Tim wrote in about some problems he was having with his new Porter Cable 3.0A oscillating multi-tool. I wrote favorably about this model a few times in the past, and Tim purchased one based on my recommendation. He also purchased a couple of additional cutting blades – PC3012-3PK and PC3014.
Now, here’s the problem – Tim could not get his new Porter Cable blades to fit his new Porter Cable oscillating tool. Porter Cable customer service tried to help him over the phone, but it seems they were experiencing similar difficulties.
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The accessories that work with Tim’s Porter Cable oscillating multi-tool have square attachment holes. The blades he purchased separately have circular holes. The rectangular pins of his tool don’t fit through the circular holes in the separate accessories.
I had wild theories that the incompatibility was due to manufacturing defects or sneaky Amazon customers buying Porter Cable accessories and returning off-branded blades in their place.
But, as it turns out, Porter Cable recently updated their oscillating multi-tool accessory attachment design. The new tools and accessories are now built with universal blade patterns. What Tim unknowingly purchased were older Porter Cable blades that were engineered with an older accessory pattern.
The oscillating tool market is in the process of moving to a universal accessory fitment which is a huge benefit to the customer because now they have more choices.
DeWalt made the change last year and Porter Cable followed suit. DeWalt’s universal fitment accessories now fit old and new Porter Cable oscillating tools. We knew there were a limited amount of old Porter Cable accessories out in the market and unfortunately it sounds like your reader purchased a set of those.
Over the weekend I went looking for Porter Cable oscillating tool blades at the local Lowes to see what their attachment holes looked like, but I couldn’t find any. And with model numbers presumably unchanged, there’s no telling whether you’re buying the newer style or older style blades when you order online.
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I asked my Porter Cable contact where Porter Cable oscillating tool users can find blades compatible with their tools, and they recommended Dewalt’s new universal-fit oscillating tool accessories. Dewalt accessories are guaranteed to fit.
Jerry
I assume the new blades will still work with the old PC oscillating tools, correct?
Stuart
Maybe?
Porter Cable volunteered the following information:
The new DEWALT Universal Fitment accessories work with old and new Porter Cable oscillating tool (same cat# – PCE605K)
I’ll check back to see what works with the PC250MTK and cordless models.
Jerry
Not true, I was told at lowes that the Dewalt, Porter Cable, and Black Decker all owned by Dewalt. Hence change in design for conformity. However, replacement blades are not interchangeable with “older” Porter Cable tools. The pin design on the older model is tapered to ensure tight fit, new blades have slots that would have to be drilled out. Good luck with that.
Stuart
What I was told at the time came from Porter Cable directly, not a Lowes associate.
Frank
I have a Porter Cable PC250MTK Type 1 from around 2011 and the Dewalt universal blades I just bought do not fit. Seems to be as Jerry said, the slots are too small. The layout is right and the tips of the pins go into the slots, but the blade does not slide all the way down for a proper hold.
Matt
Are they now using the same standard as Bosch OIS standard as Fein? I really hope so.
Stuart
Dewalt and Porter Cable’s new blade attachment design is not quite the same as Bosch’s OIS pattern, but they do have the same number of holes.
The new blades are said to fit Dewalt, Porter Cable, Dremel, Rockwell, Fein, Craftsman, Bosch, Milwaukee, Skil, Ridgid, and Mastercraft tools, so they should be OIS-compatible.
Tim C
This post really helped clear things up for me, thanks a lot Stuart.
Stuart
Glad to be able to help, and thank you for bringing this issue to my attention!
Joe
Does that mean that you can use Dremel blades in new Porter and cable and dewalt muli-tools?
Stuart
I believe so, but not tool-free, you have to whip out a hex key.
Jon
Hi Stewart
Does a Bosch OSC114C blade actually fit on the slotted-tool-free PorterCable PCE605? This PorterCable PCE605 does not have a hex, but looks like an open end wrench will remove the plate. How difficult will it be to contain the large spring for a Bosch blade change? I build homes for a living, but find it difficult to hold the quick change lever open for any length of time. Thank you Jon
William
I have a PC250MT that uses blades with round holes. Since DeWalt bought out Porter Cable, are they offering an updated drive washer part replacement that will accommodate the rectangle holes?
Stuart
I really don’t know, or don’t remember. Have you contacted Porter Cable?
I’m pretty sure that Dewalt owned Porter Cable long before this oscillating tool came out.
Jerry
Perhaps but if want to increase sales, let’s pretend we’ve improved the product or just make the same tool with different bodies, different color, different names, and call them different tools. That way Lowe’s can offer the unsuspecting three choices Dewalt, Porter Cable, and Black Decker.
Rick
Old porter cable oscillating tool is junk, no blades available in stores and adapter shakes itself loose. Poor design. I have this tool will not buy another lot of to waste on outdated machine. Universal blades break quickly instead being a good substitute.
Jim Fouche
I have an older Porter Cable oscillating saw and I just purchase some Milwaukee Universal oscillating saw blades at Home Depot. They fit my PC superbly – I’m hoping that they function as well as they fit.