What’s a good oscillating tool? I like the Bosch Multi-X

When we use an oscillating tool, it’s either for one-off jobs like a quick cut and scraping up spilled glue—or we’re all-in. And that usually means sanding. Lots of tedious sanding.

Did I mention I hate sanding?

An oscillating tool makes this tedium tolerable and can, it seems, actually make me happy. For a second anyway. And Bosch’s 18-volt Multi-X MXH18BL oscillating tool does that.

I used the tool to prep furniture and abrading old finishes in several furniture upcycle projects during the Krylon Colormaster Challenge. It took care of the itty-bitty nooks and crannies in furniture parts like nobody’s business. I also used it cutting oak with a multi-purpose blade, which hardly slowed the tool down.

Multi-X came up big on a floor repair where we weaved new flooring into existing flooring. The floor is pine and I did most of the stock removal with a 6-inch random orbit sander. Where the Multi-X came in was in the final fractions of an inch flushing up new floor with the old. With 50-grit Diablo paper loaded on the peel and stick head, I could sneak right up to the existing floor and remove stock quickly and effectively.

The tool actually feels like a sports car to operate. When it turns on for example, it actually sucks itself into the work like a premium car does on tight curves. I might be taking this too far, but the thing cruised and it stayed flat as I used it.

The Multi-X also knocked down paint lines after a door replacement project. After I removed all the trim and installed the new door, old paint and finish were left on the Douglas fir threshold at the edges. The Multi-X got in there and got it down to bare wood that hasn’t seen the light of day in a century.

On a trim project, the Multi-X was my go-to for sanding down nail hole filler on flat base and casing. The filler I use (fast-setting type joint compound) was helpless against the Multi-X and sanding was waaaaay easier and cleaner than other methods I’ve used.

The Mutli-X is cordless, 6-speed and the one Bosch sent me has an 18-volt, 4.0 amp-hour battery, which means I’ll take this thing up a ladder with nary a second thought. I can drop it in my tool pouch battery-first, freeing up a hand. Awesome.

The blade/sanding pad exchange is profoundly easy to use. The tool balance is phenomenal. There’s even enough room between the bottom of the battery and the work for me to slip my fingers between the tool and the work to articulate it a little. This helps the tool’s sanding pad ride flat and level or follow a contour.

All this makes me as close to happy as I’ve ever been sanding.