tm3000c vs gop 300 bosch.pdf

8/10/2019 TM3000C VS GOP 300 BOSCH.pdf

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ince 2009 there has been anexplosion of oscillating multitoolson the market. The tool is not

actually new. The German tool company

Fein

rst launched the oscillating tool in1968. It has been a winner for them forsome time and found favour in manyspecialised areas and among certaintrades. Perhaps due to the fact that Fein

had the monopoly on the tool,it didnt become an overnighthit. The tool was quite expensiveand the accessories were also very

pricey. But it was the only tool of itskind and nothing else could do what itdid. In 2009, the patent expired and bythe end of that year Bosch had a copy inproduction.

The Shed August/September 201212

Tool Test

P h o t o g r a p h s : J u d e W o o d s i d e

Independent university test ofpopular brandsby J u d e W o o d s i d e

Auckland University'sKen Birch conductingthe tests.

the tool,overnight

xpensivelso very

ool of itso what itd and by

copy in


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The Shed August/September 2012 13

taking small but rapid bites. The smallarea of action relatively means the toolcan be more precise and needs onlythe smallest kerf so the cuts are very

accurate.The oscillating action means that thetool cannot cut skin effectively which isone reason they are used in hospitals tocut off plaster casts. But they can plunge-cut into hardened oorboards equallywell. A multitool doesnt cut as fast asa circular saw but it will cut very neatlyand precisely where you want to cut. Anoscillating cutter can cut clean, squareholes directly into a surface with no pilot

hole. No other tool can do that.The battle of the oscillating tools has justbegun. We thought it would be a goodtime to have a close look at these tools tosee how they stack up against each other.

Tools, accessoriesFor the purposes of this test weassembled some of the most commontools. We were fortunate that Makitawere just about to release their rst

multitool the TM3000C and Bosch areabout to release a 300 watt successor totheir GOP 250 tool. To these we addedthe Fein FMM250Q, the SMART SMT250P and the Renovator Deluxe from

The Bosch PMF180E was a 180 Wattversion designed as a DIY tool. It wasan instant hit. Suddenly there wasa tool that could cut timber withoutdangerous saw blades. It could cutopenings into skirting and oorboardswithout any fuss, cut out grout fromtiles, lift lino and do a host of othertasks that hitherto had meant expenseor had taken many tools to accomplishand it was priced around $100.The original Bosch PMF180E wasintended as a home handyman toolbut the demand was such that it tookanother two years before Bosch wouldlaunch their 250 watt version intendedfor trade use. In that time a host of copyversions had proliferated. Here Dremel,Milwaukee and Bosch have cordlessmodels and Bosch, Smart Tools andseveral cheaper home brands havecorded versions. Makita is the latest

entrant with both cordless andcorded. Fein was not idle eitherand have just launched a 14.4Vlithium-ion cordless model.There are as many cordlessmodels as corded.

OscillatingThe secret to the tool is thefact it doesnt rotate; itoscillates back and forth

in a very small (2.8-3.2) arc. The smallteeth on the hardenedsteel blades can cutquite effectively,

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facos

n .2teetstequi

BEST KIT


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Brand Developers Ltd as sold throughthe Warehouse.Given their multiplicity of uses theynearly all come with a system of bladesand attachments. The basic kit supplied

with the machines all feature at least oneor two bimetal blades capable of cutting

wood or metal (usually non-ferrousmetal, thin sheet steel or nails) a deltasanding pad and some pre-cut sheets.Some kits are more extensive, notablyFein, Smart Tools and Renovator.

Of them all, Fein is undoubtedly the bestassortment including two delta sanding

pads and a large circular oscillatingsanding pad together with six packetsof ve pieces each of sanding paper in avariety of grits and a custom mouldingsanding kit.

Of course the offerings will vary withthe type of kit. In this case the Fein kitis their Top Plus kit, effectively the topof the range and the SMART systemis their trade kit, a midrange kit. TheSMART trade kit doesnt normally havethe sanding pad but they supplied one forthis test. Most of the others are suppliedas standard kits. The Fein and SMARTkits also come in basic kits, which varylittle from the other offerings.

All the tools come supplied with plasticcases. Bosch and Makita are surprisinglysimilar and adequate for their job,with room for the tool and the box ofattachments. The SMART and the Feincases are the most comprehensive withroom in both for the machine ttingsand several additional spaces for vacuumattachments and additional ttings.The Renovator case contains only themachine and its vacuum attachment.The blades are housed separately.

The Fein box has two cases for ttings and extras, especially vacuumattachments, and an additional space forthe aforementioned moulding sander.The Fein case is clearly the best designedin ABS plastic with a lot of attention tomaking the design compact and ef cient.The handle folds out of the way to makestacking easier.

