Dremel has launched a new line of Universal True Fit oscillating multi-tool blades, and they will be available exclusively at Lowe’s.
The new Dremel Universal True Fit OMT blades are designed to offer “true compatibility with all other oscillating tool brands,” such as Dewalt, Craftsman, Milwaukee, Rockwell, Worx, Porter Cable, Ridgid, Ryobi, Skil, and Kobalt, as well as Dremel’s own tools.
The line includes 16 cutting, scraping, sanding, and grout removal accessories and sets.
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Prices start at around $11, with blade and accessory assortments offering greater value.
The new line also includes carbide-edge blades, which deliver longer life.
The new Dremel Universal True Fit blade looks to have underwent significant redesign, at least with respect to the interface.
This part of the press release also caught my attention:
Dremel Universal True Fit accessories allow use with all of the current major oscillating tool brands on the market.
Indeed, that says “ALL of the current major oscillating tool brands on the market.”
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The only brands left out of Dremel’s compatibility list, or at least the ones that immediately come to mind, are Bosch, Fein, and Makita, which have Starlock interfaces.
As a reminder, Dremel is part of Bosch, and the same is true about Diablo, which specializes in power tool accessories.
The press release also says that Dremel has revamped the accessory packaging that “clearly labels which materials are suitable for each blade.”
Dremel says that:
The new line was introduced to solve the pain points that shoppers often endure, as finding the right blade fit can be a challenge for new and existing DIY oscillating tool users.
That’s a plus. Dremel is targeting these accessories to DIYers and homeowner-type users, and being able to quickly pick the right blade without having to consult with various websites is always welcome.
There will be 4 main categories of Dremel Universal True Fit accessories:
- Wood-Cutting (high carbon steel and bi-metal)
- Specialty (such as for sanding, scraping, and grout removal)
- General Purpose (bi-metal, designed to last 3X longer than HCS)
- Tough Materials (carbide blades, designed to last 30X longer)
Lowe’s has 15 SKUs up right now, but some are of assortments.
Here’s a list of all of the new Dremel Universal True Fit oscillating multi-tool accessories, along with MSRPs:
Wood-Cutting
- Flush cut blade for wood – $12.99 (MM100W-1)
- Wide flush cut blade for wood – $14.99 (MM105W-1)
General Purpose Cutting
- General purpose flush cut blade for wood and metal
- Each – $14.99 (MM200W-1)
- 4-pack – $38.99 (MM200W-4)
- Wide general purpose flush cut blade for wood and metal – $16.99 (MM205W-1)
Sanding, Scraping, Specialty
- Carbide blade for grout removal – $24.99 (MM505W-1)
- 2pc rigid/flexible scraping blade set – $14.99 (MM620W-2)
- Flooring flush cut blade for wood and metal – $14.99 (MM220W-1)
- Detail sanding pad backer – $13.99 (MM714W)
- 6pc detail sandpaper for wood (60, 120, 240 grit) – $7.49 (MM700-6)
Carbide Blades
- Carbide flush cut blade for tough materials (cement board, ferrous metals)
- Each – $17.99 (MM300W-1)
- 3-pack – $35.99 (MM300W-3)
Assortments
- 3pc wood cutting assortment – $21.99 (MM900W-3)
- 4pc assortment – $31.99 (MM910W-4)
- 5pc DIY starter kit for general purpose cutting and scraping – $39.99 (MM920W-5)
- 8pc Value Pro variety kit – $39.99 (MM960W-8)
MM
My first OMT was a corded Dremel I received as a gift. I soon upgraded the tool but I found the blades better than average, at least in terms of cutting performance and lifetime. They did not, however, work with the quick-change mechanism on my Dewalt OMT without modification. I used up all the ones I had and never bought any more. I can see the redesigned interface on these will fit my Dewalt so I might try these in the future.
