I am going to purchase a Fein Oscillating tool, however I am having a very difficult time deciding between the corded and the cordless. I'm afraid the cordless will not have enough power and that I will constantly be changing batteries. Any thoughts?

Depends what type of battery and what you are going to use it for. I have cordless and really like it's life, but I just use it for cutting off wood plugs.

The convenience of a charged Cordless tool is what has propelled Cordless tools to far outsell corded tools but your concerns are still real. Corded tools are always ready to go and still offer the most power despite the new more powerful batteries.
New batteries are expensive. My batteries have lasted 4 years before they start to decline in charge times. Two new batteries can cost as much as the original tool and battery purchase. Cordless tools are handiest for exterior jobs. Corded tools are still great for the shop imo.

Corded if most of your use will be in your shop. Cordless if you need to go mobile. The corded will never let you down with power.

I have two cordless drills and a cordless circular saw all of which use the same batteries. They are all about 8 years old and the batteries are horrible. Of course I can buy new batteries, but as others have said, the batteries are about the same price as a corded tool. I wish I had just bought the corded version of my circular saw to begin with. I'm ok with using the batteries on my drill, but for cutting, I don't want a drain on the power.

I go by usage factor.


something that I use "all the time" and where battery power has enough ompf - cordless.


stuff that is infrequently used I go corded - takes less time to string an extension cord than charge a dead battery.

add cost of replacing batteries - infrequently used means it'll last forever.
add "unique battery" issue - if all your cordless take the same battery, wonderful. but that situation tends to change over time.....

If I never have to plug in a tool again it will be OK with me. I wouldn't buy a corded tool. No, more than that, if someone offered to give me a corded tool I am not sure I would take it. Today's cordless tools, especially with LI batteries and brushless designs are plenty powerful.


As it relates to cordless tools, find a brand you like and stay with one battery platform.

Yes, cordless tools are a pain but I think it will be 51% like of the cordless to 49% corded.

I used to use DeWalt cordless tools before the Lithium batteries but now with the new lithium technology I replaced all my cordless tools with Ridgid brand cause they offer lifetime support and battery replacement. When it comes to choosing between cordless and corded, I would buy cordless on anything you might use away from an outlet, or on anything you use all the time. I like to use cordless tools when it comes to tools that I always use because I don't like having cords running all over the place in my shop. A couple tools I use all the time would be my Drill/Driver and my Impact Driver and since I use them all the time they are always out of my tool box and somewhere out in the shop, like on my workbench or on whatever I am working on. I have a corded Drill and it sits in my toolbox cause when I use it I find myself tripping over the wire all the time or having to move it to get the wire out of my way. You'll get opinions both ways so you just got to think hard on which option works best for you and the kind of work you do. Good luck and happy shopping!

They are expensive to start with, I believe the tools/cutters are proprietary?, and the batteries may also be expensive.

You can get a Rigid, I have one, and then get more Rigid tools which use the same battery, like my drills, impacts and circular saw, all cordless, 18 V LI. Stay with one brand and get enough batteries to go around. The Rigid batteries show "state of charge" so you know when they need charging. They are lifetime guaranteed as well!

Having said all that, I also have full line of Milwaukee drills, drivers, automotive impacts , and circular saw. They also have a stae of charge indicator, are LI, have a long run time depending on the battery size even longer, run and stop real smooth and I love 'em.

Having said that, I started with Dewalt 18 volt NI Cad, still have some that work OK, and 2 milk crates full of dead batteries. It was cheaper to buy a new drill driver which came with 2 batteries, than to buy 2 new batteries, so I kept buying new drills. The chucks in the drills don't hold the bits any longer so I'm fazing them out in favor of the Milwaukee and Rigids.

An osscillating cut off tool isn't a "power hog" so your battery life should be fairly good. Here's a review of the corded types:
https://www.popularmechanics.com/hom...9-to-the-test/

Check out the Bosch Oscillating Multi Tool. When I bought mine I read some reviews and it was comparable to the Fein. Also, Bosch blades are among the best and longest lasting. Oscillating Multi tool blades are quite expensive. Fein blade attachment system was proprietary so you may be limited to their blades......don't know if this has changed.

I have DeWalt NiCads and have rebuilt the battery packs for half the price of a new battery. The online rebuild services aren't necessarily inexpensive but the DeWalts are easy to do and the replacement batteries packs are easy to install.

Here are two comments:

* I would get a cordless oscillating tool. Oscillating tools are so versatile, doing a variety of cutting and sanding tasks. I would be surprised if you don't find yourself taking the tool to many different locations for many different tasks. It would be so much better to avoid the hassles of the cord.

* For those with NiCd cordless tools: If you like your NiCd cordless tools and want to keep using them, check to see if your manufacturer makes compatible lithium batteries. I have a set of Craftsman C3 cordless tools that came with NiCd batteries. I hated the NiCd batteries. Years later, Sears came out with replacement lithium batteries and chargers that are fully compatible with my tools. They were not cheap, but they were much less expensive than replacing the entire cordless tool set. I am still using them.

If you are buying in a store, ask for a demonstration. I have a Craftsman corded drill that is about 40 years old. Works great but has absolutely no torque. OTOH, I have a Ryobi 18V cordless drill that will break your wrist if you are driving screws. I rarely use the corded drill.

FYI, I had a tool rep tell me Cordless Tools now outsold corded tools 10 to 1.
All the major mfg of corded tools have put their attention and their R&D money on cordless development. Some of the battery operated tools seem silly to me (like a battery operated chain saw) but they obviously sell.

Many times I have drug an extension cord through an attic to use a drill. A time or two I've crawled through an attic only to have the battery go dead on a cordless and have to come out and get another. Dragging the cord is looking more and more appealing especially since the development of lithium ion batteries.

The better LI batteries have a state of charge indicator so you can tell how much power you have. If you are going to be someplace where access is difficult, take a fully charged battery and a spare so you don't have to climb back out. It's only common sense.

Dragging a cord that will get hung up on every crack and corner makes no sense. Try working around a vehicle with a cord and you find it gets stuck under each tire when you are changing sides. This happened to me 2 days ago. You need an extra 50 feet of cord just to avoid this problem. I was wishing I had a cordless ROS.

I have learned something I didn't know. I knew they rebuilt batteries but I didn't know you could do it your self. That changes my opinion on buying battery operated tools that I don't use much.

Most of newer chargers will give a full charge in 15 minutes or so, if you have two batteries you will likely never be waiting for a battery to charge.

My Mikita 18 volt drill feels like it could break your wrist it is that powerful, very seldom use a corded drill or circular saw anymore nor have I tripped over any cords for that matter lately.

My background for many years was nailguns. Then came cordless nail guns. Very handy and no hose or compressor to fuss with. But I was given a cordless impact driver for a Christmas gift one year and from that point on I have preferred screws over nails. Cordless impacts are just great. I prefer to build furniture and there is little use for an impact in furniture construction. But for anything else...
I will always keep my 16 and 18 ga finish nailers but everything else gets a screw.
New batteries charge much quicker than in the past. With one in your tool and a 2nd battery on the charger you can go all day. New Batteries are more powerful and last longer before needing a charge. Add to that the fact that a screw will hold better than a nail and has more pull strength to pull a joint tight. I don’t know how we made it before the little cordless impact tools.