Anyone who uses power tools will respectย the Bosch name. When they make a product it typically falls under the categoryย of โhardcore professional toolโ. Thatโs a lot of pressure. Theย Bosch PS50-2A Multi-X multi-tool kitย is not thatย product. It satisfies and does so without wiresโa feat uncommon in the worldย of cordless oscillating multi-tools.
Overview of the Bosch Multi-X Oscillating Multitool
This battery-powered oscillating multi-tool uses 12V lithium-ion batteries to reduce weight. The typical multi-tool job often involves working on the floor or perhaps cuttingย away something overhead. Not having to deal with a cord can be a tremendousย asset. It makes the Bosch PS50-2A Multi-X a true go-to tool. I loved working with it.ย Iโd say itโs become an integral part of my tool kitโฆย In fact, they will have to pry this tool fromย my cold deadโฆ well, you get the idea.
Bosch PS50-2A Multi-X Multi-tool Kit Buildย Quality
Theย Bosch comes packaged in a nice blue case that matches the colors of the tool.ย Inside there is plenty of room to hold the secondary hard plastic accessoriesย case. You also get a big open area to store even more goodies. The tool can fit into theย case with most blade attachments still attached. The battery charger, spareย battery, and cord also all have a spot.
Unlike its cousin tool, the Dremelย Multi-Max, theย Bosch PS50-2A Multi-X multi-toolย seems made to be used with either one or twoย hands. It can be guided into very awkward positions very easily. The toolย itself is the expected โBosch Blueโ. The black overmolded rubberย grips hold your hands steady even if they are โfirst-dateโย sweaty. The grips seem to work well no matter what angle or position the toolย is held. They always seemed to fit. Additionally, the fact that the front ofย the tool has a soft rubber overmold means that you wonโt mess up your workpiece should you accidentally run into it with the front of the tool.
The Bosch Multi-X itself weighs just over 2 pounds. This makes it one of the lightestย oscillating tools on the marketโa good attribute if youโre talking about aย cordless tool. On the left side, a 3-LED powerย meter shows the current battery life. While a neat idea, the people whoย implemented it are apparently Herculean lumberjack men with fingers powerfulย enough to pin-fire raw ammunition. Thatโs what it felt like I was doing every time I pressed down the button to check batteryย status. Using the tool for only a couple of minutes took the battery from three bars down to just two.
Bosch 12V Battery Performance
When the battery isย depleted the indicator will show a single flashing green bar. Donโt start theย tool up again as itโs now running on reserve and you need to charge theย battery. Just below that is the oscillation speed dial. It goes from 1ย through 6 but is actually adjustable in 19 individual steps. Be aware that thisย multi-tool goes from 5,000 to 20,000 oscillations per minute. There are twoย things I learned from this. One is that youโll never use the lowest speed forย anything unless you are doing some VERY fine detail sanding. The second is thatย if you step through the speeds from low to high youโll feel like the tool isย going to explode in your hand by the time you get to 20,000 OPM. Donโt worryโฆย itโs called contrast and the tool is just fine.
Theย 12V โLitheonโ (lithium-ion) battery (BAT411) is rated at 1.3Ah (amp-hours). This is a capacity rating that measures how much current a battery willย discharge over a specified period of time. Regardless of the specs, theย batteries seemed to last about 15 and a half minutes unloaded. When youย actually start cutting into wood, plastic, or metal, expect that time to drop byย up to one-third. Youโll have about 10 minutes of battery time onย average depending on what type of material you are working with and how you areย using the tool.
Be advised that the tool will start up again (briefly) when theย battery shuts down. This is normal as the battery reserves a little bit ofย energy to keep it in prime shape. It ensures you can get a full recharge. Stickย it in the BC430 charger and youโll be ready to go in 30 minutes.