While I think Dremel’s blades are pretty good I’m not sure how the value will work out on these. Right now I think it’s pretty hard to compete with Milwaukee OMT blades simply because they’re excellent quality and Home Depot often has them on sale so often.
Ben
That’s good to know. I bought some Dremel blades recently that didn’t work natively with my DeWalt OMT. I had to grind off the tabs at the end of the notched entry point (third photo, left). This will definitely make it easier to just grab a blade and go.
Jared
Seems like Dremel is addressing a genuine pain point. I remember when I first got my OMT (Dewalt), buying the wrong blades once and having to be careful about what fit.
dale clark
I use a Multi Oscillating tool quite a bit. I have tried pretty much every brand name of blades. For typical drywall, thin wood, even the super cheapies work well. HOWEVER, for anything metal, thick materials, etc…nothing comes close to Milwaukee Shockwave blades.
Ian M
Diablo steel demon blades, I use them for cutting galvanised iron pipes. The best blades I have ever purchased
Jronman
Disappointing news to be honest. Not even the Robert Bosch Companie’s own brand will even adopt Starlock. It is annoying how hard it is to have industry adoption if DeWALT and Milwaukee are not on board. What ever happened to X-lock? Is Bosch still using it? Doesn’t seem to be taking off either. Even less so than Starlock.
CMF
Disappointing yes, but a tough reminder that you need to do your homework before purchasing.
Going back to the days of VCR’s, there was Beta, according to techies, the better system, and VHS. You got a Beta because it was supposed to be better, but at the rental store the VHS section of movies was 5-10 times the size and a recent release, they would have 10 copies of it in VHS and 1 in Beta.
Anyway, I don’t know how they work, but I see many adapters for Starlock system; did you ever look into those?
Jronman
I haven’t gotten around to replacing the DeWALT omt I had break years ago. Currently I have no omt. I wouldn’t mind going Starlock. If only the Festool had a light.
Luis
the Festool doesn’t have a light but there are options available from Fein which are as premium and high performing as Festool. And the new ones can take Bosch batteries which are cheaper and easier to come by
Frank
I don’t know anything about nothing on who owns what company or tool maker. I’m just a guy that works in water dmg restoration and takes pride in his work and I personally won’t pick up any OMT that doesn’t use StarLock blades.
I dont use an angle grinder anywhere near as often for work but the Bosch angle grinders I own and use are all X-Lock and I don’t plan on ever stepping back down to using a less good attachment system even if it is cheaper or more commonly available on the shelf.
Luis
Dremel did not adopt Starlock because it’s tailored to a different market than Bosch. And this way they can give their customers a choice to pick the OMT with the attachment system they like the best.
X-Lock hasn’t caught up that much in North America but it’s doing ok elsewhere. Makita also uses X-Lock in its premium angle grinders and they’re a huge company everywhere except in North America.
JR Ramos
If I had to guess, I’d say that Bosch probably disallowed the Dremel brand to use the same attachment for no other reason than brand image and dilution. Bosch likes to stick to their guns when they invent something and insist that it’s the best professional solution. Often it is – they invented SDS Plus and t-shank jigsaw blades and those became the de facto standards while others disappeared. Doesn’t look like Starlock or X-Lock will do that, though. But Dremel being their hobbyist focus, probably just wasn’t offered the use of the design…but again, guessing…likely not a choice that Dremel had much say in.
Andrew
Saw 3 dewalt blades at lowes yesterday for $45 dollars. Used one of the blades from amazon that were less than a dollar a piece. Did the job.
S
It really depends on each projects needs.
I used to cut outlets into $30k+ hardwood kitchen islands, and originally used the Dremel wood blades, eventually transitioning to the diablo wood blades.
Both worked far better in nearly irreplaceable cabinets than cheaper alternatives, with a sharp cut, and minimal smoke. Cheaper blades would dull within 1 of 4 cuts, and start burning/smoking more than they cut.
I also did a ton of drywall cutting, and just about anything with an edge works great for that.
