Carvex Jigsaw Honest Opinion?

This may be the least typical response you're gonna get -

I like my Carvex because it was expensive.  Simplified, I never used my Dewalt but when I had no other way.  Never got comfortable with it or practiced.  Cut maybe half a foot the dozen or so years I ended it.  Then I got the cordless version and used it equally as much.  Then got the Carvex and started making it part of my workflow.  Now I use it all the time and love it.  Truth is, never looked into buying the right blades until I got the Carvex.  Never had useful accessories to help in complex ops.  Never had dust collection.  Now I do and there are less reasons to not use it.

Only downside is I nicked the side of my MFT.  What can you do?

 
bobfog said:
... it's going to be a blue L-Boxx that gets added to my collection, not a green and white Systainer, which is a shame as my slight OCD side would have liked to see a bit of symmetry between the quantity of the two brands in my collection [big grin]
Click to expand...

There is also some symmetry with Bosch and Mafell as they share rails. So a Bosch jig saw can go on a red rail, or a red saw on a blue rail.

While I like my p1cc, you may want to consider use on the rail??
So if you have FT rails already then maybe the Trion or Carvex would work on your existing rail.
Or buy a Bosch rail if you want to use the Bosch on a rail.
 
Holmz said:
bobfog said:
... it's going to be a blue L-Boxx that gets added to my collection, not a green and white Systainer, which is a shame as my slight OCD side would have liked to see a bit of symmetry between the quantity of the two brands in my collection [big grin]
Click to expand...

There is also some symmetry with Bosch and Mafell as they share rails. So a Bosch jig saw can go on a red rail, or a red saw on a blue rail.

While I like my p1cc, you may want to consider use on the rail??
So if you have FT rails already then maybe the Trion or Carvex would work on your existing rail.
Or buy a Bosch rail if you want to use the Bosch on a rail.
Click to expand...

He can use his Bosch jigsaw on the Festool rail like I do with the Bosch KS 3000 rail adapter and circle cutter.
 
Not sure what's been covered but here's my two cents worth.

I got his tool during the recon sale so for the price I have been very pleased. I have had no mechanical issues to speak of either.

I went ahead and got the D Handle only because I was used to that. Now that I have been using it I probably should have picked up the barrel grip. My old Bosch was twice as heavy and the way it directed its power during cutting lead to drift. I find myself holding the Carvex more around the body and using my left hand as a stabilizer / guide where I then use my forefinger to control the power on the left side of the unit. I like this position very much. And because the jigsaw cuts so smoothly without much resistance it is really easy to follow your scribe line.

In fact, this is the single best feature of the saw in my book. I've never had a jigsaw that was so easy to follow a path. The lack of weight and the added reciprocating speed of the blade are probably the two biggest factors with making this happen.

As for drawbacks. Well, I am not crazy about the dust extraction on the unit. Having a "tail" to the jigsaw that is rigid really gets in the way in tight spots or doing complex cuts. A flexible end or an end you can adjust to various angles would be a huge improvement. I also don't use the LED strobe feature. Not sure why actually. But it has something to do with staring at the blade or the "cut marker" on the outside of the unit. I find focusing on the marker is the way to go. So I normally just leave the strobe off. I am grateful it has a light though! Something I wish my OF 1400 had. One last very minor flaw but it is present in many Festool tools is the logic behind where they include and don't include gripped handles. I wish the jigsaw had one on the D handle. It's a bit like the OF 1400 not having a grip on the handle at all which really makes picking that thing up and walking with it quickly a slight question mark. Same goes for the DF 500 which is lacking a grip on its barrel and for that matter the TS 55 not having one on the protruding bar handle etc.

Anyhow, aside from those minor issues I have had good luck with it. And as far as no or very little blade deflection in cuts of 8/4 hardwood, well, it has no problem doing that either. I've also used it in place of a band saw at times.

Hope this helps.
 
The Carvex is the only Festool I bought and returned within 30 days. Just didn't like it. I found it awkward to push that button before you can use the trigger switch.  The line of sight poor. Found the strobe to be distracting. Replaced it with a Bosch 572 and like it much better. The Bosch is smoother and more powerful.
 
My Carvex cordless model keeps getting the tiny grub screw falling out and going missing. I can no longer adjust the fit to prevent saw blade wander. I took it back to the store previously to get fixed and it still happened. Maybe it's just my saw but if there is another choice out there I would certainly look at it instead.
 
Just a little update to round off the thread:

As I stated earlier in this thread, I recently bought the Bosch 160 BCE (in the UK) or as stated above the Bosch JS572EBL in the US. I sought information on the Carvex here before the purchase, but didn't have time to try both before, due to needing a Jigsaw for a job ASAP. So I mentally flipped a coin and made my decision to go with the Bosch.

So, a few days on I went to a local store that stocks Festool to see how the Carvex performed for myself and check if I'd made the right decision or not within the returns policy time for my Bosch.

I took a bit of 2x2 softwood and set about emulating some cuts that I'd also made with the Bosch to compare. I made sure the pendulum setting and speed on the Carvex matched the cuts I made with the Bosch and under the instruction of the assistant in the store correctly set the blade guide.

