Oscillating multi tools - anyone know about these??

Bit of a story, so bear with me

We have a solid oak sideboard (not English oak) which has a darkish (almost rosewood) finish to it that I believe is a staining wax rather than just a stain or a varnish. Anyway, over the years it has taken dogs abuse (think children with everything from chalks to pens to keys, and leaky pot plants and flower vases and you get the idea) and is now looking quite sorry for itself.

Now, despite being tatty, it is still perfectly serviceable and it is build like a brick ssssshhhhh..... outhouse; and in its day, it cost the thick end of a grand, so I am somewhat reluctant to consign it to the shed or even worse the dump.

So, I have a plan that when the weather picks up, I would like to get it emptied out, take it outside onto the patio, stick a gazebo up to give some protection and then sand it all right back to the bare wood and then either re-wax it, stain it or varnish it. The sander that I have currently is the cheapest of the cheapo cheap things from cheapsville, and is long overdue replacing - and if I am going to tackle this job I will need something a little more delicate than a fairly large orbital sander, not least as there are a few sunken panels on this sideboard that I will want to get right up to the edges of.

I started looking at detail sanders, however my eye then wandered to oscillating multi-tools as these seem to be almost all things to all men - I don't currently have an angle grinder, and to be honest I wouldn't really use one all that often to justify buying one - however, if one of these oscillating tools would stand up to the occasional cutting or grinding of metal, it might be just the very dab.

Does anyone here have one of these, or has used one of these can give me an insight as to what they can and cannot do and if they are any good?

 

Thanks Harry

Thankfully, there is more plain flat wood than there is detail, but I don't see my current sander being up to the task.

Its not a great picture, but here it is when it was in our old house, to the right of the telly - its had another move and a couple of years of a hard life since this photo:

 

Its solid, but I don't think the top coating is all that thick - part of the problem is that its gone right through to the wood on the top. I tried teak oil, a few coats over a couple of weeks, but it didn't help and left a sticky residue behind. I've not tried wax, but the top is so far gone that I don't think it would return to the correct colour (if that makes sense) even with prolonged waxing?


Given that the colour of it seems to be the wax or coating it had when made, I very much doubt that I will ever get it back to the same colour again, so I was thinking more along the lines of a few coats of yacht varnish and just leaving it natural colour? The thinking there was that the yacht varnish finish would be much harder wearing - but, I am not sure if it would be over-glossy?

 

I'd rather sit on my rear end drinking Bacardi if truth be told , but I have been promising to do something with this sideboard for at least two or three years, so I best get my finger out at some point.

Polyurethane is still available from Ronseal and interestingly, its available in a satin finish too, which I would prefer.

There is of course a lot more contemplation to be done before the job begins, and that may require a few glasses of something alcoholic to assist the planning process......

 

I best not get it from Tesco though Pete - I might end up with Red Rum!