I always liked the Dremel blades, their previous iteration had a double adapter attachment system. my Milwaukee oscillating tool fit to either slot offering me a little variability to ultimate speed, or slightly more precision.
I ultimately switched to diablo blades because they cut slightly better, and lasted slightly longer. But kept a bunch of Dremel blades as backups.
Ultimately, this is a nice update, I’ve got mixed feelings on the change to a single universal adapter option, in many cases I liked having the dual adapter length for difficult situations that standard blades didn’t reach, or I wanted more movement throw for things like cutting drywall.
John D
I refuse to buy anything Dremel at this point. My last attempt at using one of their products was the purchase of a 3″ diamond blade with what I though was a 3/8 arbor hole. The hole was a proprietary size that didn’t fit on a 3/8 mandrel.
Saulac
Fitting of OMT is often overlooked. I take fit and tight over easy/speed of replacement. OMT stroke by nature is very small. You don’t want to loose any of it through the connection. Make sure you get it (laterally) tight, then it should also angularly tight.
Alexk
I seem to remember using an adapter with the original m12 OMT. Hope I never see an OMT, jigsaw and recip saw blade that needs an Allen key ever again.
For some reason I’m unaware of, I don’t see getting Dremel blades. Maybe I associate it with hobby, not work?
Any recommendations for a depth guide for the m12 fuel OMT?
Lawson
OK, interesting feedback. I use a DeWalt cordless OMT, a lot! Blade costs were getting out of hand but the tools usefulness is undeniable. I’ve tried many brands and have had better life from the Rockwell carbide blades. I’m intrigued enough to try the Milwaukee versions as some of you have stated.
OldDominionDIYer
I don’t use my Milwaukee Fuel M18 OMT a lot, but I’ve had good luck using Milwaukee blades so far. These appear basic to me which is fine for some jobs.
JR Ramos
Fluff marketing…but such is the way of the world now. I can’t really think of any brand’s packaging that didn’t make it pretty easy and clear what materials the blade was suited for. Dremel is marketing to the very inexperienced home center DIY and hobby crowd, though.
That pricing, though.
I’m sure they’re decent blades still but if they’re made in China they don’t deserve to command that retail. For that price, I’ll be looking at US made NOS Imperial while that’s still available, or the current Milwaukee (same blades all around)…or Diablo.
There are a few brands of cheap China blades that are actually really decent and still a lot cheaper than the major brands (would really suspect that they are made in the same factories…). Ez-Arc was one of those. Arrow/Jorgensen brought out their line a couple years ago and they were really very good quality blades but they tried the high price, too, and they seemed to go nowhere – couple online stores dropped them before long, Amazon stock dried up and stayed gone (last I looked), and I started seeing them in two of the big liquidator websites.
I’m sorry, but the popular pricing on these blades is ridiculous, especially when you compare them to what goes into jig saw and recip blades, or hole saws. They are all made at large scale and there isn’t much new in the processes, so there’s just no reason for OMT blades to be so high, especially ones made in China vs. US.
Hon Cho
don’t know about current Dremel
blades but i have purchased plenty in the past that were made in Switzerland.
JR Ramos
I remember that being the COO when I used some years ago but I don’t know what they do currently. They started cheaping out on a number of rotary tool bits and bobs some years back and that’s been their general direction like so many companies, for one reason or another. That would be great if they kept that, and then the pricing would be justifiable mostly.
John Gorman
I just purchased the “universal fit” Dremel brand blades for my 2019 MM 45 Dremel oscillating tool. The new blades are loose when attached; they have a visibly larger diameter “hole” which does not allow the pop-up attachment “head” to sufficiently lock down on the blade compared to the OEM blades. The new blade is approximately 1 mm wider in diameter than the original blades. I have notified Dremel (with photos)—awaiting feedback. This is a safety hazard; should not have to resort to an adaptor such as others have done in order to use non-Dremel blades.