All the tools weigh about the same,around 1.4-1.5 kg, and they have more

or less similar circumferences, makingthem reasonably comfortable to hold forthe average-sized hand.The Fein and Bosch each have a four-metre-long lead. The Fein lead is

Bosch GOP300 New leveraction clampingsystem.

Bosch GOP 250cutting wood.

The Renovatorcutting wood.


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The Shed 21

Tool Test

The Shed June/July 2012 46

considerably more pliable and less likelyto twist. Makita have the longest lead inthe test at 4.9 metres and the SMARTand Renovator have leads of 2.1 metreseach. The Bosch lead is attached to the

machine with a ball joint allowing it tomove easily, eliminating twist.

TestsSo what should you be looking forin a good oscillating multitool? Its ahandheld tool that, in the case of usingit for a detail sander, is likely to be heldfor a long time. In that case, excessive

vibration can be a disadvantage.Similarly noise is a factor. These arentthe sorts of tools that you would expectto have to use ear protection for. Ingeneral in New Zealand, the acceptable

background noise for a workplace is85 dB. Short period noise up to 92 dBis acceptable, too, but above that earprotection should be used.

NoiseWe measured the tools at a distance ofone metre while they ran without load.Sound is measured in decibels based on

a logarithmic scale where a 3 dB changerepresents a doubling in sound intensity.The Renovator was clearly the loudest at88.7 dB. The next loudest was the Feinat 86.2 db. Makita at 74.9 decibels wasclearly the quietest in the test. Noneof the machines was likely to cause earinjury in continuous use. The pitch of theRenovator was noticeably higher thanany of the other machines and at 88.7dB it is at level where earmuffs would beadvisable.

VibrationThe vibration levels in all the machineswere not excessive, even under load.

CuttingThe real test is in the cutting abilityof the machines and that is to someextent determined by the quality of theblades supplied. All the machines have asimilar weight and most manuals say tolet the tool do the work.We set up a jig to allow the tools to do

just that. The tools were attached rmlyto an arm that allowed the machines

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SMART Toolcutting at itspreferred angle.


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weight to drive the blade. The tools wereset to cut into a piece of 40 x 25 mm

rimu, clamped in a jig. The blades weretimed from the start of the cut to the nish. We timed at least three attemptseach and averaged the results.Some blades tended to wander in thecut and in those cases the blade wasstraightened and the test restarted.In one tool, the SMART, we found wecouldnt attach the blades at right angleswithout using the adapter provided. Thehexagonal tting permits the blade onlyto be tted at 60 degree increments.

BladesOne curious outcome of the blade testingwas nding that the bimetal blades in mostcases cut the wood faster than the speci cwood blade. In most cases the wood bladeshad slightly coarser teeth.The winner here was the Bosch GOP 250which took, on average, only 2.9 secondswith a bi-metal blade. Curiously, it tooknearly twice as long (4.75 seconds) with a

blade intended for wood but that was alsothe best in its class, bettered only by theBosch GOP 300. Curiously, here the BoschGOP 300 managed to cut faster with thewood blades than the bimetal, using thesame blades as the Bosch GOP 250.We did not have a wood blade for theMakita kit so we have only the bimetalblade result for that test. Similarly wehad some problems with the mountingof the SMART blades. The wood blade

worked well with the adapter in placewhich allowed the blade to be positionedat 90. But we could not make thebimetal blade cut when it was similarlyattached, so we resorted to using the

blade without the adaptor and set it up tocut at its preferred 60 angle.

The clear winner in the wood cut eventwas the Bosch, which excelled with botha wood blade and the bimetal. The Feinwas consistent but again proved the point

that its wood blades were a good secondslower than the bimetal blade in speed.

Nail cuts Another common use for these tools is incutting nails to release a window or door


Fein test.

Nail test.


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Project


frame. Builders often use reciprocating tools for this job butmulti-cutters can do it without damaging the timber of the

door or window surround. Thats what the bimetal blade isdesigned for, to be able to cut through timber with nails.In the nail test we measured the time the tool took to cutthrough ten 90 mm x 2.5 mm nails typically used in framing.

Winner

Clearly the standout machine was the Bosch GOP250. It excelled at every test by a wide margin. TheMakita is close behind in second place with theBosch GOP 300 third overall. The SMART didnt

perform to expectations in the cutting tests. Wetried this test several times, resetting the bladebut with very similar results. It appeared to workreasonably well when hand-held to cut timber but itwas also twice as slow at cutting nails as the Makita.Nevertheless, it outperformed the Renovator.Fein is still a contender in performance and qualityand with the comprehensive kit they supply;although this tool is expensive it is still good valuefor the money. The SMART system doesnt have thesame performance of either the Bosch or the Feinsystem but it is still a reasonable tool for the price.

