Jigsaws - Clean them, or pick up the pieces...

**damienhazo** · 10th June 2006, 12:16 PM

A lot of people go along happily using their tools, not giving much thought to their maintenance other than to blow the dust off them from time to time. Few people give much thought to the insides - be it the electrics or the mechanics. If the tool is of good quality, there will be some telltale signs something is about to fail - often giving you time to catch potential problems in their infancy. It could also well be that it'll just break and wreak havoc on the insides of your machine...

One machine that is extremely susceptible to dust is the jigsaw - especially those with an orbiting mechanism. The reason for this is the tilt the blade shaft undergoes when under hammer (orbit) Because the shaft does not move directly up and down, the seal systems are constantly moving and not dust proof. To add the the problem, most jigsaw blades cut on the up-stroke (some have a neutral pitch 0°), which means they actually throw the dust towards the seal.

I have jigsaws from Metabo, Bosch, and Makita - and have seen this problem on all of them. I have learned over the years, to schedule them for a check-up once a year. This involves nothing more than opening the gearbox casing to take a peek...

I recently brought this old Metabo STP 563 on Ebay and got round to pulling it down tonight. I thought you guys (and girls) might be interested:

This is how the gearbox looks if you use it for years without a clean. The gunk was so thick that the last person to use it burred off the spline. This means, the motor turned, but the gearbox was frozen, and the spline now has a lovely little step in it. In the bin it goes...

Attachment 24687

I pulled it right down and cleaned all the parts. First with a bit of super then a special cleaning agent:

Attachment 24688

Then greased her up and put it all back together.

Attachment 24689

The motors for these things cost more than the jigsaw is worth. Another of my restoration projects, an STE 562, has the same motor. Even better, its motor is a 6 stage electronic variable speed. STE is German for Stichsäge Elektronik (Jigsaw variable speed). The P in a German-made jigsaw's designation if for Pendelhub (orbiting). Anyway, the motor housing docked perfectly on the gearbox bell housing and now I have another lovely jigsaw. I say lovely because these old machines are beautifully ballanced and very quiet. Now I just gotta find a motor for the one that used to work...

Damien

**DJ’s Timber** · 10th June 2006, 12:44 PM

G'day Damien,

I agree that you do need to keep them clean. I have also found the the lever for the orbital action has been a prob as well. It becomes loose after a while with heavy use. To fix this all you need to do is shim it out with a extra washer behind the E-clip. It worked a charm on mine and my brother's one as well.

Cheers DJ

**Bob38S** · 10th June 2006, 02:57 PM

Originally Posted by damienhazo

......

I pulled it right down and cleaned all the parts. First with a bit of super then a special cleaning agent:

......

Damien

Boy oh boy that is certainly some cleaning agent!

Super =?????

......a special cleaning agent = ?????

So do you tell us what

or is it a case of
"If I told you I would have to kill you"

Bob

**Barry_White** · 10th June 2006, 06:35 PM

Hi Damien

I have Skil Jigsaw that is 37 years old and I have never pulled it apart or cleaned and it is still going.

It is so old I can no longer by blades for it. I have to buy Bosch blades and modify them by cutting a slot in the top hole of the blade with a thin angle grinder disk.

They reckoned Skil was the GMC range back then but it is still going. I have cut softwood, hardwood, plastic, steel and aluminium with it over the years.

When and if it packs it in I think I will just buy a cheapy. It will probably last longer than me.

**damienhazo** · 10th June 2006, 07:18 PM

Originally Posted by Barry_White

Hi Damien

I have Skil Jigsaw that is 37 years old and I have never pulled it apart or cleaned and it is still going.

Hi Barry,

If it's that old, I'm guessing it doesn't have orbital? The shafts on this type of jigsaw are usually sealed better...

Don't replace it with a cheapy. IMHO, anything without a metal gearbox casing is a waste of time if you're planning on doing more than a couple of small jobs a year.

Damien

**lesmeyer** · 11th June 2006, 11:24 AM

Hi Damien - just a question for you if you don't mind.
I have the Bosch GST135BCE. Does a wonderful job. I am concerned that the metal casing around the gearbox gets a little warm after even only 3 or 4 cuts of about 300mm each. Is this normal?? After a fair number of cuts the casing is fairly warm. (will not burn hands tho).
Regards
Les

**damienhazo** · 11th June 2006, 08:07 PM

Originally Posted by lesmeyer

Hi Damien - just a question for you if you don't mind.
I have the Bosch GST135BCE. Does a wonderful job. I am concerned that the metal casing around the gearbox gets a little warm after even only 3 or 4 cuts of about 300mm each. Is this normal?? After a fair number of cuts the casing is fairly warm. (will not burn hands tho).
Regards
Les

That's a fairly new machine (5 years?) and G indicates it's from the tradesman range. If the gearbox is getting noticably warm - especially after such a short duty cycle, something is wrong.

Here's the schematics if you need them:

Attachment 24791

I would strongly suggest opening this machine up and taking a look. If you don't feel confident doing this yourself, ask a friend or send it in for a professional service. These puppies aren't cheap so they're worth a bit of TLC!

Let me know how you go.

**damienhazo** · 2nd June 2008, 10:05 AM

I picked up this GST 60 in eBay for about AUD50. Bloke said the magic words: 'Running but getting warm too quickly'. That's my cue to whack in a bid and get out the degreasing agent.

This is what it looked like as it arrived:
Attachment 74555 Attachment 74556

This is what it looked like inside:
Attachment 74557

This is what it looks like cleaned up. Top and bottom bearings overhauled, Alu gearbox steel brushed, plastic scrubbed with a scouring pad. Picked up a new baseplate in eBay for 1Euro or about 1,60 Oz. Had to make up a jig to press out the arbour but it was worth it.
Attachment 74565

Put her all back together and she looks like this:
Attachment 74564 Attachment 74563

Might be a keeper this one...

Damien

**Rossluck** · 2nd June 2008, 04:27 PM

There's no doubt you're insane, but your posts are still fascinating. Which probably means that I'm insane as well.

**gerhard** · 4th June 2008, 03:02 AM

Great contribution, superb pics. Not many of this quality around. So if that's insane, i'll go out now and let a dog teach me how to bark, haha!

regards all

gerhard

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