Fax: 01444 414813
Email: info@airstream.co.uk
by Peter Brett - November 2005
For more information call Christine
01444 440188
01444 440188
Long-Awaited, But Definitely Worth The Wait
This new FEIN machine is sleeker than previous ones. The body, still in bright red ABS, is more curvily shaped to be less bulky and therefore easier to hold. It is also remarkably compact in size and low in weight and will therefore be very handy for those users who want to use it in confined spaces. The business end is made of cast alloy with a durable black coating. At the other end a heavy-duty electrical cord a full 5 metres long protrudes, just near the speed control. Yes, its about as simple as that, because the real complicated bits are the accessories that fit on the business end and the unique way that the FEIN machines work. For those that don’t already know, the FEIN Multi-Master and SuperCut work by oscillation rather than revolving. This means that they are more easily controllable and offer more usable options when doing some cutting and trimming jobs.
For example, flooring contractors who need the ability to cut skirting or moulding flush with a floor or wall can set the machine with an appropriate blade and cut to the depth and width required, leaving only a very thin cut line. Perhaps the closest I have come to this facility when I laid my laminate floor was using a Japanese pull saw. Even then, it was necessary to mark some of the nearby skirting just to get the cutting action. With the FEIN tool, the user selects the width of the blade and the cutting speed, and with care there will be no extraneous marks to show.
I was concerned to test that the blades worked in really demanding hardwoods, because the usual pine that most domestic joinery consists of is quite easy to cut. Two caretakers who were being nosey about what I was testing in my workshop urged me to cut a piece of 100mm by 32mm thick oak pulled out of my off-cuts box. They honestly believed that the blade would not be up to it and the oscillation action wouldn’t be controllable. They looked on in amazement as the blade sliced through, across the grain, with the grain, and even taking a small slice out of an edge to create a small rebate. I was then given a list of jobs that they would love to use the FEIN for, but I politely declined. Not only because I want to have a bit more use of the machine myself, but because they fall into the category of what some tool companies call “demanding end users” in other words, they are modern day machine breakers.
I then took a large lump of pine shuttering ply and proceeded to cut it into all shapes and sizes. The blades showed no sign of weakness at all, despite my being deliberately cack-handed at times. The ability to cut millimetre perfect holes in the middle of a board was another cause of amazement for my clumsy caretakers, and again I was told that I ought to show it to an electrician colleague of theirs who wanted to set switchboxes into studding walls. None of this was news to me, I have used a FEIN MultiMaster previously, and this SuperCut is the new generation.
For my last trick, I sanded away at one of my small Shaker style tables that I have been busily hand crafting. Not only is the delta sander enormously efficient and adjustable for speed and stock removal, it can sand right up to an edge and into very small spaces. Using one leg as a target project, I managed to sand from 80 grit to 180 grit in about five minutes, leaving a surface without marks and smooth enough to apply finishing oil to.
I have to add that the FEIN SuperCut comes in a variety of guises. I was using the carpenter’s/interior fitter’s version that comes with a range of fine and general woodcutting blades and a sander. For window fitters and glaziers another range of HSS and specialist blades enables the removal of putty and glass from frames and separation and removal of frames from their apertures.
The professional removal of sealant and grouting is achieved by a third outfit that has a bail handle and efficient dust extraction as part of the set. Finally, the set aimed at plumbers and tilers, has a diamond-coated blade as a key part for removing tiles, a carbide blade for removing dried tile adhesive and a few others to cut the odd bit of copper pipe, shower frame, plastic moulding or acrylic adhesive. However, the basic power tool remains the same, and all the different versions can become yours by simply buying the required accessories.
Well, you don&Mac226;t have to be a genius to work out that I like the FEIN SuperCut CONSTRUCTION very much. It has the virtue, to my knowledge, of being a unique tool that will do a lot of things very easily. But there is a downside. The FEIN is not a cheap machine, and the accessories aren’t either. For professionals though, the investment of some of your hard-earned readies in a FEIN SuperCut will no doubt save you a lot of time and enable you to do a much better job more easily. Quality rarely comes cheap, and this is a top quality product.
Independent Review by Peter Brett
Airstream Communications