We expected at the start of the test that we shouldsee little difference in the tools and that the bladeswould be the deciding factor and,by and large, this is the case.

Fein nail test.


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MODEL BOSCH GOP250CE MAKITA TM3000C BOSCH GOP300SCE

Power 250 W 320W 300W

Oscillationamplitude

2.8 3.2 2.8

No Load Speed 8,000 - 20,000 6,000 - 20,000 8,000 - 20,000

Weight 1.5kg 1.4kg 1.7kg

Fittings 28mm Bimetal 28mm bimetal 28mm Bimetal

85mm Bimetal 85mm HSS 85mm Bimetal

28mm wood* 28mm wood*

Delta sanding pad Delta sanding pad

4x sanding sheets

Blade adapter yes yes yes

Tool mount Hex screw Hex screw Clamp

Warranty 1Yr 1yr 1yr

Price RRP $299 $320 $599

Noise 75.8dB 74.9dB 84.5dB

Cut wood blade(avg)secs

4.76 secs n/c 3.5 secs

Bi metal (avg)secs 2.9 secs 3.43 secs 4.55 secs

Nail cut (avg) 12.05 sec 15.77 sec 15.98 sec

Temp 31 33 29

Combined CutTests (secs)

7.66 n/a 8.05

*Blade not included in basic kit *Blade not included in basic kit

H P2 B H P E

OVERALL BESTPERFORMANCE RUNNER-UP


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The Shed 21

Tool Test

The Shed August/September 2012 19

FEIN FMM250Q SMART SMT250P THE RENOVATOR

250 W 250 W 250W

3.2 3.2 2.8

11,000 - 20,000/min 11,000 - 20,000/min 15000 - 21000/min

1.42 1.4kg 1.5

Trade Kit

44mm Bimetal blade (offset) 44mm Bimetal blade 32mm E cut wood/metal

80mm HSS seg saw 75mm HSS saw 32mm E cut wood

65mm standard set teethwood 32mm Long reach wood 32mm E cut wood

30mm HSS straight 32mm fine finish wood 10mm Ecut metal

52mm rigid scraper 63mmm fine finish wood 10mm ecut wood

63mm Carbide segment saw 20mm e cut wood

Delta carbide rasp semi circ 80mm wood/metal

115mm sanding pad 92mm semi circ tile diamond grout

Delta sanding pad unperforated 66mm grout remover

Delta sanding pad perforated 50mm rigid scraper

6 pkt of 5 sanding sheets delta rasp

dust extraction kit 8 pkts of 3 sanding sheets

detail sanding kit Delta sanding pad perforated

no yes no

QuickIN Clamp Hex screw Hex screw

3yrs 1yr 2yrs (trade exclusion)

Kit $699 Kit $449 Kit $239

86.2dB 78.7dB 88.7dB

5.28 secs 15.18 secs 7.53 secs

5.96 secs 11.6 secs 22.8 secs

31 sec 34 sec dnf 9 @ 41sec

33 38 44

11.24 26.78 30.33

ART T2 HE REN VAT

BEST KIT


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We dont recommend trying to cuthardened nails such as those used in gas- red framing guns.This is a severe test of any blade but atthe price of these blades we reason thatthey should be able to cut at least tennails. One would reasonably expect a$30 blade to cut even more.This test was run with the technicianholding the machine. It wasnt possible tocreate a jig as we had done for the woodblades. Its necessary to move the bladefrom side to side to cut successfully.One blade didnt actually manage to cutten nailsin fact, the Renovator bladewas all but nished at six nails andstruggled on to take 41 seconds to cutnine nails. Again the Bosch GOP 250

set the pace, powering through ten nailsin just 12.05 seconds. Both the Makitaand the Bosch GOP 300 took around15 seconds and the Fein and SMARTmachines came in at 31 and 34 secondsrespectively.

SandingFor the nal test we took a look at thesanding abilities of the machine. There isno objective test that we can apply here

but we ran each machine for 15 minutes,sanding a piece of plywood that had beensprayed with three coats of lacquer. Eachmachine was set up with its sanding padand 80 grit paper.

The Fein, SMART and Renovator havesmaller pads (45 mm) than the Boschand Makita (52 mm). Both SMART andFein had the edge on the Renovator forsanding. The Renovator pad did not grip

the paper as securely as others and itappeared to be softer and more spongy.It was less effective at material removal,too. The Renovator pad clearly showedsome distortion after use. This was

Sanding test.

Measuring thetemperatureof tools aftersanding test.