In the interest of fairplay I also took the same blade I used to cut the test pieces with the Bosch with me (a Bosch T308BP Precision for wood).

The results:

Carvex 420:

The Festool was almost perfectly square through most of the cut, apart from at the end of the cut where the blade broke out of the material. The assistant also tried and even with his technique the blade still wandered a little. The assistant and I came to the conclusion that the release of tension on the blade at the end of the cut caused a bit of wander. Though it was probably less than 1 degree, so I imagine in fairness to the Carvex this would be an acceptable tolerance for most jigsaw users.

Bosch 160 BCE:

The Bosch was perfectly square through out the entire cut with no wander of any kind. The assistant thought that the Bosch's blade guide sits slightly lower down the blade and closer to the material and therefore kept the blade slightly more rigid.

So in terms of cutting accuracy they were both on par with each other, save for a slight advantage for the Bosch. Though this was only 2" material the gap may have widened if it was thicker material.

However what was most surprising was that using the same blade, cutting speed and pendulum setting, the Bosch produced a far cleaner cut with less apparent tearing of the material. Picture below to illustrate.

 

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A couple weeks ago, I worked with a Carvex barrel grip. In my opinion this Festool machine works smoother than my Metabo jigsaw (also barrel grip). Only thing for me was to switch the Carvex on/off. Or the button are too low or my fingers are too short.

I think to buy a Festool jigsaw, but I can't deside which one. Should a D grip a better choice for me?
 
SHJ NH said:
A couple weeks ago, I worked with a Carvex barrel grip. In my opinion this Festool machine works smoother than my Metabo jigsaw (also barrel grip). Only thing for me was to switch the Carvex on/off. Or the button are too low or my fingers are too short.

I think to buy a Festool jigsaw, but I can't deside which one. Should a D grip a better choice for me?
Click to expand...

I had the same dilemma, only with the fantastic Bosch.

I came to the conclusion that the barrel/body grip felt a bit alien to me. Also you can kind of adopt a barrel grip style on a D handle by gripping the body underneath the handle, but on a barrel grip there's no option to hold it in a D handle style, as the handle simply isn't there.
 
Bought the Carvex and was disappointed, build quality not as good as my old Bosch 1590, too much vibration,on/off switch in poor position. Returned the Carvex and did more research, bought Trion and  was pleasantly surprized. Solid build, low vibration,good switch position and square cuts. Kept the Trion.
 
mandatory66 said:
Bought the Carvex and was disappointed, build quality not as good as my old Bosch 1590, too much vibration,on/off switch in poor position. Returned the Carvex and did more research, bought Trion and  was pleasantly surprized. Solid build, low vibration,good switch position and square cuts. Kept the Trion.
Click to expand...

I've kept my Trion and been very happy with it.  In fact, one of the reasons I haven't upgraded to the Carvex is that Festool has not discontinued the Trion.  I'm genuinely curious about that--there isn't a single advantage (on paper) that the "old" Trion has over the Carvex, yet for some reason Festool keeps it around.  Is it that there are thousands of unsold units they are trying to clear out?  Or is there actually still more demand for the Trion than the Carvex?  I can't think of too many other Festool tools that have remained in the product lineup when a new, improved model was introduced--especially years later.
 
Possibly they have kept the Trion because there is a module for it for the CMS (although correct me if I'm wrong, not available in North America). Not sure if the cms module can take the newer Carvex models so perhaps thats a reason.
 
Regarding keeping the Trion despite the introduction of the Carvex, the Trion has had a very good reputation and its cost was less than the Carvex.  The Carvex brought new features - loved or hated - and the Trion continues to fill a need.

When Shane was an administrator here he posted along those lines except for my comment "loved or hated">

Peter
 
Several years ago I replaced my Craftsman Jig saw with the Trion but, aside from cutting profiles on pieces too large to get up on my bandsaw I don't use it very often.

Think about your needs for a jig saw before looking at all those assessories and try to decide if you really need this things - it might make your selection a bit easier.

Jack
 
I've had three dewalt jigsaws and I had a Bosch years ago.  Now I use the cordless d handle carvex and I like it a lot.  It does everything I expect a jigsaw to do which is almost never anything really requiring cnc precision. I really like the strobe light and the fact you can set the light to different settings, that's very handy. But the fact i can use all my other festool batteries in it is what makes it handier than anything.  I think losing the cord is a necessity for me when using a jigsaw.  So my opinion is I really like it.  To me though, a jigsaw is a rare thing I whip out to finish a circular saw cut corner or something, so a jigsaw to me isn't something I scrutinise like I would another precision tool.  Many folks may use their jigsaws a ton and be more picky about it which is understandable, but for my needs the carvex is great.
 
I wanted a carvex to match my other tools and I love their dust collection.  After reading so many mixed reviews I thought I'd get the trion.  Then after so many positive reviews in the Bosch 1591 I found one at a pawn shop.  I love it.  I bought the splitter and dust collection attachment and I'm surprised how well it works above the surface (below is a lost cause on any jigsaw).  My recommendation is a used Bosch 159x.  The blade support can't be beat. 
 
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