranks as 1 star (can barely do the job), Bosch rates at 4 stars ( adequate), and Festool ranks at 5 stars (superior cut speed). I think the reasons for this huge difference are two: power and oscillation angle. Festool has both the highest power and the largest angle of oscillation. Frequency of oscillations does not seem to have a decisive impact because all three tools in the test ran at similar RPMs: Chicago Electric has the highest frequency (21,000), followed by Bosch (20,000), and Festool was the lowest (18,000) – and yet it cuts faster.
Quality: Chicago Electric is by far the worse. It is a low end, low cost China in all respects, from quality to look to feel to even packaging. The tool which we used was actually the second we got, the first one had to be replaced because the power switch did not work properly. Both Bosch and Festool are built very nicely. Both come in plastic cases, but Festool Systainer is clearly another step up over Bosch (albeit Bosch case is more compact and is a better thought-through for the use with this tool).
Accessories: Bosch comes in a kit with a variety of blades. Festool’s kit does not include blades, but includes a plunge base which is a great attachment for making controlled precise cuts. In my opinion, the only version of Festool which is worth purchasing is the set with the plunge base. Bosch has a small advantage that it also comes with sanding pads (which are not all that useful, except in tight spots).
None has dust extraction. All are pretty noisy.
Overall rating: Festool came first in terms of performance. It cuts amazingly fast. Bosch has the best quality and performance to price ratio. It does not cut as fast as Festool, but it does a solid job. I decided to rate both Festool and Bosch five stars. Each has its disadvantages and advantages, none is perfect, but both are great performers. When it comes to cutting fast, Festool is the best in this test by a factor of two. When it comes to value for the money, Bosch is a little ahead. Chicago Electric… well… after the test, I told my son that he can take it apart to see what is inside then throw it into the dumpster – which is where it belongs. Chicago Electric is an incredibly inexpensive tool which can (sort of) do the job if it is bought just for a single task, in which cost is paramount but time is not critical. It works, but as a tool, meaning as a tool to do jobs over and over again, it is a joke. You get what you paid for. "
