Thread: Bosch Jigsaw - Aussie 1590 EVS?

I purchased my GST135BCE when it was new on the market 71/2 years ago. I then looked at the 1590/1591 EVS on the internet sites at that time. I reckon it is the same tool just 110V for the North American market.
I have been very happy with mine. It is a great tool, and Festool even stole some unique features for their later model jigsaws. I remember all the reviews in magazines would always just give the festool jigsaw the smallest of edges over the Bosch - only because they had to do so for festool. I do own other festool products and they are great, but the Bosch GST135BCE will hold it's own against any jigsaw.
Hope this helps.
You can also purchase a range of the Bosch blades from Amazon for about half the price you pay here.
Regards
Les

I have a GST135 and hold it in high regard. It just seems to work so much better than any other I've tried. It's simple, accurate, powerful, intuitive, and is well weighted and balanced.

I also have a few others: Festool, Metabo, AEG and ELU, and have tried some from Makita and Hitachi-Koki.

Simply put, the Bosch is best. Hands down. None of the others even come close. As for magazine reviewers suggesting that Festool is the superior product...... I wonder how much they have actually used each tool. My Festool Trion is the most frustrating tool to use. You have to get out the allen/torx key and fiddle with those damned stupid little ceramic guide plates every time you change blade types, or go from pendulum to non-pendulum operation! At least it's as accurate as the Bosch, provided you get those stupid guides aligned properly.

The newer version is even worse! Now you have to change baseplates to tilt the sole! What were they thinking?

The Metabo is also accurate and powerful, but let down by poor performance at low speeds, where it tends to stall.

The AEG is an ergonomic delight, and very simple and intuitive to operate, change and adjust. But it doesn't have the capacity or power of the others.

The Elu is, despite being some 25 years old, as accurate and precise in operation as the day it was purchased, but of course lacks all the niceties of the Bosch: Automatic blade guide alignment, tool-free tilt and blade change and dust extraction.

Take a look at the new GST140 from Bosch. This tool looks even better. For the first time ever, it appears that you can use dust extraction without the hose getting in the way. I get so frustrated with trying to work my way around stiff extraction hoses that I just don't bother anymore. It's not as if they actually generate a lot of dust anyway. But a simple change to a well located swivelling dust spout like on Metabo's Electronic planer shows why Bosch still leads the pack in jigsaw design.

It figures when you think about it. They invented the tool in the first place, and the rest have been following ever since. Some of their other tools may be crap, but nobody does a better jigsaw.

Another reason I like the Bosch so much is that it's my only bow-handled jigsaw. All the rest are bodygrip tools, which lock you into using a single preset speed unless you stop the saw, take it out of the workpiece, and then adjust the speed wheel before returning it to the workpiece and restarting. I actually fumble around and feel for the wheel, which probably isn't really a very safe or accurate thing to do! Manufacturers seem to put the speed wheel in stupid inaccessible places! How counter-intuitive is that? Most bodygrip tools are too fat to securely hold, as the diameter won't let you actually wrap your fingers around the grip safely. Maybe they're actually made for spider monkeys.

Apparently the Europeans love the bodygrip, using the tool UPSIDE DOWN and cutting from BELOW the workpiece! Less splintering I suppose, but having tried to use my saws in this cack-handed manner I really wouldn't recommend it as an appropriate or safe style of cutting. On top (missionary position?), with the bow handle allows much better control, feathering the speed with the trigger for the curvy bits without having to withdraw or fumble to change speed or pendulum just makes a whole lot more sense to me!

Thanks for your glowing report on this jigsaw. I have always suspected that this jigsaw which I have owned since they just arrived in OZ, is a great jigsaw, but the festool owners always seemed to downplay my comments about this great tool.
Les

Originally Posted by lesmeyer

Thanks for your glowing report on this jigsaw. I have always suspected that this jigsaw which I have owned since they just arrived in OZ, is a great jigsaw, but the festool owners always seemed to downplay my comments about this great tool.
Les

I'd suggest that a meaningful comparison between tools can only be reached by long term use of each, or in this case both.

