Oscillating tool blade chart: blade type by material
Every oscillating multi-tool blade aisle sorts the same way: high carbon steel, bi-metal, carbide teeth, carbide grit. The manufacturers print the sorting logic in their own catalogs, but nobody assembles it into one chart, so buyers match SKUs to jobs by trial and error. This page is that chart. Each class below carries its verified cutting width range, its published max plunge or immersion depth, the materials its maker assigns it, and a representative SKU checked against at least two independent surfaces: the manufacturer's own page plus a dealer or distributor listing. Where the manufacturer and a dealer disagree on a number, the row says so.
The four blade classes at a glance
HCS (high carbon steel) is the soft, inexpensive class for materials that do not fight back: clean wood, PVC, drywall. Bi-metal welds a high-speed steel cutting edge onto a springier body, buying nail tolerance and metal ability at roughly 15x the HCS life by Milwaukee's rating [2]. Carbide teeth blades carry individually formed tungsten-carbide tips that survive hardened screws, cement board, and sheet metal at 30x to 50x bi-metal life [1][10]. Carbide grit blades have no teeth at all: a sintered abrasive edge, Bosch's RIFF being the reference design, meant for grout, tile, and other minerals that would chip a toothed blade [12][13].
The chart: blade class by material and job
| Material or job | Blade class | Widths | Max plunge / depth | Representative SKU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clean wood, PVC, drywall, soft materials | HCS | 1-3/8 to 3-1/2 in | 1-5/8 in | Milwaukee 49-25-1151 (2-1/2 in HCS Japanese Tooth) [4][5] |
| Precision cuts in hardwood | HCS Japanese tooth | 1-3/8 and 2-1/2 in | 1-5/8 in | Milwaukee 49-25-1151, triple-ground teeth, 18 TPI [4][7] |
| Wood with nails, mixed jobsite materials | Bi-metal | 3/8 to 3-1/2 in | 1-5/8 to 2 in | Milwaukee 49-25-1231 (1-3/8 in, 18 TPI) [2][6] |
| Wide general-purpose cuts in framing lumber | Bi-metal | 3-1/2 in | 1-3/8 in | Diablo DOS350RBGP Demo Demon [15][16] |
| Wood plus non-hardened metal (Starlock tools) | Bi-metal | 3/8 to 2-1/2 in | 1.5 in immersion | Bosch OSL114F (1-1/4 in) [8][9] |
| Wood with screws and nails, cement board, plaster | Carbide teeth | 1-3/8 in | 1-1/2 in | Milwaukee 49-25-1521, up to 50x bi-metal life [1][6] |
| Hardened and sheet metal, screws, bolts, pipe | Carbide teeth | 3/4 to 1-3/4 in | 1.5 in immersion | Bosch OSL114C or Dremel MM485 (both 1-1/4 in) [10][11][17][18] |
| Grout, tile joints, abrasive minerals | Carbide grit (RIFF) | 1-1/4 in plunge, 3-1/2 in segmented kerf | 1.5 in immersion | Bosch OSL114CG and OSL312CG [12][13][14] |
SKU reference, with corroboration status
Every row was checked against the manufacturer's own page plus at least one independent dealer or distributor surface. Depths are the manufacturer's published figure; where a dealer prints a different number, the row discloses it.
