Dremel has recently introduced two new oscillating multi-tools, the MM20 and MM40. The MM20 is an upgrade over the original Multi-Max, and the MM40 a more premium model with greater power and advanced features.
The MM40 features a 2.5 amp motor that can deliver a variable-speed 10,000-21,000 oscillating per minute. It has separate speed adjustment and on-off switches, a soft-start feature for more controlled startup, and electric feedback that helps provide constant power output.
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Surprisingly, Dremel’s MM40 is also quite reasonably priced (under $140 via Amazon) compared to other brands’ premium oscillating tools.
Oh yes, and let’s not forget about the new tool-free blade change! Dremel is calling their design the Quick Lock accessory change system. The quick-change control is essentially a locking lever on top of the tool that is rotated forward to unlock attached blades or accessories. To lock in a new blade, the lever is rotated back to its first position.
Although this is not the first oscillating multi-tool to feature a tool-free blade change, it is one of the more affordable models. Also on the market is Fein’s higher-end Multimasters, Porter Cable’s multi-tools, Bosch’s new Multi-X and Craftsman Nextec G2 multi-tool. It’s definitely interesting how each company’s unique designs differ. If you ask us, the Dremel’s is one of the better tool-free blade change designs.
The Dremel Multi-Max MM40 is compatible with all of Dremel’s current oscillating tool blades and accessories. There is also a new selection of larger accessories that have been designed to better match the MM40’s increased performance. Some of the new MM40 accessories are longer and wider, which means greater cutting depth and width and thus quicker cutting.
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The MM40 is now available nationwide and online with an MSRP of $140.
Buy Now(via Amazon)
Shop Dremel Multi-Max Tools & Accessories (via Amazon)
Also be sure to check out Dremel’s new Multi-Knife cutting attachment.
john a. Borst
Note: It would be advantages for Dremel to strongly suggest that an Operator should always have a vacume cleaner suction hose adjacent to the cutting. Our lungs can not be replaced. I never used a dust mask not vacume hose, but I am recovering nicely. JAB.
Tom B.
@John a. Borst – the User manual doesn’t reference a vacuum, but on two separate occasions it does recommend a dust mask and eye protection…
from page 3
Use personal protective equipment. Always
wear eye protection. Protective equipment
such as dust mask, non-skid safety shoes, hard
hat, or hearing protection used for appropriate
conditions will reduce personal injuries.
from page 4
Always wear eye protection and a dust
mask for dusty applications and when
sanding overhead. Sanding particles can be
absorbed by your eyes and inhaled easily
and may cause health complications.
http://mdm.boschwebservices.com/files/r19427v31.pdf
George
NO! Tom is just being helpful to people that do not think the dust in lungs and eyes are toxic… Most old paint and grout have Lead…
Mark
Thank’s Tom… I’m guessing you work for Dremel…
Brandon S
Not wearing a dust mask and eye protection while cutting, sanding, spray painting, mowing, grinding, welding, drilling, or sand blasting is akin to ironing your clothes while wearing them. Do you really need to be told that? If so, perhaps power tools aren’t something you should use. Stick to modeling clay and crayons; real men protect themselves
IndyVet
Real men have performed cutting, sanding, spraying, grinding, welding, etc. for decades without dust and eye protection. They built everything from the Panama Canal to the Hoover Dam to the skyscrapers all over the world with any protection…..so go blow your horn somewhere else.
Stuart
Real men and women wear PPE these days because they don’t want to suffer from preventable injuries and disease.
PPE, such as safety glasses, goggles, face shields, ear plugs and ear muffs, respirators, disposable and work gloves, and so forth are definitely recommended. If you choose not to protect yourself, that’s your choice. If you choose not to protect yourself in a professional environment, good luck dealing with OSHA.
Robert Wdowiak
Real men died or were injured unnecessarily. 27,609 men died building the Panama Canal. Really dead.
Michael
No one gets out alive in any case!
Redruffinsore
Perhaps so, but when we “have” the knowledge, to not follow appropriate safety and personnel protection is not only asinine, but a plague upon society. Everyone thinks the gubmint (sic) is there to pay them for stupid mistakes. Illnesses attributed to unknown reasons are one thing entirely different; when we “know” of the consequences of doing stupid things, there is little excuse, and I for one don’t want to pay for stupid peoples actions.