Most Festools are very good value for money in the context of their long-term useage and lifetime. In particular, they make excellent sanders and some pretty good routers. However their saws, in particular the Jigsaws and Sliding compound saws, are really poorly designed product that should never have been released to the market without having their inherent "bugs" developed out.

If you pay a premium price for a product it's often difficult to acknowledge one's mistake. But to charge a ridiculously premium price for a poor tool is unconscionable. Shame on you Festool!

Originally Posted by michhes

Hi all,

Am wondering if anyone owns the Bosch GST 135 jigsaw and whether it's proven itself in your shop?

The 1590/1591 EVS is very well-regarded and I'm wondering if the GST 135 is the same saw...
l

Well I went with the GST 135 CE (the barrel body) and there's no looking back now, am very happy with it. It's solid, cuts amazingly well (I'm comparing against my father's old Black and Decker jigsaw I used as a teenager, bent blade and all...). Whole new respect for jigsaws!!!

It's an old thread, but I'm currently thinking about replacing my old green Bosch jigsaw with a blue one with dust extraction. Tired of getting
dust blown into my eyes, tired of not seeing the cut well at times and to make things worse I find the blades can bend in the cut, leaving
you with a conical hole for instance. The latter is probably technique, I fear ....

Anyway -has anyone set the GST 140 and the GST 150 against each other? The 140 is significantly more expensive here in NZ. Is there
any reasonable practical difference between the two? Every single review I have found on google is in Russian except for promotional vids
(some of them by children!). No real use comparisons.

The only Bosch jigsaw I have is a 135. Mine (a bow handled model) is excellent. I also have older saws from Elu (100), AEG (120), Festool (120) & Metabo (135).

Bosch's 150 is one of their more powerful models, with a cutting capacity (hence the numerical designation) of 150mm. Nevertheless the 140 is more expensive due to it being a more sophisticated and feature rich "pro" model. But not without problems. Some users have complained of unsquare cutting: unforgiveable in any saw, but relatively easily rectified with baseplate adjustment. I particularly like the Bosch "pushbutton" style of blade guide adjustment, which in infinitely superior to Festool's rather slow, primitive & crude allen key (or is it torx?) guide adjustment.

It has since been replaced by the GST 160 model, with even more power (800w), features and (obviously) capacity, but probably even more expensive too.

Bosch, as inventors of this type of saw, have traditionally led the market in jigsaw design. One of the company's particular specialities. Perhaps not necessarily one of the more sophisticated versions available, but Bosch have nevertheless built an enviable reputation of building excellent performing, large capacity machines that have proven themselves to be extremely reliable & long-lasting.

I think their rep. for excellence has perhaps slipped a little over the last few years, with much more "gimmicky" offerings from the likes of Festool et al. Certainly other manufacturers are now making premium machines that are easily the equal of the best from Bosch. A couple of examples would be the Mafell P1CC, which is unrivalled in terms of power, robustness and accuracy at extreme depth.

My current favourite saw is probably Metabo's STE 140, which has the narrowest bodygrip diameter in the "pro" saw market, which makes for a safer, more secure grip & control and pretty good capacities. The "plus" version of the same has all the bells & whistles you could wish for & then some, such as motion sensitive LED lighting, switchable blower, a proper "slow start" for initiating plunge cuts & a full metal geartrain just like the best of the rest.

I have both bow & bodygrip model jigsaws, & personally prefer in most instances the bow handle. Having the speed preset and an "acceleator" operating on the variable speed trigger allows for instantaneous speed transitions for starting cuts, tight corners & the like. Trying to accurately vary speed "on the go" with bodygrip saws is much more of a 2-handed fumble! I like keeping one hand on the workpiece for safety & peace of mind.

In bow handled saws, either of the Bosch 140 or 160 would be a superior choice, just as a Metabo STE 140 plus would be my preferred model of bodgrip style, mainly by virtue of their superior ergonomics and outstanding features. Even the STEB 140 (B for Bow) plain or plus would also be a contender for best saw in my opinion too. My own Metabo STE 135 plus is probably the most robust saw I own, and my "go-to" saw for sheet metalwork. I think any of the 4 Metabo pro saws would be contenders in the "value for money" stakes.