| SKU | Class | Width | Max depth | Surfaces |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee 49-25-1521 | Carbide teeth | 1-3/8 in | 1-1/2 in max plunge | milwaukeetool.com [1] plus Milwaukee blade-family press release [6] |
| Milwaukee 49-25-1231 | Bi-metal | 1-3/8 in | 2 in max plunge (manufacturer); Fromm lists 1-5/8 in, see below | milwaukeetool.com [2] plus Fromm Electric listing [3] |
| Milwaukee 49-25-1151 | HCS | 2-1/2 in | 1-5/8 in max plunge | milwaukeetool.com [4] plus First Supply listing [5] |
| Bosch OSL114F | Bi-metal | 1-1/4 in | 1.5 in immersion | boschtools.com [8] plus DK Hardware listing [9] |
| Bosch OSL114C | Carbide teeth | 1-1/4 in | 1.5 in immersion | boschtools.com [10] plus Home Depot listing [11] |
| Bosch OSL114CG | Carbide grit (RIFF) | 1-1/4 in | 1.5 in immersion | boschtools.com [12] plus Burns Tools listing [14] |
| Diablo DOS350RBGP | Bi-metal | 3-1/2 in | 1-3/8 in cut depth | diablotools.com [15] plus Cregger Company listing [16] |
| Dremel MM485 | Carbide teeth | 1-1/4 in | Blade length 1.5 in (no plunge figure published) | dremel.com [17] plus Raptor Supplies listing [18] |
Why the classes sort by material
The sorting follows tooth hardness versus material abrasiveness. HCS teeth are ground, not welded, cheap to make and quick to dull the moment they hit a nail; that is fine in clean wood and PVC, where the blade wears out from use rather than abuse [4]. Bi-metal exists for the jobsite middle ground: Milwaukee positions its multi-material bi-metal line, 3/8 to 3-1/2 in wide, for wood, nails, PVC, copper pipe, and drywall, with a titanium coating pushing life to 15x HCS [2][6]. Bosch's Starlock bi-metal family covers the same envelope on the Starlock interface, 3/8 to 2-1/2 in wide at a constant 1.5 in immersion depth, specified for wood and non-hardened metal [8].
Carbide teeth are the structural jump: separate tips that fail by gradual wear instead of snapping. Milwaukee's 1-3/8 in carbide blade at 1-1/2 in plunge is rated for wood, screws, nails, cement board, and plaster at up to 50x bi-metal life [1]; Bosch's OSL114C covers iron bar, black pipe, staples, and ceramic tile at a claimed 30x [10][11]; Dremel's MM485 aims the same construction at galvanized screws, hardiebacker, and hardwoods [17]. Grit replaces teeth entirely when the work is mineral: Bosch's RIFF sintered grit, in the 1-1/4 in OSL114CG plunge blade and the 3-1/2 by 1/8 in OSL312CG segmented grout blade, grinds rather than cuts, which is the only geometry that cleans a grout joint without chipping the tile beside it [12][13].
When manufacturer and dealer specs disagree
Spec feeds for oscillating blades drift more than for most accessories, and this build caught one live case. Milwaukee's own page for the 49-25-1231 prints 2 in max plunge depth and an 18 TPI spec field [2]. Fromm Electric's listing for the same SKU prints 1-5/8 in max plunge cut depth and 26 teeth at 18 TPI [3]. The manufacturer's figure governs this chart, and the disagreement is disclosed rather than hidden; if a depth margin matters for your cut, measure the blade, because at least one of these surfaces is wrong. The same rule caught a set/listing confusion during verification: the Diablo DOS5S that dealer catalogs cite is a 5-piece set spanning 1-1/4 to 2 in blades, not a 3-1/2 in blade, so the 3-1/2 in bi-metal row cites DOS350RBGP, pulled from Diablo's own page [15].
Quick answers
- What blade for wood? HCS. Milwaukee HCS wood blades run 1-3/8, 2-1/2, and 3-1/2 in for clean wood, PVC, and drywall; the Japanese Tooth versions (1-3/8 and 2-1/2 in) are the hardwood precision pick. Move to bi-metal when nails are possible.
- Bi-metal vs carbide teeth? Tooth steel and life. Bi-metal handles wood, nails, PVC, and non-hardened metal at about 15x HCS life; carbide teeth take hardened screws, sheet metal, and cement board at 30x to 50x bi-metal life.
- Can an oscillating tool cut metal? Yes. Bi-metal for non-hardened metal (Bosch Starlock bi-metal, Diablo 3-1/2 in bi-metal); carbide teeth for hardened metal (Bosch OSL114C for iron bar and black pipe, Dremel MM485 for galvanized screws and sheet metal).
- What blade for grout and tile? Carbide grit, not teeth: Bosch OSL114CG (1-1/4 in plunge) and OSL312CG (3-1/2 by 1/8 in segmented kerf), both RIFF grit at 1.5 in immersion depth.
Related guides
Also on this site: the hole saw TPI chart for the tooth-pitch question on hole saws, drill bit coatings compared for the same steel-and-surface-treatment logic on twist bits, and drill bits by material for the drilling-side equivalent of this chart. For the drilling side of tile and grout work, see how to drill into tile, and for the metal side, how to drill through metal.
