Body-grip cabled jigsaw

[Eric The Viking]

I rarely use a jigsaw - to the extent I'd quite forgotten where I'd put my horrid cheap thing, until I needed it last week-end.

I couldn't get it to cut perpendicular to the bit of 19mm chipboard I had to scribe, thankfully this didn't matter, but that and the noise and vibration made me think about replacing it, before prices go up yet again. So I had a look at what Axminster had to offer (as a starting point).

Basically it seems to come down to Makita Bosch or Festool (and a second mortgage). And oddly, the Festool ones weren't rated all that highly either. So top of my "possibles" list right now is the Makita 4351, in no small part because it has an LED worklight built in (which I'd find very handy) and it's soft start.

Over to you lot - opinions?

Ta. E.

 

[Beau]

Watching this one with interest. My Old Bosch is 25 years old and not as slick as it used to be so might also be in the market for one. If Bosch make them like they used to then it would be no brainer for me but things change. Used a friends cordless Makita the other day and nothing to fault other than a weird soft start mechanism which I did not like but think that is only for the cordless variant.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

makita-4350-or-bosch-gst-150-jigsaw-t91000.html I assume they're similar?

You might not get a body grip, but if you already have any 18v stuff I would be sorely tempted to go cordless. I got my DeWalt purely because I got a drill a few months earlier and it made sense cost wise, but I wouldn't go back to corded.

 

[sunnybob]

Youre not going to like the price, but top of my wish list is a mafell.
(My makita can NOT be described as a precision tool)

 

[Eric The Viking]

Which Makita is it?

I should say I'm sticking with mains power for all sorts of reasons. I can see the advantages of cordless for professionals, but I'm not one.

 

[AJB Temple]

I have a cabled Milwaukee one that I've had for a few years. It's excellent.

 

[Simou1]

Have a good look at the barrel-bodied Metabo STE140 Plus if you want a corded jigsaw.

I bought the 18v version after testing it side by side with the Festool 18v Carvex and it further reinforced my view that Festool jigsaws are pants. My opinion is based on owning a Trion, which is undoubtedly the worst Festool I have ever bought, and 13 days of frustration and disappointment with the Carvex before it went winging its way back to Festool. I do accept that for some they are superdooper, but they are the weakest link in the line up for me.

The Metabo is a cracking jigsaw. Super quick blade change, LED light, soft start, no guides to adjust with every blade change, a blower to keep the cut line clear and up to now, nearly perfect perpendicular cuts. The base adjusts at the flick of a lever ( the Festool base is an optional extra at £80 a pop and doesn't have a dust extraction facility) and all in all it is a lovely jigsaw to use. 3 year warranty and made in Germany. I haven't used or tried the corded version but I am sure that it is very similar to my cordless one.

 

[xy mosian]

I have a Makita 4300BV, around about late 1970's, never had a problem. I mentioned this to my local Makita dealer when I went in for some blades last year and his comment was about not seeing many in for service, or repair, in the all that time. His comment on the more recent ones was that the gear/drive box tended to collect dust. This meant a clear out out and re-grease, not really a problem for a low use user I would guess.
Mine has a 'D' handle which I find easy to use, but my particular favourite feature is that from a comfortable operating position I can see the point where the blade disapears into the wood. This makes precision cuts relatively easy.
xy

 

[sunnybob]

Cant remember the model number off hand, the workshop is all closed up for the night.
Its mains powered, cost around a £150 9 years ago. Its never made a straight cut in all that time.
Wood, metal, straight, curved, genuine blades, doesnt matter, it wont follow the line.

Luckily I now have other tools and its rarely used except when I need blunt force trauma. Trouble with that is as its rarely used I cant justify the mafell.
Not knocking makita in general, I have other makita tools and they are ace.

 

[finish_that]

I have a 4351 , its big and heavy but solid and powerful, says made in uk on it.
The case is the usual pain - too small and infuriating to pack the nice long cord.
Led light very good , on the soft start = yes but its an on/off switch so you get none of the super controlable
squeeze trigger start that I have with my old Bosch which you could do very slow sawing action .
I have used it for worktop and rough cutting , as well as very neat cutting of 9mm ply against a guide when my
track saw got the hump after a kickback jammed the blade bolt - jigsaw did a very tidy job on 0 pendulum setting.
I am in two minds about it - i love the barrel grip and solid feel - its not deflected by anything - but the lack of slow saw start makes it a bit of a bully.