Sorry to confuse the issue, but you did ask the question.... Just don't buy a Festool. They're woefully overpriced and under-specified.

The Bosch pro saws are horribly overpriced here in NZ. Metabo is much more reasonable. So your praise for that
saw is quite a magnet for me, unless I get a Bosch sent over from Germany or England. I'm not in a mad rush.
The GST 160 does apparently not get sold over here at all. Mafell is listed by Jacks in Auckland but without a price.
Weird habit of that store, they don't list prices for most of their gear.

Festool is not on my X-mas wish list. Their track saws and domino machines may be fantastic, but I've heard less
enthusiastic comments about their drills and jigsaws. And if I can buy 95% of the quality/output for 60% of the price then
I tend to not go for 'bleeding edge' (i.e. the wallet bleeds) even while I absolutely refuse to buy cheap tools.

Do you know by any chance if the Bosch and/or Metabo jigsaws link up with their track? I know the Mafell does, but
no idea about any of the others.

Thanks for taking the time, much appreciated.

As far as track systems go, there's 2 major styles, and a few minor ones. As they tend to be more or less brand specific, then it pays to buy into some sort of "system" to make life easier & less expensive down the track (pun intended).

The original (I think) patented track system was from Festo. It has remained relatively unchanged for the 4 odd decades since it's introduction, although not all Festo/Protool models actually fit: some of their big saws in the past used unique tracks. Festo/ol is actually quite a good manufacturer..... of sanders.

Some mnfr's produce "compatible" tooling: Metabo & Makita spring readily to mind, in that their own saws are designed around Festo's track system but also of course fit their own tracks (which are superficially indistinguishable but dimensionally differing by a mm or 2. I've heard of cheap Makita track being converted to expensive Festo tracks with careful use of a router & alloy milling bit.

The other "major" system is that used by Bosch & Mafell. Being 25 years younger (due to the expiration of Festo's patent) means that this track system is superior in just about every way. It has inclusive snap-on end caps to prevent cables & vac hoses from fouling (a major PITA), an onboard dovetailed joiner that is always at hand when required and with a mere 1/4 turn with a convenient 5 or 10 cent piece physically & accurately aligns adjoining rails. The "other" system, using 2 separate and easily lost different steel rods tends to be a bit of a nightmare to align correctly!

But the original query begs the question: why the hell would you want to use a jigsaw on a track? Guiderails tend to be at their best when accurately dimensioning large sheet material. A cheaper and much more portable alternative to a stationary panel saw. Yes they have their place in cutting off the waney edges of slabbed timber, but any table saw will do this job just as well if not better. Likewise, circular saws may be guided against just about any straight edge, even a previously cut board or offcut: for deep ripping they reign supreme.

Jigsaws are mainly about plunge cuts, curves, intricate scrolling and stopped interior cutouts. The sort of things that guiderails aren't.

Oh, and in regard to Mafell tooling, it's one of "those" brands where if you have to ask the price then you simply can't afford it. As far as heavy duty construction saws and sophisticated extreme duty routers are concerned, they simply don't come better. If you think Festo's offerings are expensive, then I'd suggest you don't even bother looking at Mafell. At least the latter, being extreme in certain aspects of its design and build quality as well as price (the router for instance uses SIX main shaft bearings unlike most others' two!) & being at the absolute pinnacle of their game represent (for truly demanding professional users anyway) a level of quality & utility & that much overused phrase "value for money" that others' similarly overpriced offerings lack.

Did I also mention Festo? They make good sanders.

Please disregard my earlier cynicism. There's no real reason why you shouldn't run a jigsaw off a guiderail. It would possibly be an (albeit slow) means of deep ripping boards beyond the depth capability of circular saws.

In circular saws it's important that the saw has an "intimate" fit to the rail. Usually the edge lip on the rail is trimmed to width by the first cut of the saw, and thus the fit should be millimeter perfect. This cut edge lip (at least with the best saw setups) should remain for the rest of its life absolutely unmolested by subsequent cuts, even angled/bevelled ones. This is important, as the lip edge is used for alignment of the saw on the workpiece.

