Thread: Decent Jigsaw for cutting plywood, softwood, hardwood etc

Hi Arry

Personally I don't think how often you expect to use the tool should be much of a consideration
you should be more thinking of what the most difficult cutting job is likely to be.

I'm not going to recommend one model over another, however I will suggest that at the lower priced end of the market the durability you need for occasional use may well be there, but will power be there and the mechanism rigid enough to cut anything thicker than 12mm ply?

Many, many years ago I bought a [blue] Bosch barrel grip jig saw. I've never regretted the several hundered $ it cost. The mechaism is solid and it has the guts (with the right blade) to leave a square edge in 40mm Jarrah -- with a crappy or blunt blade it'll wander in 19mm pine DAMHIKT

Hi Arry,
here is my experience with jigsaws as a hobbyist.
10 years ago I bought a professional Makita jigsaw. My experience is that it has power to drive 110mm blades through 100mm wood, just keeps on going when subjected to lots of abuse and a factor not often thought of, its mechanism is balanced so it is low vibration on my hands.
5 years ago I bought a cordless Ryobi 18volt jigsaw. Low power as wood greater than 50mm defeats it, bolts holding the base plate on vibrated out and got lost, blade holder developed a skew so it doesn't cut straight and lastly, vibrates a lot in my hands so I needed vibration gloves to cope with this.
Cutting with the Makita is a pleasant experience; cutting with the Ryobi is horrible so I'm selling it at a recycling price.
Paul

Ratbag seems to know every tool in every brand, and he seems to be of the opinion that Bosch make the best Jigsaws (blue range of course).

I agree with the other comments - it's not just durability (which can sometimes be sacrificed for low use) - it's whether or not it will do what you want, how you want it to. Given a choice of specifications, I would always by something I little higher spec than the current requirement. Reselling a POS is difficult (nobody wants my Taurus sander, even for $20), but good gear flies off the forum.

The advice I always follow when purchasing tools is to "Buy sparingly, but buy well".

My Metabo barrel-grip jigsaw seems indestructible. With its electronic speed control and adjustable pendulum action it takes any blade with the "universal Bosch T shank" fitting - for straight and curved cuts with a fine finish (with the appropriate blade) in any hard / soft wood, ply, MDF (be careful of the dust), metal, tiles, etc.

I recall that some other brands (older Makita??) had a propriety fitting that only accepted their specific blades, so regardless of the brand you buy, it would be worth your while to check the blade fitting and ensure that the range of blades you are likely to use is readily available.

Hope this helps

Cheers guys

Originally Posted by woodie one

The advice I always follow when purchasing tools is to "Buy sparingly, but buy well".

My Metabo barrel-grip jigsaw seems indestructible. With its electronic speed control and adjustable pendulum action it takes any blade with the "universal Bosch T shank" fitting - for straight and curved cuts with a fine finish (with the appropriate blade) in any hard / soft wood, ply, MDF (be careful of the dust), metal, tiles, etc.

+1 for Metabo, mine is over 15 years old and done a power of work and it's still going strong and cutting square.
Not cheap but worth every cent.

Out of the options on the Masters website I would go with the Hitachis by far. Otherwise I would go for a Makita or Blue Bosch one on a budget. Wouldn't touch a green Bosch tough.

Loved my old Makita and at least for the last 10 years they have used the same standard blades as everyone else.

I now use a Festool Carvex 420 myself due to better dust collection and guide rail compatibility, but its definitely not in the price range you're looking for

Welcome Reiska, I think I've seen you around on talkFestool.

If that's all the list, definitely go the barrel grip hitachi, the rest are handyman models & cause you many problems if you need to get parts for them later

So how does this particular saw rate. I know the Triton router is considered to be a superior item so wondered if any one has had any experiences with this

TT

Looks like the old triton model when gmc owned the rights. It's a gmc based product not triton, you will have problems getting parts for it if anything goes wrong with it

Originally Posted by Twisted Tenon

So how does this particular saw rate. I know the Triton router is considered to be a superior item so wondered if any one has had any experiences with this

TT

I've had mine for 5 years and it has dealt with everything I have thrown at it. These days I use it mainly to cut curves in steel plate up to about 6 mm thick. I used it a couple of weeks ago to cut these curved openings in the ends of an old gas tank for my forge.
doorcu.jpg

Thanks Gents
It looks like it goes like the clappers and there are no spare parts when it dies. If it lasts 5-10 years and cuts straight it might be alright fo $90.00.

TT

Good Morning Arry

I am a recent convert to Festool and so far have only a sander and a drill, but a friend is an addict and I regularly use his Festool jigsaw in his shed. It makes a nice noise, no vibration and cuts strait in the vertical plane and virtually no break out. Quite magical. Virtually no clean up required.

My old Makita makes a harsher noise and vibrates a little, with a strait edge it cuts almost strait longitudinally but the blade does wander vertically, and there is usually some break out, sometimes a lot. Usually I plan on tidying edges with a strait cutter router bit.

Failing a Festool, the only one on your/masters list that would come close is the one that VEK recommends. And he ain't selling! A good honest assessment.

Although many will disagree with me, I would consider all of the cheaper jigsaws as roughing out tools, Festool, Fein and Metabo as finish tools, and some of the premium tools such as the Hitachi as somewhere in between.



Fair Winds

Graeme