[Closed] What tool for the job - can I justify a oscillating tool?

The vibrator will find more future uses than the mini circular saw. Probably better getting a mains one than a battery one if you're shopping at the cheaper end of the market, they work better if they've got a bit more oomph. I had a 10.8v one that wasn't up to much and had a very long charge time against a short working battery life, I now use an 18v one thats much more capable , but if I didn't already have the 18v batteries I'd have bought a mains one.

If you're working in confined spaces with one (like under a worktop) wear some decent ear protection - the noise they make is every kind of horrible.

If it's just a small notch, old chisel and hammer would do.

It needs to be the full width of the washing machine, 60cm, but only a couple of cm up from the bottom edge but the batton is about 3cm deep.
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One ascii diagram.

If it's flush against the wall how is the oscillation going to not hit the wall and send your hands into some form of jumping spasm?

I suppose you could go most of the way in use a pull saw or similar to cut it flush

Would a jigsaw not do the same thing? (I suppose it's an oscillating saw anyway)

I've got the Festool version but then it gets used for heavier stuff.
Welcome to borrow it if you aren't far.

hit the wall and send your hands into some form of jumping spasm?

Would a jigsaw not do the same thing?

Saw a line across the baton to the required depth and width, chisel the vertical cuts and then chisel up towards the cut made by the saw. The wood should split nice a cleanly.

If it's flush against the wall how is the oscillation going to not hit the wall and send your hands into some form of jumping spasm?

Those oscillating tools are ace.
Every bodger should have one.
But as above, they are annoyingly nopisy & once the tools blunt they vibrate like hell.
Still great though.

But I'm left asking, why not just supprt the worktop & remove the baton for trimming ?

Or, if it runs behind other cupboards/appliances, chop out just that bit for trimming & refitting instead of cutting along its whole length in situ...?

You're seriously overthinking this....

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The oscillating multi tools are great but I find 9/10 times I have a better tool for the job. The main problem being the cost of replacement attachments. Some are £15 upwards and are blunted the second you hit a nail or similar even though they are designed for cutting wood with nails. If you do use one make sure you learn how to cut properly to stop the blade overheating as this can kill a blade very quickly.
Also make sure whatever you are cutting is securely fixed. If not it will just vibrate with the tool and wont cut. Just for fun try and cut the end off something whilst holding it in your hand.
I'm still trying to work out the best value/cost ratio between expensive blades that last well to cheap ones that don't. So far its the expensive ones winning

Its exactly the type of job that the mutitool does well.
get corded - for the occasional user having a 2 year old tool with a duff battery is a complete waste of money.
You can get them for reasonable cost and a corded one should last a lifetime of DIY opportunities - the worx one is well rated at the lower cost end.
Even a Fein can be bought for 100 notes now.

and a corded one should last a lifetime of DIY opportunities

Although you'll get through blades (which aren't cheap). I found a hidden nail in a floorboard the other WE, which trashed the blade on my Festool Vecturo, it now has a Victorian Nail head sized hole in the teeth 🙁

I would lower the floor. 😉

tbh - I would cut the ends of the slot with the multitool and use a chisel to
chop out the middle .

Blades are expensive - you can sharpen/repair them if you have the time/inclination.

I found they are excellent detail sanders so can get used rather more than occasionally.

He wants the tool...let him buy the tool!

Have fun.

I want one too!

Hmmm, I feel I need one of these tools then! I'm picturing a reciprocating saw which clearly this is not

What ones have you guys used? (Need links or pics)

I have this Bosch one. I've got a few little power tools and this one just fills the gap. Particular useful for sawing stuff that doesn't have an end.

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I'm picturing a reciprocating saw which clearly this is not

Look up 'Oscilating Multitool' on youtube for an idea of the different things they can do.

I've had the green bosch one in cordless flavour, and found it a good get-out-of-a-tight-spot thing to have on standby but the battery would run down quickly and charging took too long. I now use a makita 18v one as I already use the batteries. Much more effective, better duty cycle and seems to cut a lot more progressively. The blades are stupefyingly expensive and cheap ones have teeth that are too soft or brittle. For cutting its worth using blades rated for both wood and metal, longer lasting and less vulnerable to stray nails. They work surprisingly well as sanders too. There are then various other attachments, like tools for raking out the grout between tiles.

I'd say on a DIY level they'll manage with a lot of tasks that you'd otherwise have to go out and buy more tools for. You can sort of use them in lieu of a jigsaw, a chisel, a sander, a hacksaw and so on. The fact that they are only vibrating rather than reciprocating means that you can work in situ more, less likely to cut into things you didn't mean too - don't have to hit things as hard as you would with a hammer and chisel so can work in situ rather than remove and place on a bench and so on

You can Drill small holes down the lines where you want to cut the batten, then chisel.
It's going to be hidden from view so being tidy isn't important.

But we all love tools. So knock yourself out!

I have the lips version of that Bosch. It gets a lot of use.

You're all thinking about this the wrong way.

Rather than faffing about in the confined space under the worktop just angle grind the back edge of the washing machine off 😉

To be fair cutting the overhanging top of the washing machine was seriously considered but seems a bit drastic to lose the waranty already.
I was actually looking at either the cheap 250w worx or the bosch professional one.

Does the washing machine have feet? Are they removable?

I had a cheap Aldi 10.8v lipo one. Was "ok" for small jobs but didn't last long and then the battery died. You can get the batteries from the Workzone/erbauer parts place or CPC as it's the same as theirs but spotted a mains 350W Worx on clearance for £58 in my local B&Q so got that. Much better for proper work.

Ah, OK, i've seen them before but assumed them to be more of a toy, didn't realise they were genuinely useful!

The Bosch one is on sale at screwfix they are fantastic for car restoration duties

I've a cheapish erbauer corded one, well handy. It's the wrong tool for a lot of jobs, if that makes sense? It'll get it done, and wasn't quite right, but covers so many bases it's handy to have.

Buy the tool.

They are slow and noisy.

But they genuinely do a range of cuts that are almost impossible to do tidily by other means. e.g. to remove a floorboard to access pipes, you can almost invisibly cut the tongue without damaging the rest of the board, then make a thin cut straight across the board on the midline of a joist (without damaging the joist or anything adjacent).

Can also tidily remove single tiles with the carbide blades (just watch out as they will rapidly cut adjacent tiles if you slip....)

For cutting wood, the Aldi / Lidl blades are perfectly good so stock up whenever they do an offer.

make sure you get one that is compatible with a wide range of blades.

The other great thing about these tools is you can 'plunge' them into wood - i.e if you need to cut a square out of the middle of a sheet of wood (for example) you can just 'plunge' the tool in and it cuts right through!

DrP