Dremel Multimax blade gripe

If it’s any consolation… Our house has plaster over button board (kind of like drywall, it was used for about 2 years in an intermediate period between lath and wallboard, it basically has lots of holes in it so the plaster will stick). The corners are reinforced with expanded steel mesh.

I borrowed a Fein MultiMaster from my brother-in-law to cut some of this stuff away, and did what you did with a couple of the Fein blades.

Then I went out to buy him replacements… I think it was over $70 for three at the time…

-- Dan Lyke, Petaluma California, http://www.flutterby.net/User:DanLyke

I have found that the easiest way to cut plaster is with a sawzall using a blade made for wood cutting. It will dull the blade quickly but for $10 you can buy a bunch of them. On the other hand Lennox makes sawzall blades specifically for plaster, the blades themselves are black, havent tried them myself but i know our demo guys like them at work.

-- "there aren’t many hand tools as awe-inspiring as the #8 jointer. I mean, it just reeks of cast iron heft and hubris" - Smitty

I use a Roto- Zip for stuff like that…

There bits last alot longer…

-- Rick

i don’t think it matter what you are useing to cut plaster blade wise it will use them up but i like lennox sawzall blades

-- gagewestern

I’m with the sawzall. I have cut zillions of holes in plaster with it. Works every time. I would send those bits back to Dremel with a nasty gram. They will probably take care of it- just tell them Jordan sent you. :)

-- Homer : "Oh, and how is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain."

I have the Dremel multimax and I’m not impressed with it at all. It runs very hot in a hurry, and when using the wood blade, it will go into pine about 1/2” to 5/8” deep and then will not plunge any deeper. It doesn’t stall, it just won’t continue to cut, for reasons I haven’t figured out. It might be the quality of the blade steel. Lennox needs to make “bi-Metal” replacement blades for it.

-- Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them.

Every wall in my house is like Dan describes… and having done a pretty sizeable renoavation, I can agree with gagewestern, Lennox Sawzall blades are where it’s at for that…

The dremel blades are just to darn thin to stand up to the abuse of trying to cut through that stuff!

-- Ryno

Dremels are for pussies. Real men choose Sawzall. Everytime. LOL

-- Homer : "Oh, and how is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain."

Don, I’ve never used anything like that and the bits I usually use aren’t exactly Dremel brand bits but I’ve noticed there is a feedback section here at the bottom of the page.

-- http://www.jordanstraker.com

Using a reciprocating saw, extend the blade out then cut it off to a length (plus just a hair) equal to the thickness of the drywall or whatever you are cutting, then follow the cut line.

-- david roberts, spinning Tales from Topographic Oceans, no, really.

I still think scoring the cut line with a utility knife then chopping away the plaster board with a roofer’s hatchet works best on all but small holes! I used to have a thin round rasp with a very aggressive drill tip that worked very well (I think somebody liked that tool better than I – I haven’t seen it in years).

-- Doug, Bakersfield, CA - I measured twice, cut it twice, and it is still too short!

hehehehehe…. that’s sort of what usually happen when its been used too much. hey, if you want another replacement for that I recommend gila tools since they have the best wood blade (carbide) products have great deals too. anyway, mine was just not so used up so it didn’t get that much worse than what happen to your blade.

-- http://www.gilatools.com/carbide-blades/wood-cutting-carbide-saw-blades.html