 I took a chance and I'm glad I did !! |
| Review Date: April 10, 2009 |
| Reviewer: TTP3317, Arlington, TX |
I debated a couple of years about purchasing a tool like this. At first, Fein was the only option and just for home use it was too much money for me to justify purchasing. Now that there are reasonably priced choices, I purchased the 37 piece Rockwell kit and added some accessories. Honestly, I felt like it was a gamble. Many reviews say the blades don't last and they come loose all the time. I rolled the dice. I WON!!!
This is a solid tool. I love working with tools and I own a lot of professional quality tools. I put this in the same class as my Bosch, Dewalt, Porter Cable, Rigid, and Makita tools.
For $208 I bought the 37 piece kit and a diamond segment saw, a carbide triangle saw, and a blade cleaner. (the 37 piece kit is the cheapest with variable speed; the least expensive kit is not variable speed). The harder the material you work on, the higher the speed needs to be set. According to the manufacturer, it is running the tool on too low a speed that causes overheating and excessive blade wear. The tool and add on accessories cost me less than half as much as the equivalent from Fein would have.
I immediately went to work taking out thinset from an old tile job, probably 1/4 inch trowelled. I had tried hammer and chisel and hated that. I bought an angle grinder which worked but threw dust everywhere. That lasted about one minute before I had to quit because of the dust. Then I threw a rug over it. That was a couple of years ago.
This Sonicrafter with the diamond segment saw is the right tool for the job. It is powerful enough. I used it for an hour, it did not overheat or bog down. The blade shows no signs of wear. The blade never came loose. It did not throw dust everywhere. After an hour my hand was tired. Operating this tool feels very much like operating a random orbital sander. The gentle vibration over time is fatiguing.
Be careful when you mount the blade. Blades mount like a twelve point socket fits on a nut; but these blades and mount are thin like a hacksaw blade. Make sure the blade is seated on the nut before you tighten the mounting screw. If the blade is mounted correctly, it will not work loose. I have used three different types of blades and have never had a blade work loose. Just get it on there right to begin with.
I am more than satisfied with my choice of Sonicrafter over Multimaster. I used some of the money I saved to buy myself a new Stetson hat.
Update: I was digging a post hole in my back yard and ran into a one inch root about 18 inches deep into the hole. All progress stopped. I smiled a lot as I qucikly cut the root out with my Sonicrafter. |
Rockwell Quality
|
| Review Date: December 3, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Mr. Geweke, Tucson Az US |
OMG, the Rockewell SoniCrafter is great. I was looking for a corded oscillating tool and looked at the Fein Multitasker and blades, but it is just way too expensive to purchase for my needs. So I bought the Dremel and the Rockwell to compare side by side...
The $100 Dremel is lighter and a bit smaller but the buzz the motor makes compared to the Rockwell motor [a little bit heavier and slightly bigger] which humms smoothly is like comparing a Vespa scooter to a Victory street bike.
Since the basic Rockwell is only $20 more than the Dremel and the extra blades are about the same price, there was no question about going for the quality/durability of a Rockwell.
The only convenience problem that I can foresee is getting replacement blades:
Dremel is carried by big box hardware stores; hobbyists who do crafts on the spur of the moment and do not need to rip open walls, will appreciate the around-the-corner convenience.
Rockwell is carried by speciality woodworking stores or the internet; the Home Proj. kind of guys have to plan ahead before ripping into a wall for remodeling. So ordering parts in advance should be a no brainer.
I also really liked the Rockwell case, it is created with niches and screw-downs to hold lots of blades/attachments in place.
I looked at the Bosch 12v battery operated version, and that would have been a good choice but I do not want to have numerous 18v tool systems and chargers for the various power hand tools that I use. I read that the Bosch delivers 20 min of battery power and I might need more time than that between charges.
All four tools mentioned above have variable speeds pretty much the same: 10,000 - 21,000 opm. The Bosch details that I read boasted of 5,000 - 20,000 opm, but I do not know if I need to go that slow. If I did I would have researched more into the rare Praxon version of oscillating tool, which is reportedly underpowered and equivalent to size and weight of the Dremel.
|
|
