Now, to the cutting part! The first tool was Chicago Electric. 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. 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. Quite uncomfortable, not much superior to Chicago Electric, 3.5 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). Bosch was by far the best, with quick release star-lock mechanism. Chicago Electric was a chore, one has to use a metric Allen wrench to tighten the bolt which holds the blade in place. The second test was how easy was to install the blade. I always struggle a little finding the best spot to hold it. 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. 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. Chicago Electric was the lightest, the fit was nice, non-slippery, comfortable to hold. The first test was how the tools feel in hand. (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 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). We measured the time to accomplish this goal for every tool. Both, my 10 year old son and I took turns making cuts. The task was to cut through a half inch plywood (make a plunge cut). I used a Fein adapter to install the same blade on Festool. This is an appropriate blade to cut wood. I had a “Japan tooth” saw blade (the one with relatively large teeth) which was compatible with Harbor Freight and Bosch tools. The key to such test is to use the same blade on all tools. 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. 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. 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). I bought a Festool Vecturo about half a year ago because I had an application which required a plunge base for very accurate cuts. I owned a Bosch tool since about 3-4 years, it served me very well. I had an opportunity to compare three oscillating tools side by side. "How much better is a high end tool compared to a low end? 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. The test provided the proof I was looking for. I thought it was the same as Bosch, just higher priced and nicely packaged. 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. We compared three oscillating tools which cover the whole range: almost $600 Festool Vecturo, $250 Bosch, and $15 Harbor Freight (Chicago Electric). My son and I did a small test with three tools, and results were not quite what we expected. I posted this review on Amazon, and thought it may be of interest to the FOG members if I post it here as well.
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