[Closed] Jigsaws (power tool content)

If that makita has the adjustable pendulum motion (which I'm pretty sure it does) then it'll be great. Very happy with mine which is similar but older

Blade makes a difference as to melting plastic

If you are going to do lots with it then spend the extra on the Bosch , its good value , the same spec Makita will be more , avoid the ones you will never get spares for, its a tool for the long term - likewise cordless unless you really need it.
A way to see the difference between the pro and consumer saws is the spec for the stroke - how far the blade is moved - its 26mm v 18mm in this case - that extra stroke
turns into better use of the blades - ie. more teeth used , this helps quality of cut.
Blades are what really make the difference with any jigsaw , thin whippy blades make
for random quality cuts , to cut square you need to use a stiff thick quality blade
and check the sole plate is at 90 with the blade with a square. Run the saw along a guide and the results can be surprisingly good.
There are specific blades for perspex,steel etc - the blade suitable for worktop is
great for general use as it does not wander Bosch T144DP is the one I have used.

I recently bought a Bosch GST 150CE (the barrel grip rather than body) and find it amazing compared with an older/cheaper one.

Almost got the GST90, but found the 150 at the time for quite cheap, so went up to that one.

Found it amazing, so little vibration compared with the old one, super smooth to cut. Got a variety of blades for different things and make sure to use the right one for the job.

additional notes
- most have pendulum action - use it wisely max for speed - min for quality
- Led light on blade/cut is a nice touch (my big Makita has this)

If you're going to do lots I'd spend on the better makita. I think the blue bosch had the rep for a long time as the go-to jigsaw, but the better quality makita is just superb. Something about the mechanism is really well balanced. If thats the one you borrowed then anything else is going to be a bit of disappointment by comparison. I've been using them for years and having had them stolen (or on one occasion driven off leaving it on the pavement) I've always checked out the competition thinking there might now be something might be better... and then buy another makita.

Whatever you end up buying.. having an LED work light is a benefit (as mentioned above) . A motor/mechanism configured so that it blows the dust off the cutline is a bonus too- you can't blow when you're wearing a dust mask.

Have you considered Titan from Screwfix? Great reviews, love all my other Titan tools and on quick glance appears as same spec at Bosch (Can't see the stroke of the blade on the spec list though) but is half the price.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb285jsw-750w-jigsaw-230v/63333

keep in mind also... cutting a straight line is pretty much the toughest test for a jigsaw and the one where the quality of design and manufacture matters most - any tiny misalignment between the footplate and the blade mechanism will make the blade wander off course as you run it along a straight edge - trying to fold itself under the saw. So the footplate and the build quality of the connection between that plate via the adjusters to the body really matters.

Cheaper saws (with a half descent pendulum action) will do all the rest (i.e. cut curves etc) pretty well but 'straight' is a big ask and you might be better off with two cheap saws - a jig and a circular saw - rather than a mid price jigsaw that lets you down on straight cuts.

My problem on straight cuts has always been getting a square cut vertically in anythign other than very thin material - as above, on straight cuts I'd probably use a circular saw with a very shallow cut through any surface treatment and then a deeper cut to go all the way through.

I have the bosch one you linked to for a couple of years now. Can't complain about it at all, it's been great and I even get pretty good results with it using a straight edge for a guide on long straight cuts. I have not tried any of the more expensive bosch ones but seeing how good this one is and it's only the entry level one they must be brilliant.

I think it's a Swiss company that make the reciprocating mechanism that the more expensive jigsaws all use. It makes for a very robust mechanism (cheap ones can break if the blade bottoms out. You can tell which ones use the Swiss mechanism because of the metal housing around the front of the saw.
I would buy Makita over Bosch for most stuff these days.

Cheers for all the input everyone, lots of food for thought there.

Especially with regards to getting both a jigsaw and a circular - I'll be needing to make quite a lot of long, straight, clean cuts through thick laminated panelling. Maybe a circular saw will prove much easier than a jigsaw alone.

Back to the drawing board, for now 😉

A track saw is what you need for that , lots of choice now - cheap from screwfix etc
and get a long rail = long straight clean cuts are what they do.

Jigsaw is a useful tool but it's rarely the right tool for the job. As above a rail saw is nice for straight cuts. They used to be an expensive option but there are cheap ones now, not tried them though. Also you can get very good straight edges just running a circular saw against a guide.

The Titan / screwfix track saw looks excellent for the money.

Then pick up a cheap jigsaw (screwfix do a workable one for £20) for curves and small cutouts.

Track saws do look great, but all of the accessibly priced ones seem to come with only two 700mm guides where many reviews report they don't join up well, leaving a lip on the run. (branded ones look £££!)

Once factoring in buying a decent length guide rail (will be making 2m+ cuts), the costs start to mount for an occasional use item. A 1.4m Makita rail is another £50 ontop of the £100 Titan plunge saw -  still worthwhile?

As mentioned, hopefully a circular saw with a made guide clamped in place would prove to be fine - certainly friendlier on the wallet 😀

Will be needing a jigsaw either way, lots of awkward little cuts to look forward to.

[i]As mentioned, hopefully a circular saw with a made guide clamped in place would prove to be fine – certainly friendlier on the wallet [/i]This actually works very well. You can make a two layer guide from two bits of MDF glued together. The top piece is the guide and saw base runs on the bottom piece. Used this system many a time. I get some strips of MDF cut on the big panel saw at b&q for a nice straight edge. Costs £20 for enough strips to make a 2.4m, 1.2m and 600mm guide plus a load of offcuts. Only issue is you knacker the edge on the base if you cut angles. Still works just harder to position.

Track saws do look great, but all of the accessibly priced ones seem to come with only two 700mm guides where many reviews report they don’t join up well, leaving a lip on the run. (branded ones look £££!)

Evolution one at screwfix takes a makita track.

Mine has been excellent.

Hmm cant edit.

Ive used guide for circular saws its nowhere near as good.

You don't even really need to clamp the track.

And the cut is much much cleaner.

"<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444; font-size: 12.8px;">Evolution one at screwfix takes a makita track."</span>

Really? So this Evo saw can run along this Makita guide rail<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">? So there's no need for a dedicated plunge saw? </span>

Sorry.

Its an erbauer track saw i have it takes a makita track if you want more track.

"Its an erbauer track saw i have it takes a makita track if you want more track."

Makita, festool and dewalt tracks are all interchangeable I think. If you make your own guide (which you can use with any circular saw not just plunge saws) the advantage is the guide holds down the edge you're cutting and gives a really crisp cut without the edge splintering. The same thing is nominally the case with the propper guides - the first time you use them the blade cuts the rubber edge so its exactly at the edge of the cut. That edge wears back pretty soon though - making a new home-brew guide is quicker and cheaper than buying and fitting a new rubber guide edge (certainly quicker than fitting the rubber strip on a Maffel guide rail!)