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The Shed 21

Tool Test


especially concerning since it was used for only 15 minutes.There was no discernible difference in the sanding abilitiesof the Bosch or Makita compared to those of the SMART orFein. All of them removed material at a slower rate comparedto a purpose-built detail sander. The larger 55 mm random

044BMT 44mm wide Bi-metal Blade Nail Buster ExtremeSuitable for timber with nails, non ferrous metals,54mm depth of cut.

Why is Titanium coating so good? It is designed to reduce frictionwhich reduces the heat build-upduring the cutting process,signicantly increasing the life of the blade.

This even makes the New Nail Buster Extreme Gold blade capable of cutting deckscrews, an application not possible with any other brand of blade.

Suitable for timber with nails, non ferrous metals, 54mm depth of cut.

035HCTThe Piranha Blade35mm wide and only 0.8mm thick withheat treated teeth, the SMART Piranhablade cuts timber like no other.

SMART SMTX shank suits: AEG RYOBI Bosch Craftsman Fein

Makita Icon Milwaukee Ozito Predator Rockwell Worx

The most universal ttingblades in the world...The NEW SMART SMTX shank

f

t

errous metals ,

he blade.

withnha

High PerformanceHigh Torque - Will cut 67mm deep

Variable Speed - Maximise bladelife

Alloy gearbox housingSlim Body Design

Rugged Carry Case3 high value sets to choose from

SMART MULTI-TOOL,The answer to all the awkward jobsfor every tradesman & DIYer

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orbit circular pad on the Fein sandedbest of all.

HeatWe also took the opportunity to testthe temperature of the tools at the endof the sanding test. We measured thetemperature at the gearbox in the head ofthe tools, reasoning that this is where thework is done. Once again the Renovatorscored worst here with a temperatureof 44 C. The SMART tool also warmedup at 38. The Bosch GOP 250 reacheda very modest 31 while the Fein andMakita recorded little more at 33 each.Unsurprisingly, the more powerfulBosch GOP 300 was the coolest at 29.T o be fair the Renovator is not marketed

as a trade tool.

AccessoriesFein have de nitely got the mostcomprehensive system of accessoriesavailable with several specialised tools.In particular, their detail sanding kitis very impressive but SMART Toolshave a very comprehensive range,too. The Renovator also supplies acomprehensive selection ofblades, but sadly they dontseem to deliver on

quality. While we didnt test all theseblades, those we did test, which shouldhave been the best performers, did apoor job overall.The Fein kit includes vacuum extraction,pro le sanding kit and the range of tools.Fein include 84 accessories with theirtool including 14 blades and sandingpads, and at an average retail priceof $30 each thats over $420 worth ofaccessories. The Renovator claims tohave 37 accessories. Both count eachpiece of sanding paper.Only two kits provided vacuum dustextractionFein and Renovator. Wedidnt test either but the inclusion is aworthwhile option if you plan to do muchdetail sanding.

InterconnectionBosch has recently developed theOscillating System Interface (OIS) as auniversal standard for multitool blades,allowing interconnection acrossbrands. The standard

features 12 points of connection toenable a rm grip on any connectionsystem.This has already been adopted by anumber of manufacturers and mostrecently by Makita on the machine wetested here. Bosch expects this to be aswidely adopted as was their SDS systemfor connecting bits in impact drivers andhammer drills.

AdaptorMost machines have an adaptor, whichwill permit other brands of blades to beused. Fein is an exception as they havea proprietary system which will notaccept other blades except those thathave been manufactured deliberately to

t them (although it is possible to get anadaptor to t other blades). The SMARTtool system blades will t a Fein.

Fein have de nitely got the mostcomprehensive system of accessoriesavailable with several specialised tIn particular, theiris ve

Bosc as recent y eve opeOscillating System Iuniver

s le to get another blades). The SMART

.ail sanding kit

mpressive but SMART Toolshave a very comprehensive range,oo. The Renovator also supplies aomprehensive selection of

blades, but sadly they dontseem to deliver

ace (OIS) as as andard for multitool blades,

allowing interconnection acrossbrands. The standard

too system a es wi t a Fein.

Disclaimer

The independent testingwas carried out by AucklandUniversity UniServices.We should make clear that thisis not a test conducted underrigorous scientific conditions.We have attempted to show thetool in use in conditions that

were ostensibly the same foreach machine with little humaninput. We would stress that, innormal use, the operator hasthe ability to move the bladeand apply pressure. We dontclaim that our test is a definitivemeasure of the ability of the toolto cutit is only a comparisonunder identical conditions.

Overall Best Performance:

Bosch GOP250

Runner-up: Makita TM3000C

Best Kit: Fein Top Plus

tm3000c vs gop 300 bosch.pdf

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