Changingย Accessories
The Bosch PS50-2A 12V Max Multi-X Cutting kitย comes with only a few accessories. These include a HCS (high carbon steel)ย 1-5/8โณ x 1-1/2โณ plunge cut (wood) blade, a triangular sanding pad andย a selection of sandpaper. There is also a Carpenter Kit sold by Bosch whichย adds a set of three 3/8โณ x 1-1/4โณ plunge cut blades and a 3-1/2โณย x 7/8โณ BIM (wood & metal) flush cut blade. The Bosch plunge cut bladesย have a ruler on them to aid in getting the correct depth when using them.ย These, and the Dremel blades, are the only ones who donโt use writing that rubsย off easily during moderate use.
Of the kits weโve tested, the Bosch comes withย the least amount of accessories โ beat out even by the generic Chicago Electricย Tools model. It does, however, have the coolest and most ergonomic removableย accessories case, providing storage for even the hex wrench and the adapterย plate. The wood blade and sanding pad seemed to be of good quality, though weย noticed that the hook and loop sanding sheet liked to โdriftโ overย time during use, leaving the pad below exposed. The blade accessories can beย adjusted in 30-degree increments to achieve the best possible angle.
Bosch OIS Universal Interface
Of particular note, the Bosch is uniqueย in that it comes with an OIS universal accessories adapter. This is a VERY coolย little washer that provides a solid anchor to the Multi-X and provides aย friction plate for attaching anyone elseโs accessories. That means you can useย the accessories from Dremel, Fein, Craftsman, Chicago Electric or Rockwell.ย They will all work and you donโt have to worry about compatibility.
The onlyย disadvantage is that the accessories are going to fasten via friction fit andย not be locked in as securely as a Bosch accessory. This means that if you everย force the tool you might move the angle of the accessory and/or cause it toย slip out of alignment (a fact that is especially true for Rockwell accessoriesย which have a rather large opening compared to the competition). While theย Dremel and Bosch accessories may look directly compatible at first glance, theyย are not (the Bosch pin diameter is larger).
Testingย and Use
We abused the heck out of this tool.ย Why? Well, because we could. Thisย included using it to cut across old growth heart pine that was well over 80ย years old. They donโt make that kind of wood anymore (literally). The grain ofย the wood was extremely tight and dense and yet we sliced through it a reasonable amount of timeย with the included HCS blade. This seemed to work whether we were cutting rightย into flooring to replace a board, or slicing off a bad part of the same woodย prior to fitting it. The Bosch consistently cut through even the toughest woodย while allowing us to easily guide the tool through its path and let the tool doย the majority of the work. Vibration was not excessive though using glovesย provided an even better experience.
Forย a more detailed job, we used the Bosch 12V cordless Multi-X to cut away aย section of crown molding while we installed an electric drop-down projectorย screen in an office room. What was nice here was that the tool provided a wayย for us to avoid having to pull down the entire piece of crown and cut it usingย a miter saw. Instead, we just measured our cut positions and brought up theย Multi-X to plunge cut directly into the crown. After we made our two (unbelievablyย straight) cuts it was simply a matter of removing the unwanted material. Weย gathered a crowd as we did this and everyone was dumbfounded by how this toolย made the job look easy.
Conclusion
Bosch has a winner in the Max Multi-Xย oscillating tool. Itโs cordless, itโs lightweight and it handles like aย professional Bosch tool should. Its only downfall is the dearth of accessoriesย provided and the relatively low battery life. It also wasnโt the fastest cutter on hardwood of all the tools we tested, but we feel the accessory is typically more to blame for that deficiency.ย If you pay attention and rechargeย as often as you can, this tool should provide years of excellent service.
Theย included accessory adapter also means that you wonโt be stuck buying one brandย of blade or scraper. If you see a deal โ buy what you want thatโs on sale. Theย Bosch will make it fit. We can recommend this tool wholeheartedly to anyoneย looking for a multi-tool and craving the ultimate convenience. Look for a saleย as you can frequently find this tool at as much as half off the MSRP making itย half as expensive as the Fein MultiMaster Top and twice as much as the Dremel Multi-Max.
