carvex 420 purchase

[mandatory66]

I have spent more time reviewing most of the jigs on the USA market and it looks like the Mafell has he best reviews,but the price for me rules it out.Now the battle begins.The new Bosh 572 has lost it's blade side guides, the Makia 4351 has LED lights but again no blade side guides. Making many cuts with my Bosch 1590 has convinced me that those guides are important.There is quite a difference in the trueness of the cut with the guides in the off position vs the on position.That leaves me with the Festool 300 or the 420 which I have already returned.One of the responders here has indicated that the 300 seems to have a better build quality than the 420 so I have decided to give it a try. I will also order the barrel style as I have the D handle Bosch 1590. Another after thought is the 420 is not suitable for scribing as the foot does not change angles. So I am back to Festool for better or worse.

 

[Holmz]

The Mafell has no side blade guides either. Making cuts with the Mafell has convinced me that the side guides are only important if they keep the blade from moving.
I am not sure that would mean that the Bosch being without them makes for a bad saw??

Unless you can determine how the saw works based upon the design or measuring side flex, then you may need to use them all to know for sure, or find some unbiased reviews.

To do your own test you will need to find a shop that will tolerate you bringing in some boards.

 

[mandatory66]

I am aware that the Mafell does not have the side guides and it makes me wonder how they are getting such good reviews. My own experience with the Bosch 1590 which is still a well respected saw today is that the side guides help. You are right it would be nice to be able to test them all and who knows if the reviews we read are unbiased.So I am going with what I know to be true in my world.Hopefully the build quality on the 300 will be better than the 420 and it has the side guides. The cut quality & the saw build quality is the bottom line for me.The rest is not as important to me.Sometimes I think we are conditioned to think that if something costs a lot of money it must be the best,that is not always the case.

 

[mrboult]

I am aware that the Mafell does not have the side guides and it makes me wonder how they are getting such good reviews. My own experience with the Bosch 1590 which is still a well respected saw today is that the side guides help. You are right it would be nice to be able to test them all and who knows if the reviews we read are unbiased.So I am going with what I know to be true in my world.Hopefully the build quality on the 300 will be better than the 420 and it has the side guides. The cut quality & the saw build quality is the bottom line for me.The rest is not as important to me.Sometimes I think we are conditioned to think that if something costs a lot of money it must be the best,that is not always the case.

The Mafell does not have the side guides because the concept is that it holds the blade so rigidly that there is no need. I have seen it written though that this works best with Mafell's thicker blades. . ?

The Trion definitely feels better built, or rather more solidly built than the Carvex. As far as 'traditional' jigsaws go, I've never used better!  Though I don't know why you would get the barrel version, considering in your original post you lamented the lack of trigger/speed control on the barrelled Carvex you tried. . .

Personally, despite agreeing that my Trion "feels" more robust than my carvex, both physically and mechanically. The Carvex is the superior machine for me, due to the battery, LEDs, and Attachment base options.
And it is worth noting that despite any differences I notice between the two jigsaws, I have never actually noticed the Carvex perform worse than the Trion.

 

[Holmz]

Yes guys (mandatory and MrB). Cost is not a certain indicator.
The mafell holds the blade snuggly in place. There are no quides or rollers.
It gets good reviews because it is a very good saw, and not due to guides.

Funamentally they all move a blade up and down, just they do it with more or less additional movements. The LEDs and batteries to me were like flavourig on popcorn, or bluetooth in a car... however the base plates are are more useful.

If the blade was stiff then it would not flex. The double thickness blades are 4x stiffer (or something like t^2 or t^3).

Ideally you would be able to try the Bosch as well as Carvex and come to a proven quantitative repetable empirical conclusion.

 

[mandatory66]

I have opted for the barrel configuration(again) because I have decided to bite the bullet and learn how to use it with a Roberts Coping foot.I may have 4 rooms of coping facing me in a few months and I believe the barrel style is the way to go in that situation.

 

[peter halle]

Hope you like your soon to be new Carvex.  When you use the saw and if you are coming to the end of a cut and want to stop the saw - learn to not use your thumb - use your pointer on the side of the saw.

Try it with the saw running and no blade and you will understand.

Peter

 

[mandatory66]

peter I will give it a go.

 

[mandatory66]

Received my SP 300 today, Much better build than the carvex 420 I returned. Quality feel to the saw similar to my Bosch 1590.I weighed them both Bosch (D handle 6.3lb.) Festool 300 Barrel grip 5.3 lbs. I attribute the extra pound on the Bosch to the D handle.The weight difference between the SP300 & the 420 may be due to the brushless motor in the 420. I also like the bottom plate tilting for scribing work on the SP300. The blade sits 90deg. to the table (bot. plate) and cuts straight and square.The saw has less vibration than the 420 which results in smoother handling. The on/off switch is located further back on the barrel than the 420 which makes it easy for me to use. I did quite a bit of cutting with it today and I am more than satisfied with the saw. This one's a keeper. Thanks to every one for participating in this thread,you made me give Festool a 2nd look and it worked ut.

 

[KolinP]

(....) learn to not use your thumb - use your pointer on the side of the saw.(....)
Peter

Hi Peter,
What do mean by 'pointer'?  Our index finger?

(I'm guessing you mean the index finger of whichever of my hands is 'free' - whichever hand is not holding the Carvex ... but if I'm wrong ...!)

Thanks,