Theoretically, any jigsaw or router can be fitted to just about any guiderail. You don't need to match branding. Instead, one can use the parallel guide fittings of either the jigsaw or router to make a height matched adaptor, in which a slot may be milled for accurate guidance along the rail's guidance ribs. Any stable, uniform and easily milled free sliding material may be used, although I'd suggest some combination of aluminium, perspex or UHMW phenolic might be the easiest to accurately drill, tap & mill.

As an alternative to using the parallel guides, dedicated sub-bases could be made for each tool to replace the router & jigsaw's own soleplate covering with an extended wing to run along the rail's guide. It's not necessary, & preferable not to, have jigsaws cut at the very edge of the rail's lip. Better to have the jigsaw wholly offset from the rail's edge with its height adjusted so that its entire base runs flat on the workpiece surface, allowing angled cuts. The amount of 45 & 90 degree offsets used could be clearly marked on the tool, rail or sub-base to allow quick and easy measurement and marking of workpiece cutlines.

Likewise a router's base aperture should clear the edge sufficiently to allow for a variety of bit diameters. Marking offsets would need to be calculated for each individual bit, and a "stepped" height offset added to the offside of the base adapter to allow for the rail's depth.

As previously mentioned, the Bosch FSN range of rails is probably the best value currently available, and is fully compatible with most Bosch Blue tools, including their excellent plunge saw (made for them by Mafell) and of course Mafell's fabulously expensive range too.

In some circumstances I've dearly wished to run a jigsaw off a fence or guiderail. Straight cut-outs on sloping/uneven material or vertical surfaces for instance.
Fences are a little problematical as you have to calculate offsets, plus you can't stick a fence on an overhanging eave easily.
I have the same calamity with my skilly, which I use as a panel breakdown tool currently. For some reason the offset seems to differ from time to time, and
I don't mean the offset caused by different blade thicknesses. That one I am well aware of. Go figure. I usually end up 1mm accurate or better though, in the end.

I expect that once we get our new house up (have to sell the farm first) I'll be doing a lot of cabinet making, so at that point I may actually end up
buying a rail saw and then I'll be able to hook the jigsaw into that system.

I've done a lot of market research since we re-started this conversation. In Germany the Bosch GST 140 and the GST 160 are practically the same price;
the 160 can even be a few Euro cheaper. I found a few places on ebay and amazon there that will freight to NZ. Prices? 250ish Euro (~400 NZ$) vs. 600ish NZ$
locally for the 140. GST 160 not sold here at all. The 150 is about 100 bucks cheaper than the 140. English prices seem to be around the equivalent
of NZ$ 450.

The Metabo appears to have 2 saws with 750 W with a significant difference in price, one's called the STE 140PLUS, the other is the STE 140. Seems the PLUS is only around
in the D-handle version right now, locally. NZ$ 360ish vs 500ish are the prices respectively. I haven't looked at overseas prices there.

I will see .... there's a pawnbroker with a recent looking Bosch GST 150 on trademe at the moment with a price on it of $1.50 {grins} I may settle for that if it goes
genuinely cheaply.

The Bosch 150 saw isn't in the same league as the other saws (either brand) you've mentioned.

The Metabo saws are the same as each other, with the "plus" models offering additional features: a geniune "slow" start (i.e. not a "soft" start), motion sensing led lighting (extremely useful if like me you have failing eyesight for keeping a watch on dust covered cutlines) and restart protection. None of these additional features are essential, but are useful nonetheless. Otherwise the saws are operationally indistinguishable. STE denotes bodygrip models, & STEB bow handled variants.

From their German retailers, the "set" versions (60140370 & 60140470 respectively) probably offer the best value, in offering additional kit such as padded and hard plastic soleplates, splinter guards, a perspex front guard & a guide rail adapter all neatly stowed in Metabo's own (superior) version of a Systainer. The going price is from around Euro 250-270 odd.

These would be useful for a combination of either heavy or light duty work in hard (metal, cement board), sensitive (plaster, finished timber) and super sensitive (i.e. painted) surfaces. As a former electrician I'd encounter all these surface types regularly, and this is just the sort of kit (with the addition of some lanoline & metal cutting & TCT toothed & gritted blades) for the variety of jobs I'd encounter. To buy all these accessories separately would cost quite a lot of extra lolly I'd guess. To many other users I'm guessing the "set" versions would just be overkill, with much of the kit remaining unused.

