Just got a Bosch jigsaw...
#11
I got a $100 gift card to OSH from my grandparents for my 29th birthday, and I remembered I asked about jigsaws a couple or three months ago. A lot of people said Bosch, and I went with the cheaper of the two models they had there, the 6.0 amp model, which was around $90 plus tax. The thing runs and feels great and doesn't cut too badly for a jigsaw. Still, I've run into a couple of issues...first, the plate is able to rotate to allow for up to a 45 degree cut in either direction. There are positive stops at 0 as well as the 2 outer 45's. When it's on the 0 option, it's not square. The detent stop is not adjustable, so I can't remedy the situation that way. I understand I could just back it out of the positive stops and dial it in manually, but that seems like it'd be a lot of work given how narrow the plate is on either side of the blade. On top of this, the plate isn't even flat! it's uneven across as well as along the length on at least one side. I tried making several cuts in different materials and testing the edges with a square, and whenever I made a clean cut (i.e. with the grain) that allowed for the saw to rest at its most natural position, it was out of square by a fair margin along pretty much the entire cut. I'm using this saw not just for breaking down large sheet goods but also to make curved cuts in projects, and I need the blade perfectly square for that. I'd be more hopeful about fixing the issue by just not using the positive stops (a luxury since I'm pretty much always going to use just the square setting) if the plate (and thus the reference point for my cuts) wasn't out of flat.

Do you think I should just return the saw and get Bosch's next one up? I can't do that until next month with my budget right now, but after my experience with their cheapest ROS (see a recent thread I posted on it if you need to know what I'm talking about), I'm starting to get a little frustrated with the quality control on some of Bosch's entry-level stuff. I feel like with reputable brands (such as Bosch), blades sitting square and reference surfaces being flat should  be a given no matter what tier of product you buy. I don't understand how a vast majority of reviews for these tools are great but I somehow end up getting units with the same problems that the minority (low-scoring reviewers) experience. Do all those positive reviewers just have no standards for accuracy, or am I just plain unlucky? I know the first part of that question sounds kinda snobbish, but I truly don't understand how or why this is playing out the way it is.

I'm sure hoping I'll still be able to return the saw in the first place (if I need to) after making all those cuts with it, though...
Near future projects:

-Curly Maple display case
-Jatoba and Quilted Maple dresser
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#12
(01-25-2018, 03:11 AM)KingwoodFan1989 Wrote: I got a $100 gift card to OSH from my grandparents for my 29th birthday, and I remembered I asked about jigsaws a couple or three months ago. A lot of people said Bosch, and I went with the cheaper of the two models they had there, the 6.0 amp model, which was around $90 plus tax. The thing runs and feels great and doesn't cut too badly for a jigsaw. Still, I've run into a couple of issues...first, the plate is able to rotate to allow for up to a 45 degree cut in either direction. There are positive stops at 0 as well as the 2 outer 45's. When it's on the 0 option, it's not square. The detent stop is not adjustable, so I can't remedy the situation that way. I understand I could just back it out of the positive stops and dial it in manually, but that seems like it'd be a lot of work given how narrow the plate is on either side of the blade. On top of this, the plate isn't even flat! it's uneven across as well as along the length on at least one side. I tried making several cuts in different materials and testing the edges with a square, and whenever I made a clean cut (i.e. with the grain) that allowed for the saw to rest at its most natural position, it was out of square by a fair margin along pretty much the entire cut. I'm using this saw not just for breaking down large sheet goods but also to make curved cuts in projects, and I need the blade perfectly square for that. I'd be more hopeful about fixing the issue by just not using the positive stops (a luxury since I'm pretty much always going to use just the square setting) if the plate (and thus the reference point for my cuts) wasn't out of flat.

