My trusty old Bosch GTS 140 CE jigsaw had an encounter with a forklift and as a result it is now in the Valhalla of power tools [crying] So, time for a new jigsaw. When it comes to jigsaws for use in a professional environment there are 3 options imo. First there's Festool with the Trion and Carvex. I've used the Carvex a couple of years ago and it had some serious issues. The blade would pop out of the guide and the sole wobbled. Maybe this has changed, i don't know. What I do know is it was supposed to replace the Trion but after all the problems with the Carvex Festool decided to keep producing the Trion jigsaws. The Carvex also needs a separate angle base plate for when you want to do an angled cut. Of course this plate isn't included in the standard package so prepare to shell out €117 if you need one. That's pretty expensive just for a base plate to do angled cuts.
The other option is the Trion. It's solidly build, the motor is strong enough but it doesn't have a light to illuminate the cut line. You also need an alan key when you want to adjust the sole for an angled cut which isn't all that user friendly. However, I might have gone for the Trion if had a light because the blade guidance is very good.
And then there's the Mafell P1CC. Beautiful machine, well built, strong motor, excellent blade clamping and very good pendulum action. But it also doesn't have a light to illuminate the cut line. And with the Mafell you also need a separate base plate for angled cuts which is also pretty expensive at €107.
So in the end I decided to go for the new iteration of the Bosch, the GTS 160 CE (I like the barrel grip). The build quality is excellent and it has a strong 800 watt motor. But what I like the most about the Bosch (and my previous one) is the easy of use. The sole is easily adjusted by simply loosening the locking lever. Pull the plate backwards, adjust the angle and lock it in place with the lever. It also has 3 indentations, one at 90 degrees and 2 at 45 degrees. When you're done with your angled cut, loosen the locking lever, pull the sole backwards, let go of it and a spring pushes it forward into the 90 degree position. Lock it into position with the lever and that's it. The blade ejection is also very good, especially when the saw blade is hot. Simply pull on the front lever and a spring in the blade holder pushes it out. To insert a new blade you simply push it in the blade holder, there's no need to hold the lever in the open position. The double roller blade guidance was already very good on the 140 and it seems to be a little bit better on the 160, but I'm not completely sure. The 160 has the Precision Control II blade guidance system. I don't know what they improved but it works a treat. Even in thick material the saw makes a nice square cut (just like the 140). The lighting on this machine is also very good. It has an LED on the left and right side and this gives you a shadow free illumination of the cut line. A light on the saw is so important for me I won't even consider one without it. Two other nice touches are the big base plate and when you have a power outage and it comes back on the saw stays off. You have put the power switch back in the off position and then you can turn the saw on again. As fas as I know Bosch is the only one with this safety feature. All in all this is the ultimate jigsaw for me. It's well worth the money and I will recommend it to anyone looking for a jigsaw.
The other option is the Trion. It's solidly build, the motor is strong enough but it doesn't have a light to illuminate the cut line. You also need an alan key when you want to adjust the sole for an angled cut which isn't all that user friendly. However, I might have gone for the Trion if had a light because the blade guidance is very good.
And then there's the Mafell P1CC. Beautiful machine, well built, strong motor, excellent blade clamping and very good pendulum action. But it also doesn't have a light to illuminate the cut line. And with the Mafell you also need a separate base plate for angled cuts which is also pretty expensive at €107.
So in the end I decided to go for the new iteration of the Bosch, the GTS 160 CE (I like the barrel grip). The build quality is excellent and it has a strong 800 watt motor. But what I like the most about the Bosch (and my previous one) is the easy of use. The sole is easily adjusted by simply loosening the locking lever. Pull the plate backwards, adjust the angle and lock it in place with the lever. It also has 3 indentations, one at 90 degrees and 2 at 45 degrees. When you're done with your angled cut, loosen the locking lever, pull the sole backwards, let go of it and a spring pushes it forward into the 90 degree position. Lock it into position with the lever and that's it. The blade ejection is also very good, especially when the saw blade is hot. Simply pull on the front lever and a spring in the blade holder pushes it out. To insert a new blade you simply push it in the blade holder, there's no need to hold the lever in the open position. The double roller blade guidance was already very good on the 140 and it seems to be a little bit better on the 160, but I'm not completely sure. The 160 has the Precision Control II blade guidance system. I don't know what they improved but it works a treat. Even in thick material the saw makes a nice square cut (just like the 140). The lighting on this machine is also very good. It has an LED on the left and right side and this gives you a shadow free illumination of the cut line. A light on the saw is so important for me I won't even consider one without it. Two other nice touches are the big base plate and when you have a power outage and it comes back on the saw stays off. You have put the power switch back in the off position and then you can turn the saw on again. As fas as I know Bosch is the only one with this safety feature. All in all this is the ultimate jigsaw for me. It's well worth the money and I will recommend it to anyone looking for a jigsaw.
