Most people would not consider a handheld oscillating saw as a tool for their garden. I certainly didn’t when I originally bought this Dremel Multi Max power tool, but opportunity met inspiration and a problem was solved!
If you are not familiar with this newer style of multi-function power tool, read on as I describe some of my projects and solve a problem in my garden. It might give you some ideas about how one of these versital tools might help you out on your future DIY projects.
Dremel Multi Max MM35
The body of the Dremel Multi Max MM35 fits easily in your hand. It is lightweight – and it is not very large, so it fits into tight corners. The beauty of it is that the blade or tool rapidly oscillates side-to-side directly in front of you, so you need very little clearance to do tasks like:
- Cut off a partially exposed nail, screw, or other fasteners like staples when there is not enough room to get a claw hammer or pliers into the space.
- The flat blades are very good at trimming soft materials like pine wood, drywall, dried caulk, plastic sheeting, etc. Since the side-to-side movement of the blade is not wide, trimming tasks don’t tend to tear up nearby areas or make a big mess.
- The oscillating motion is perfect for finish sanding – and the tool has a insert that provides a triangular sanding pad.
- Cutting or trimming in a corner or behind the edge of drywall or trim wood.
While I usually use the Dremel Multi Max with the blade pointing in front of the tool, you can put the blades in at a variety of angles. Here it is in a right angle (90 degrees CCW) position.
First Project for the Dremel Multi Max
I originally bought this tool because I had to replace a fireplace insert in my home. It turns out that it is almost impossible to get a new insert to exactly fit the hole in the wall (and tile) from the previous unit. So the remodeling project involves tearing out the old tile, rebuilding the framing to fit the new insert, then replacing the fire-resistant wall board & tile, and repairing all the places where that meets up with drywall, floor trim, the fireplace mantle, and so on.
After the new insert was installed, this was what my project looked like:
I needed to remove about 15 fasteners that were very close to my newly installed hardwood flooring and along the left side of the photo adjacent to finished drywall (with a rounded drywall corner) and the cabinet trim.
Here is a detail shot of where I was trimming and what I needed to not disturb.
Wait! I Thought this was a Gardening Article …
It is. We are getting to that. The Dremel Multi Max was obviously a great tool with lots of applications, but after my fireplace project was done, it sat in the handy carrying case for a few months. One of my next projects was to try to recover my backyard from 24 years of neglect. I had some dead trees removed and some stumps dug out, but I was out in the yard trying to dig out some old roots to make way for some raised garden beds.
Here is an example. This root was in exactly the wrong place! I really didn’t want to remove the flagstone platform in the top right of this photo – but I couldn’t get this root out of the ground. That’s when I remembered how well the Dremel multi-tool was at cutting directly in front of the tool!
I didn’t just have one root, either. I literally had hundreds of tree shoots coming up all over my small backyard from a Crab Apple tree and from the root system of the dead Aspens that had been taken out.
If you’d like to see the Dremel Multi Max in action as my favorite new garden tool, I made this video to show it off:
If you do manage to expose roots or stumps when cutting off shoots, be sure to coat them with pruning sealer before covering them back up. This will reduce the number of spots you will have to work on again.
I am slowly “winning the war” over the roots & shoots. If you have similar garden tasks, or can see how handy this tools might be for your own remodeling projects, here are a couple links to check out. I got the Dremel Multi Max MM35, which is a smaller tool, but Dremel also offers a MM50 model that is a little larger, has a bigger motor, but is still handheld and has a similar form factor.
This versatile tool is terrific for all sorts of cutting, trimming and sanding projects! It allows you to cut in front of the tool without needing a lot of clearance, so it's great for remodeling projects and even for garden tasks! You get the tool, a nice carrying case, and a starter set of various blades and a triangular sanding block with pads.
I use the well made brand name blades when I am doing woodworking and indoor remodeling projects.
When I am cutting roots out of the dirt, I use inexpensive blades.
Cutting in the dirt tends to wear out a blade after 3 to 4 thick roots. You can tell by rubbing your thumb along the cutting surface and when it feels pretty smooth, it is time to throw that blade in metal recycling bin and put in a new one.
The ‘knock off’ blades in this link fit the Dremel tool perfectly (and the way they fit is exactly the same as brand name blades).
These blades fit my Dremel Multi-max perfectly and are easy to change when I'm using them to cut roots & shoots in my garden. You get a package of 10 blades with a couple different styles of cutting edge.
I’ve bought this package of 10 blades three times now (in the last year). I probably should have bought the 15 or 30 pack – but it all depends on how big the job is. Happy cutting!
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Looking for other great Gardening tools? Be sure to see Leaf Bag Chute – A Helpful Tool! When filling up that Leaf Bag with leaves or other garden debris, you need a helping hand: Big Garden Hands – Easy Yard Cleanup Garden Tools!