Sources
- Milwaukee Tool, 49-25-1521 1-3/8 in Carbide Teeth Multi-Material blade product page: 1-3/8 in cutting width, 1-1/2 in max plunge depth, carbide teeth, up to 50x life vs bi-metal: milwaukeetool.com
- Milwaukee Tool, 49-25-1231 1-3/8 in Bi-Metal Multi-Material blade product page: 1.375 in cutting width, 2 in max plunge depth, TPI 18, for wood, nails, PVC, copper pipe, drywall: milwaukeetool.com
- Fromm Electric Supply, Milwaukee 49-25-1231 listing: 1-3/8 in cutting width, 1-5/8 in max plunge cut depth, 26 teeth, 18 teeth per inch (the disclosed spec-drift counterpoint): frommelectric.com
- Milwaukee Tool, 49-25-1151 2-1/2 in HCS Japanese Tooth PRO-CURVE Hardwood blade product page: HCS, 2-1/2 in cutting width, 1-5/8 in max plunge depth, hardwood/PVC/drywall: milwaukeetool.com
- First Supply, Milwaukee 49-25-1151 listing: 2-1/2 in cutting width, 1-5/8 in max plunge cut depth, 50 teeth, 18 teeth per inch, high carbon steel: firstsupply.com
- Milwaukee Tool press release, oscillating multi-tool blade families: carbide teeth 1-3/8 in; bi-metal multi-material in 3/8, 1-1/4, 1-3/8, 2-1/2, 3-1/2 in; HCS Japanese Tooth in 1-3/8 and 2-1/2 in; HCS wood in 1-3/8, 2-1/2, 3-1/2 in: milwaukeetool.com
- The Power Tool Store, Milwaukee 49-25-1151 listing: HCS, triple-ground Japanese tooth, 2-1/2 in cutting width, 1-5/8 in max plunge depth, 18 TPI: thepowertoolstore.com
- Bosch, Starlock Oscillating Multi-Tool Bi-Metal Plunge Cut Blades category page: OSL038F/OSL034F/OSL114F/OSL212F, BIM, widths 0.375 to 2.5 in, immersion depth 1.5 in, wood and non-hardened metal: boschtools.com
- DK Hardware, Bosch OSL114F-3 listing: 1-1/4 in bi-metal plunge blade, applications drywall, metal, nail-embedded wood, PVC: dkhardware.com
- Bosch, Starlock Oscillating Multi-Tool Carbide Plunge Cut Blades category page: OSL034C/OSL114C/OSL134C, carbide, widths 0.75 to 1.75 in, immersion depth 1.5 in, 30X life vs bi-metal, sheet metal and abrasive materials: boschtools.com
- Home Depot, Bosch OSL114C 1-1/4 in Starlock Carbide Plunge Blade listing: iron bar, black pipe, metal (nails and staples), wood with nails, drywall, ceramic tile: homedepot.com
- Bosch, Starlock Oscillating Multi-Tool Carbide Grit Plunge Cut Blade page: OSL114CG, Carbide RIFF, width 1.25 in, immersion depth 1.5 in, plunge cuts in abrasive materials, grinding and rasping: boschtools.com
- Bosch, Starlock Oscillating Multi-Tool Kerf Carbide Grit Grout Grinding Blade page: OSL312CG, Carbide RIFF, 3.5 in wide by 1/8 in kerf, immersion depth 1.5 in, grout and tile applications: boschtools.com
- Burns Power Tools, Bosch OSL114CG listing: Starlock carbide grit plunge cut blade, 1-1/4 in, application grout removal: burnstools.com
- Diablo Tools, DOS350RBGP 3-1/2 in Demo Demon Starlock bi-metal blade product page: width of cut 3-1/2 in, cut depth 1-3/8 in, bi-metal, clean wood, metal, PVC, plastic, aluminum, drywall, fiber cement: diablotools.com
- Cregger Company, DIA-DOS350RBGP listing: cut depth 1-3/8 in, tooth design bi-metal, width of cut 3-1/2 in: creggercompany.com
- Dremel, MM485 Universal Quick Fit 1-1/4 in Carbide Flush Cutting blade product page: blade width 1.25 in, blade length 1.5 in, carbide teeth, 30X life in hardened material, galvanized screws, hardiebacker, plaster, hardwoods: dremel.com
- Raptor Supplies, Dremel MM485 carbide flush cut blade listing: width 1-1/4 in, length 1-1/2 in, carbide tipped, cement board, ceramic tile, sheet metal, stainless steel bolts: raptorsupplies.com