Brandon S
This is a very good tool. Freehand work is a little easier once you get your grip balanced and comfortable. If you bend your own custom cutting heads, baking them before use will make them less brittle.
Joe
I purchased a Dremel and the first time I used it one of the blades snapped in half after approximately 20 seconds of use. The rest of the blades worked fine but I am without one new blade!
michael
Awesome Tool, don’t waste your money on the cordless unless you can afford plenty of battery’s i have used this type of tool for 15 years and it has more than paid for it’s self in hours saved by 100 fold.
Dewault, Milwaukee, Bosch and many more have models corded and from 12 volt up to 28 volt. shop around and buy the warranty. no company has figured out the over heating problem yet.
CPOoutlet.com has a great price right now. it’s definitely a seasonal tool though
be creative like the Creative Sonoma Guy does
wpg1947
What is the tool used for?
NBV87
You can cut wood in very confined spaces, such as a baseboard near the corner, or a door jamb very close to the floor. For example, if you are replacing carpet with hardwood flooring, you might want to cut a little bit off the bottom of all your door jambs. There’s not enough clearance for normal power tools like rotary or ricrocating saws to do a clean cut.
Steve D
Also, you can start cuts in the middle of a piece. The blades are very thin so you can make very fine, smooth cuts, much more precisely and cleanly than with a saber saw. Nice for tight spaces and precise cuts. It’s not really for heavy duty cutting, though.
Steve D
I see someone below mentioned cutting 2×4’s. Yes, you can, but I’d use a circular saw if you needed to do it a lot.
Rain D
I used the Dremel MultiMax to tear out my vinyl floor. It made a difficult job more manageable. Was about 20 hours of constant and heavy use and a very sticky grease began to come out of the vents. I took it into the Dremel service center and they gave me a new one no questions asked. Could not have asked for better service than that! This tool is amazing. I use it on almost every project I work on. Must have for any DIY project.
pnetrick
I use this tool quite often for cutting the baseboard at the corners to allow a small piece of moulding to be inserted. I have also used it to remove the grout and adhesive from cracked floor tiles. I have not experienced any problem with the tool in any way. It has not overheated (but I have not used it for extended periods of time) or leaked. I am very happy with ALL of my Dremel tools!
Ed Maher
I have a Dremel that I purchased at Big Lots for twenty bucks. Used it to cut two by fours, wood flooring to install trim, remove old trim and much more. Never experienced over heating or problem with with the tool. The blades on the other hand have a very short lifespan and are expensive relative to their usage rate. The bottom line? Simple, without the tool it would be very difficult to achieve the level of success you can achieve withe the tool.
For my real comment for the sad soul that commented on warnings regarding using a vacuum. Please stay away from all power tools, especially those that drill, cut or grind. Medical bills being what they are…
Chuck Pewsey
I don’t have a Dremel but a cheaper make. It worked fine squaring up the end of a routered mortise and that was before I found the skinny cutters.
Barry Karas
Common sense rules.
g
In an hour and a half I cut and removed 110 feet of 10 year old caulking from a swimming pool deck, with this brand of cutter.
Ed
You can buy a bit cheaper model, that does the same things, at Harbor Freight, for 20 bucks.
Joe
You had better wear earplugs to use any of harbor freight’s poor quality chinese tools (i’ve bought them as disposable for a single purpose and they’re really pretty pathetic). With the dremel i can run up to home depot if replacement blades are needed. Not ‘order and wait a week’ in the middle of a job.
Used mine to rip up 2 vinyl bathroom floors and a laminate countertop, replaced with ceramic, install french doors in place of a slider, and to trip and form a custom fiberglass bodykit for my car. One of my best tool investments after the original Dremel moto-tool. Loan it to all my friends & family. Once you have one, you’ll find 1000 uses.
Beth
This is absolutely my favorite tool. It’s incredibly versatile. I do a lot of woodworking as a hobby as well as home repair. When my larger tools are too big for the job, I always seem to come back for the Dremel. I took out my mother’s vinyl floor with it just two weeks ago. She had adhered vinyl tiles with more glue than I’d ever seen. Before I used the Dremel, my plan was to just replace the entire subfloor. This tool made it possible to salvage her floor. I’m sold. This was a nice birthday present from my husband.