Do you think I should just return the saw and get Bosch's next one up? I can't do that until next month with my budget right now, but after my experience with their cheapest ROS (see a recent thread I posted on it if you need to know what I'm talking about), I'm starting to get a little frustrated with the quality control on some of Bosch's entry-level stuff. I feel like with reputable brands (such as Bosch), blades sitting square and reference surfaces being flat should  be a given no matter what tier of product you buy. I don't understand how a vast majority of reviews for these tools are great but I somehow end up getting units with the same problems that the minority (low-scoring reviewers) experience. Do all those positive reviewers just have no standards for accuracy, or am I just plain unlucky? I know the first part of that question sounds kinda snobbish, but I truly don't understand how or why this is playing out the way it is.

I'm sure hoping I'll still be able to return the saw in the first place (if I need to) after making all those cuts with it, though...

If you're not happy, I would return it.  I would say though that most people that review a $90 jigsaw probably do not check the squareness of their cuts or the reference of the base to the blade... They probably just cut stuff.  

I would always start with contacting the company.  Maybe you're missing something, or maybe they have a plan to fix it.

I would add in, regardless of the company.. in my experience, if you buy the "Cheaper" of something... it will be sub par.
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#13
(01-25-2018, 06:23 AM)Strokes77 Wrote: If you're not happy, I would return it.  I would say though that most people that review a $90 jigsaw probably do not check the squareness of their cuts or the reference of the base to the blade... They probably just cut stuff.  

I would always start with contacting the company.  Maybe you're missing something, or maybe they have a plan to fix it.

I would add in, regardless of the company.. in my experience, if you buy the "Cheaper" of something... it will be sub par.

^^^^^ +1.
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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#14
Buying entry level Bosch stuff is just buying top of the line Skil stuff that is blue instead of orange. Twenty years ago the good Bosch jigsaws were almost $250 and made in Switzerland. Comparing that quality and reputation to something made in Malaysia and selling for $90 today just doesn't work.

My motto is buy once, cry once. Whether its tools or cars or anything else, lowest upfront cost is never the best or cheapest in the long run.
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#15
(01-25-2018, 07:16 AM)jlanciani Wrote: Buying entry level Bosch stuff is just buying top of the line Skil stuff that is blue instead of orange. Twenty years ago the good Bosch jigsaws were almost $250 and made in Switzerland. Comparing that quality and reputation to something made in Malaysia and selling for $90 today just doesn't work.

My motto is buy once, cry once. Whether its tools or cars or anything else, lowest upfront cost is never the best or cheapest in the long run.

Def agree.

The Bosch 1590 and 1591 are the models of great Bosch jigsaws (1591 is barrel grip) that I would look for used and save the GC for something else. A few forum WTB ads here, on SMC, etc., might turn one up for guys cleaning seldom used tools out of their shops.


Glad its my shop I am responsible for - I only have to make me happy.

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#16
Apparently that is a common complaint with this saw which I'm assuming is the js620 on Amazon for 79.  There is also a slightly more powerful version for 105.  But they both seem to share the same set of reviews.  Even the one listed for about 149 has some similar complaints such as not being able to follow a curve accurately.

Probably 10 years ago, if you were looking for a jigsaw the default choice would have been the Bosch, either in top handle or barrel handle version.  They may have cheapened up their line when they off shored it to places like Malaysia.  I have an 18V Bosch saw that I got to replace a 14.4V version that was ruined by some salt water that got inside of it when I was working on a floating dock.  That was/is a nice saw that cuts as well as any I've had.  I've also got a corded Metabo in the barrel handle version that cuts great but is more of a PIA to use with the cord and the blade changing mechanism.

I can understand that a 29, you are still looking to get the most bang for the buck and that money can be tight.  But as folks here with more miles under their belts will tell you, you get what you pay for.  Consider that if you buy a saw with the intention of keeping and using it for 20 or more years, the difference between spending 100 vs 200 will be 100/20 or 5 bucks a year.   Ultimately it is much cheaper to buy quality, be satisfied with it and not have to replace it then to get what you think you can afford now and have to replace it in 5 years.