About the only thing in the kits I personally wouldn't use is the perspex blade cover: Whilst essential for dust extraction, it's about as useful to me as teats on a bull. Being perspex, it positively charges and clouds with fine dust, which reduces vision of the blade. Plus D/E hoses, particularly on jigsaws, are always in the way; catching on arrisses and generally getting twisted & tangled. I'd personally far rather go without.

Since the kitted out Metabo (lights etc) and the GST 160 seem about the same price, and I am planning on extending
my Bosch blue kit, I have decided to go for the Bosch (long time Metabo user, and fan - I still have one of their mains
powered drills; in a stand most of the time). I have the Bosch 125-150 ROS and the GAS 50 dust extractor/vacuum so they
should connect together nicely. There are also slightly more people whingeing about the Metabo than about the Bosch on the
German Amazon site - not many, mind, most are ecstatic with their purchase. Someone remarked that the GST160 is lighter
than the 140 after he'd compared it with his brother's. Many remarks about the low vibration of the Bosch (ha, not that low
on my sander which boasts also to have that same fantastic vibration suppression).

B.t.w. I've needed to have a 500W halogen riding on my shoulder for years now if I wanted to see what I'm doing. So
I can really see the utility of those LEDs. Nothing worse than looking into a dark space when there's a spot of sunlight
some place near by - my eyes just don't want to adjust.

Anyway, thanks again for helping me sort out what's on my mind. Once we had it down to 2brands and possibly 3-4 models
it was easy to sift through what other, little, things people had to say about those. Helps that I speak German, I lived
there for over 20 years.

I hope you'e pulling my leg about the halogen flood on your shoulder.... a serious burn hazard if ever there was one, not to mention those UV glare reflections.

Task lighting is readily & cheaply available. I use a couple of LED arrays that attach to my Bosch cordless batteries. Cheap (relatively), convenient (fits my drill's box) and versatile (can be angled, hung on a nail, sat on a step rung or other elevated surface). Using a couple in an enfilade helps eliminate working in one's own shadow. Only suitable really for close range illumination though.

Of course, there's much better ones available now. A much more powerful LED flood array from Metabo allows has its own angled floor stand or std. photographic tripod socket mounting. More an area flood, but still with a useful 7hrs or so of battery life even on max.

When I'm in a tight crawl space in a roof or under floor there's no substitute for a nice bright headlamp. Two free hands are a safety & operational necessity. Rechargeables are the cheapest to run.

For more info on the Bosch 160 jigsaw model, there's useful user fora on both the Bosch Professional .co.uk & .de websites (the "Bob" fora) where users don't hold back on criticism of their tool's perceived deficiencies: the forum moderator - Bob - does express dismay at harsh criticism, but seems to take it in his stride. Bosch are pretty well unique in not wishing to censor user's derogatory views; on their own website to boot! To me it shows a level of openness & maturity lacking in other's brand's user fora. Makes me wonder what the others are either hiding or wishing to suppress. It's also a healthy means of eliciting feedback from professional users to pursue future product development & fixes.

Have you considered any of the cordless jigsaws at all? If you've already invested in a quality cordless system it could be a simple & inexpensive "bare bones" purchase. The capacity of the best of them is as good as their corded equivalents. With recent developments in cell & charger technology (up to 6.2 or even 9.0 ah, & charge times as low as 30 mins. or so), and the narrow cutting kerf reducing current demand, they are now a properly viable alternative. Newer electrically commutated motors allow for unprecedented charge runtime & tool longevity.

My own cordless system is Bosch, but by some strange quirk of nature their current cordless jigsaw offering is decidedly inferior to the others. Much too lightweight & plasticky in construction to survive a fall from a ladder, for instance, and of fairly limited cutting capacity. Pretty poor for the world's leader in jigsaws I reckon.

I've invested far too much to change systems now (8 or more tools and a dozen or so batteries, plus all the chargers, radio, lights etc.), otherwise I'd be looking long & hard at some of the better, heavier duty systems currently available.