Christine Gallo
Beth, and others, what attachment did you use to remove tile and glue from floor? I’m in same situation, and will go buy which ever Dremel I need, if you can explain just what you did! Thanks.
AJ Lynch
In any case, though I’m not fanatical about Dremel tools, they do seem to be kinda easy to use, inexpensive and effective in many ways. I’m not as young as I used to be, so the less physical effort, at least for me, …the better. (No, I’m not about to build any canals, dams or skyscrapers anytime soon. 🙂
John
You can buy the same tool from Harbor Freight for around $20. I’ve had one for over a year and it works great.
William Teague
I have used both Harbor Freight and Dremel brands and so I looked up where Dremel was made. It seems to be Mexico. I guess you can choose which country you dislike the most but I can’t find where Dremel is made in the USA, which is sad.
Jerry kelly
A nice toy but not junk like Harbor Fright…Fein for real jobs is it best choice out there.On masks I have 3 “real Men’ that I buy Sporiva for in mexico.They never wore masks either.I think those idiot shop shows on tv are part of the problem getting 20 something dumbasses to mask up.
ted
a real tool guy…. nice. when you hold a real working tool you will know the difference,when you are working on your house or doll house it might be ok, but for me i buy the best i can once.. for me Fein is that tool.I work for my family. not fein,it works great for me…
bob mengel
I purchased both of the dremel trio and multi max………they are useless…toys
won’t cut crap..plan and simple they are for hobby use only..none of the other dremel attachments fit them…..parts are way over priced…..I wish I could get my money back…..don’t waste your money.
James Roberts
It really bothers me to watch all these TV shows aimed at young people building motor cycles, sculpting, grinding, welding, in short sleeves no gloves safety glasses respirators or any personal protective equipment what so ever. Tungsten inert gas welding puts out so much ultra violet rays its just like playing Russian roullette with skin cancer. Skin cancer is very quick and deadly . It makes it hard to teach the apprentices to work safely when the TV networks glorify the stars of their shows working in short sleeves no glove or safety glasses, grinding shield or respirators. Shouldn’t the networks be held accountable?
Stuart
That bothers me as well. One such teen-targeted show had teen girls using cordless drills close to their long hair, teens conducting chemical and projectile experiments without safety glasses, and so forth. A lot of producers care only about ratings. Since TV shows are for entertainment purposes they probably cannot be held accountable for any damages resulting from the depiction of improper PPE. How-to shows and such usually have disclaimers to remove them from responsibility as well.
Allen
I taught metals and woodworking to 12-18 year olds and never really had a problem getting them to use safety equipment. I spared no holds when putting the fear into them. After fear comes respect, then complacency, that’s what I had to watch out for. Both me and them.
The only problem our shop had(not my student) was with long hair and a drill press. No permanent damages fortunately.
Stuart
Note: All political comments have been indiscriminately removed. If you want to discuss your political views, take it elsewhere.
door repair st. louis
I’m a big fan of the Dremel Multi-max. I have the MM20 and use it to make some jobs easier. Though it could never replace a sander or Jigsaw for regular, constant use, it does nicely on hard to get to places where extra care is needed.
I especially like using the saw to fix uneven/jammed doors. I no longer need to remove the door to fix it.
Mati
I am curious about this tool and Dremel given that I’ve read several reviews stating the tool lasting ranging from a very short period to a slightly longer period, does this tool really heat up that quickly after extended amount of time?
I’ve heard mixed reviews about Dremel and their warranty. I’ve had power tools fail on me within the warranty period, only not to be fully covered because a specific part was covered. I know people will say that Dremel will probably replace the part or tool, but I sincerely don’t want to be another situation where I am left with a expensive paper weight.
Steve
I have to say Dremel came through with great warranty replacement for me today and upgraded me to an MM20, however I still think the cord should be longer.
On the safety note, 40 year old plywood was never an issue for me but the crap in mdf and todays synthetics is hard on your eyes an lungs, so cover up!