 

[HOJ]

I have or I should say, had a Festool carvex jigsaw, sent it back a month ago for a service/repair, got a quote of £125.00 to fix, told them not to bother. (or words to that effect)

It has never been any good, never been able to cut a straight line or plumb cut with it, general opinion of it in the trade is poor.

Looking at the buying a Makita now, battery mind you, as I already have a few of them.

 

[sunnybob]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plULNid ... l=NMATOOLS

Get past the spooky presenter and watch all of this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8MTbJP ... l=NMATOOLS

There are a few owners on here that have raved about this machine in the past.
I'm saving up.

 

[skeetstar]

I had a low end Makita that had a wobbly cut, so I bought a Festool Trion at the recommendation of my local tool hire shop. This week I have had dead square cuts on 30mm softwood, and a faintly off square cut in 42mm Oak - largely I suspect cos the carbide guide isn't set up properly. I tend to use Bosch blades in it.

I think the Festool is a perfectly good Jsaw, better than most, but I don't think it warrants the premium price I paid for it. I cant comment on the Carvex - it looks to have lots of nice features, but never seems to get good reviews.
Re the Mafell,... well I'd like one of those too, but I always understood that the square cut was a function of blade rigidity not the design of the machine. Aren't Mafell blades twice the thickness of everyone elses, so I wonder how it would perform with ordinary common or garden blades.? As for cutting 145mm of timber dead square, that surely must be the blade characteristics rather than the machine, that is delivering that capability?

PS the Low end Makita is still going strong, despite being abused in all sorts of ways, it just keeps on going.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I cut an elongated "S" shape in four inch softwood for a test when I first got mine - it went in square, stayed square and came out dead square. It's an 18v DeWalt - my old mains Bosch good as it was wouldn't have done that.

 

[pcb1962]

I have or I should say, had a Festool carvex jigsaw, sent it back a month ago for a service/repair, got a quote of £125.00 to fix, told them not to bother. (or words to that effect)

It has never been any good, never been able to cut a straight line or plumb cut with it, general opinion of it in the trade is poor.

Looking at the buying a Makita now, battery mind you, as I already have a few of them.

I've got a Carvex and I also find it not much better than any other jigsaw at cutting straight or plumb, and I don't find the strobe light effective at all.
The funny thing is though that if you watch Peter Parfitt's review video (based on which I bought it) he gets absolutely perfect results on everything he cuts. Perhaps it's just a matter of practice.

 

[No skills]

Bosch or the metabo for a corded one - dewalt jigsaws suffer with a real poor base/foot design which spoils an otherwise good saw, rather cut stuff by hand than buy the other blue ones :shock:
The festool just don't seem much cop for the money.
We would all like the mafell.

 

[Trakehner]

Some of Festool jigsaws are made by Kress, afaik. I have had a Kress bodyheld one and it was a good saw but too weak for my taste. I switched to a Makita 4350 (4351 should be the bodyheld version if it) and its been a great saw.

 

[Claud1]

Have a good look at the barrel-bodied Metabo STE140 Plus if you want a corded jigsaw.

I bought the 18v version after testing it side by side with the Festool 18v Carvex and it further reinforced my view that Festool jigsaws are pants. My opinion is based on owning a Trion, which is undoubtedly the worst Festool I have ever bought, and 13 days of frustration and disappointment with the Carvex before it went winging its way back to Festool. I do accept that for some they are superdooper, but they are the weakest link in the line up for me.

The Metabo is a cracking jigsaw. Super quick blade change, LED light, soft start, no guides to adjust with every blade change, a blower to keep the cut line clear and up to now, nearly perfect perpendicular cuts. The base adjusts at the flick of a lever ( the Festool base is an optional extra at £80 a pop and doesn't have a dust extraction facility) and all in all it is a lovely jigsaw to use. 3 year warranty and made in Germany. I haven't used or tried the corded version but I am sure that it is very similar to my cordless one.

 

[chippy1970]

I used Bosch for years as they were always the go to jigsaw. Bought a Festool barrel grip Trion years ago which is a nice solid jigsaw. Then I bought a cordless Carvex a few years ago and I have no complaints. I think a lot of the complaints about the Carvex are where people haven't set up the guides properly, it really makes a difference. I'm sure there are a few duff ones around too but touch wood mine's ok.

 

[Paul200]

Makita 4350/4351 for me. I don't think jigsaws have ever been marketed as precision cutting machines and I agree with someone else who suggested that a square cut has more to do with blade quality. I remember my first demo of this machine to a customer and thinking beforehand that the light was a bit gimmicky - the demo took place at the back of a dimly lit barn, the customer was delighted!