And to be really frugal, look at stuff on CL.  I've gotten quite a few tools off of it over the years including a nice Bosch sander as well as a Festool sander.   Stick with the tools that are made in Europe vs the ones from the far east.  In general, the quality is much higher and years down the road, you won't regret the extra you paid to get it.
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#17
Make a template of the curved piece. Cut outside the line. Double stick tape the piece to the template & route smooth.

I have never ran a jigsaw that didn't have a bunch of blade deflection. It's all operator on my behalf.
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#18
I have a Bosch 1590 from about 13-14 years ago. While it's certainly the best jig saw I've ever held or used, it's still a jig saw with it's full set of inherent issues of the design of the beast! Given that the blade is only supported at one end, allowing deflections (no matter how careful) you'll never get the kind of precision you can get with a band saw, table jig/scroll saw or similar!

And FWIW, none of these things are actually "JIG"  saws anyway, they are really "SABRE" saws. The terms jig, sabre and scroll saws have blended, changed and been misused/bastardized over the years. From earlier days and terminology, this is a jigsaw:

   

Just My $.02 & Likely Worth Even Less!
Gene
Gene

"Gettin' Old Ain't For Sissies"
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#19
Just to be clear, it’s not deflection I’m experiencing; it’s that the plate is not flat and the zero degree detent is off by a couple degrees. I also don’t think I can re-calibrate it so that it is accurate. The 7 amp Bosch looked promising, but the blade is out of square with the length of the plate rather than the width. That could be a problem when cutting curves and keeping a square cut, right? I’m typing this on my phone on my lunch break, so I won’t say much more for now. I will also stop by OSH on the way home and talk to them about it.

EDIT: Well, I went to OSH, and while I was there I took a straightedge off one of the racks and tested the display model of the same jigsaw. The blade wasn't in for obvious reasons, but the plate on that thing was, like mine, not flat or straight. The guy there sounded willing to hear about a return, but he encouraged me to try squaring the base again. Since I love the feel and cutting action of the saw, I decided to try it again. Essentially, I tried doing a zillion different cuts and some patterns started to emerge.

First, for about 3/4 of the cuts I made, the edges left after the cuts were either perfectly square or more than close enough to easily even out the surface afterwards (with a router, OS sander, etc.). However, when I tried cutting thicker stock (up to around 2 to 2.5 inches thick), the cut was WAY out of square on nearly all of the cuts. I kept remembering at least one person here suggesting blade deflection, and I think that's what was going on with the thicker stock. I actually watched the blade come through the edge of a board and saw the blade deflect away from the edge it just cut, so I think there has been some deflection going on here.

The thing is, the blade's resting position has a decent amount of play to it. I can push it somewhere between a 64th and a 32nd from one side to another, and since it pivots starting at the part that holds the blade (rather than every section of the blade moving over the same amount as the rest of its length), it can be pushed slightly out of square on one side or to what seems to be perfectly square on the other. Also (and this should have been more obvious to me), the beginning and endings of the cuts seem to be more prone to being out of square than the middle of the cut, especially when cutting over a large surface with lots of support in the middle but not on the outsides. It seems the saw is better at its job than I thought...

The conclusion: I'm gonna keep the saw after all. I like how it cuts and how it feels, and it seems to have more than enough power for what I'm gonna do with it. Maybe I was expecting too much out of a tool that, when I stop to think about it, just it not going to be as consistent or precise as something with a thicker blade. I think when it comes to stuff that's thicker than about an inch or so, it will be better used for rough cutting that stuff down to length (if it's too long to carry to my miter saw) rather than expecting a square cut. I just wonder if there are any blades that are a little more hefty that could do better at not deflecting so much with thicker material...
Near future projects:

-Curly Maple display case
-Jatoba and Quilted Maple dresser
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#20
I found two older Bosch jig saws on Craigslist. One the 1581 (I think) and the other the coveted 1591. Both work great and cut square all the time. I paid $60 for one and the other was part of a package deal where I got five tools for $100. If you are not completely satisfied with the one you got from the store, I would take it back and check Craigslist for a while.  What Craigslist lacks in the instant gratification department, it makes up for in the value department.
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