Thread: Bosch green jigsaw?

Woodwork being an 'interest' rather than a 'hobby' of mine, I'm a big fan of cheap tools and I have one of these. It has done me well for the odd project. I guess handheld its as accurate as you are!

Gidday.

I have a green bosch jigsaw and haven't had any real problems with it. For the fairly low cost, I don't think you can go too wrong with one.

Just pick your blades carefully depending on the type of cut/curve you want.

Cheerio,
sCORCH

I am with the other posters here, the Bosch green jigsaw is the only cheap power tool I have that has not given up the ghost, more than adequate for occasional work as far as my experience goes. Mine is over 10 years old though so I don't know if quality or place of manufacture has changed since then.

Im not sure about the Bosch Green Jigsaw (because Ive never used one), But I have a Bosch Blue Jigsaw, and its the best jigsaw Ive used.
IMHO, Bosch make some of the best Jigsaw's out there.

Sounds like it's a bosch green for me then. Thanks everyone for the feedback!

You will be happy with the Bosch. I was.... until I used a higher priced jigsaw. My son now has the Bosch and he's very happy with it.

Moral is don't ever have a go on the other one unless you have the $s.

Carry Pine

Originally Posted by Carry Pine

You will be happy with the Bosch. I was.... until I used a higher priced jigsaw. My son now has the Bosch and he's very happy with it.

Moral is don't ever have a go on the other one unless you have the .

Carry Pine

Yeh I've learnt this lesson before

Since I won't be using it alot all I want from it is to be happy and not throw it against the wall within 5 minute as I felt like doing with an old arlec one that I borrowed from the parents that they picked up from some supercheap specials bin or something. Perhaps it was the blades which I didn't think of at the time to change. Inexperience. Probably wouldn't of made a difference. The blades didn't want to stay in for long now matter how much you tightened.

Anyway I hate borrowing tools and racing across suburbs to get them. Sometimes it's just cheaper to buy it with the price of petrol.

Yeah I too have a green Bosch jigsaw and it does the job quite well (for my needs anyway) as the others have mentioned.

Cheers,

WILL

Got the "fancy" PST-800PEL for $115.

Geez I tell you what they certainly have moved on from basic when I was a kid. Detachable laser, built in blade case, orbital action settings and a blower to keep the surface visible as you cut. Finally it comes with a nice plastic hard case. Don't know about anyone else but I hate it when they don't. Makes it a hell of alot easier to store and keep all the parts handy.

Can't wait to get around to using it in the next few days as I make my portable air-con port more secure from thieves. Finally get a chance to pull the triton router out as well

Hi all,

as the story goes, a Bosch employee invented the jig saw idea by mounting a fine scroll saw blade in a pedal driven sewing machine. With this "home tool" he made a doll's house including matching little furniture for his daughter. It is said that he introduced this idea to his factory managers, who thought it was brilliant and saw to it that it was eventually made into an electric tool in 1947.

The Bosch Leinfelden plant is the original one and Bosch started out originally with the making of electrical parts for motor cars. The company logo shows a magneto coil within a magnet flywheel ring, a well known component in earlier petrol engines. Bosch also made starter and windscreen wiper motors, ignition coils and dynamo's. Nowadays it is still a strong name in car systems, like electronic motor controls and fuel injection pumps. Bosch also made electric power tools, but these were meant for the garage and car manufacturing trade. So there was a good array of metal drills and grinding systems (dye grinders, straight grinders, angle grinders) and polishers, but woodworking tools were outsourced to either Scintilla in Soleure (Switzerland) of the Karl Reich factory (Holz Her) in Nürtingen (Germany). Reich made the circular saws, planers and belt sanders for Bosch and Scintilla the jig saws, percussion drills and orbital sanders. For some years there is also manufacturing in the USA and Asia and especially since Bosch bought Skil, the countries that all tools originate from, have gotten rather confusing.

I own several green Bosch jig saws myself, the first one was the PST50E from 1982, made by Scintilla. I knew from the practices from DIY-tools manufacturing, that needle and ball bearings are often replaced by the cheaper sleeve bearings, and that gears are hardened less well than they would be in industrial grade tools. So these DIY-tools need regular inspection inside to check if all parts are still properly lubricated, to reduce wear and to get the most from their service life. When taking a green Bosch jig saw apart, i found it to be simple and indeed it contained sleeve bearings (collector side of rotor axle, bushing around the eccentric drive pinion which moves the saw rod assembly up and down), but i was amazed at how well thought out it all was and how much was achieved with so few moving parts. There was a very clever built-in counterweight, resulting in the vibrationfree operation that Bosch jig saws are known for, but in this case even at a budget price. Also, it featured a guide wheel behind the saw blade, releaving most of the forward saw feed pressure from the saw rod bushings. This wheel was missing on many competitor's DIY jig saws from -for instance- Skil or B&D. It showed that Bosch knew what features were necessary to make a decent tool for the job and to make it last for a decent time, even for a DIY machine.

The PST50E jig saw must have sawed some miles since 1982, but it still runs with little play, since it is taken apart every year and gets properly cleaned inside and out and receives new lubrication. I saw the later 700 Watts version from inside also, and this is still decently made. The PST50 only had 350 Watts, but it managed its tasks well.
Always bear in mind that a jig saw has a rather flimsy mechanism and that many people expect rather a lot from such tiny machines and saw blades, moving only half an inch up and down. A jig saw can be counted upon to saw up to an inch thickness reasonably dependable. With more than that too much pressure must be applied on the blade and its drive. And should one or more teeth on the blade be damaged somewhat, or worn down on one side more than the other, is gets almost impossible to saw in a straight line without warping of diverting from the direction intended. Those facts alone already tell anyone with a sound mind that advertised saw depths of up to 4 inches or more, are blatent lies. The saw blade's teeth must do the real work, this should not come from forward pressure. In fact, by pushing the saw forward with one finger, the proper workpace with which the saw blade can cope, can already be achieved. The applied pressure on a hand saw to make all the teeth along a length of 4 inches cut decently is reasonably high, try to think of such pressure applied on a small jig saw drive system.

But anyway, yes, a green Bosch jig saw is value for money. If used and maintained properly, it will serve you well for years and will get you more quality (good saw blade guidance, vibration free running, a quality saw blade assortment to choose from and the guarantee of spare parts to be ordered in years to come) than many other DIY jig saws. They contain little metal, so their drive systems are not up to tremendous forces and absorption of generated heat, they are home use tools after all. But when used with care and patience and not too high expectations, they will last a long time.

Greetings from holland!

gerhard

I have a pst 54 pe which is 380 watts that I bought so long ago I cant remember where from.
I only use it every now and then and cannnot remember a part of my adult life without it.It would would have to be almost 18 years old.
I have replaced the brushes once and while it was apart I replaced all the grease and gave it a good clean.I lost the circlip for the support roller once and have gone through about 3 screwdrivers long enough to go down the front to loosen the blade...
It says Scintilla on the nameplate
I vaguely remember the cardboard box it came in.
I guess a good tool is better than a good box.
Hmm now that could be argued I suppose for those of us with our mind in the gutter...
Go bosch green!
cheers Rileyp