Every once in a while you find a tool that becomes a favorite and you wonder why you didn't buy it years ago. For me, it's Fein's MultiMaster triangular detail sander. Talking with other boat builders, I'd hear about this great little tool. Then I'd look at the price tag and ask how a little sander could be worth close to $200. Now I know the answer: Easy.

I finally broke down and bought the tool not because I needed a sander but because I needed an oscillating saw and a power scraper. I had two leaky deck hatches that were insufficiently bedded in polyurethane adhesive. They needed to come out cleanly, and to get re-bedded and re-installed in one afternoon. The tool did the job quickly without scarring the adjoining finished surfaces. I was hooked.

The combination tool is definitely a good sander, but its major strength is a high-quality oscillating motor that has a wide range of attachments, which do small sanding, cutting, and scraping jobs in tight places wonderfully well. Do you need a saw that cuts wood, plastic, and metal, and doesn't stroke back and forth or throw sparks? How about a saw that can plunge-cut a 2x4 without touching any of the finished surfaces around it? Would a powered grout saw be helpful for tile work? In my shop we've found the different scrapers to be the best tools for removing dried sealants. We also use the different sized sanding pads for all kinds of detail work. The only times the tool doesn't do the job is when we've asked it to do too much. For example, it isn't the right tool for cutting 1/4-inch steel or for surface-sanding a tabletop.

If you have a small job in a tight place, odds are that the MultiMaster can help. The tool body is not cheap, though, and neither are the attachments. There are hook and loop pads as well as a vacuum pickup, buffing pads, carbide rasps, flush-cutting saws, hook-shaped scrapers, depth stops for the saws, and a diamond masonry saw.

This is a well-manufactured and well-thought-out tool. We've run it all day without it getting hot. It's well-balanced and comfortable to hold. You can vary the motor speed depending on the task and it has a super-long cord. In case you can't tell, I really like this tool. Not a day goes by where it doesn't get picked up and used. If you owe a cheap friend a favor, do something nice and buy him one of these.Copyright Hanley-Wood, LLC