If I had to choose only one hand-powered saw, it would undoubtedly be a jigsaw. The newer breed of jigsaws can cut relatively quickly and their accuracy rivals circular saws in many cuts. Being able to cut straight as well as tight curves makes the jigsaw useful for a variety of cuts not easily copied by other tools. I really like jigsaws and use them for all kinds of tasks. In my workshop I break down rough stock, size stock, cut joinery as well as other general tasks like cutting plastic, ceramic/stone, metal, aluminum, construction work that includes cutting holes in floors, demolition, drywall, cement backer board, cutting stud lumber, etc... -- you name it -- the jigsaw is often the first cutting tool I turn to. I am fortunate enough to own all three of the saws listed in the subject line. It probably seems crazy to many users, but when my old Bosch was no longer cutting it (pun intended) I was in need of a replacement. At that time, the Carvex was delayed and Bosch had come out with the JS572. I wanted to get a saw that was updated with the latest and greatest and this saw seemed to fit the bill. For many tasks it is a joy to use. However, I have always struggled to get consistently perpendicular cuts with various blades. I had a need to cut some accurate circles in a remodel project and so I decided to buy a Trion with the circle cutting attachment. From the moment I first turned on the saw I was blown away with the quality of the cut, right out of the box. This cut quality combined with the accessories Festool offered made this a logical choice. At that time I had no intention of buying the Carvex. That is until the Carvex came out. I am getting ready to build a large table and I had a chance to see the circle cutter and that is what made this an easy decision. Being able to cut large circles without having to muscle big slabs on my bandsaw or mess around with cutting them with a router was hard to ignore. So, a week after release I picked one up with the accessory set.
I think that Frank Pellow has done an OUTSTANDING job on his review of the Carvex along with the other two saws referenced above and I wanted to start a thread to share some of my initial thoughts too. I did not have a camera with me to take any pics over the last two weekends but I plan on doing so in the coming weeks as I continue to put these tools to the test. First let me say that all of these saws are very capable tools, far above other jigsaws I have used in the past. I think that picking between them really comes down to some finer details that help separate them from one another. This is not to say that one is clearly superior than the other, but in my opinion with my use so far, some of the machines are better suited to certain tasks than others.
Let's start with the available accessories. For me, accessories are an important part of a tool buying decision and Festool clearly scores in this category for both the Trion and Carvex. Circle cutters and guide-rail stops are available for both machines. The Trion also has a parallel guide available that I find handy when cutting thin strips and cuts off the rail. Of course the Carvex has the interchangeable bases available to allow users to reconfigure the saw for a specific task. The Bosch does not have as many accessories available, but the machine comes well equipped in the standard set-up that includes a steel overshoe for rougher work and you can now buy an edge-guide/circle-cutter/guide rail stop "all-in-one" accessory. All three machines also allow for dust collection and anti-splinter inserts for improved cut-quality.
Circle Cutting:
All three saws allows for easy circle cutting. The Trion and Bosch are limited in the diameter of circle you can cut with each machine using the accessory circle cutter. The Trion allows for circles roughly 120mm - 720mm in diameter and the Bosch allows 127mm to 420mm in diameter. The Carvex has the best circle cutter of the bunch and it allows you to cut an impressive 68mm to 3M (well over 9 feet!!!) in diameter. Carvex wins the circle cutting task hands down.
Parallel Ripping:
The Bosch and Trion allow for a parallel edge guide to aid in making rip cuts. The Trion allows up to a 200mm cut from the edge and the Bosch allows for 170mm from the edge. The Carvex does not have a parallel edge guide available. The Trion saw is a little finicky to set-up with the edge guide and circle cutter -- it uses bracket that attaches to the saw with two thumb screws. It does work to secure the guides to the saw, but it is a little awkward to get them adjusted. The Bosch is only slightly better than the Trion and due to the way the brackets install on the flat metal rod, it only allows for 16mm cuts as the narrowest you can use. The front dust shroud cannot be used with the Bosch when the parallel fence is installed and on the Trion it is very, very difficult to get it installed -- extremely tight fitting that I worry about breaking it so I just leave it off. I think that Bosch wins with this accessory over the Trion as it is easier to install, has a longer edge to register the stock and is multi-purpose -- one accessory to use for circle cutting, guide rail use and parallel cutting off the guide rail.
Guide Rail:
All three saws allow the use of a guide rail to aid in straight rip cuts. I was pleasantly surprised that the Bosch accessory was designed to be used on Festool's guide rail and it works very well. I believe it also as a groove that would work on Mafell's guide rails too (I believe Mafell makes guide rails for Bosch for sale in other countries). The fit on the guide rail was pretty good, but there was a little bit of play and no way to mechanically adjust it. The Trion also has a guide stop available. You simply clip the Trion into the base and there is a groove that rides in the channel. The Trion guide stop allows users to take out any slop so that you get a perfectly calibrated accessory for increased accuracy. There are also little pointers on the front and back of the guide stop that you can use to line up your cut to your layout lines (I find this very handy). The Carvex uses the same base as the circle cutter as the guide rail stop. It has two channels on each side, which is nice as it allows you to cut in either direction on the rail. It is not tight fitting to the guide rail and there is no way to adjust it for slop (similar to the Bosch). However, in my test cutting with all three machines I did not really discern any difference in overall cut quality or accuracy, not something I was expecting. I think that it has to to with the natural way I push the saw forward against one edge of the rail that still allows for an accurate cut. Still, I give the Trion the nod with this accessory since it has the indicator marks and does allow for adjustment to ensure an absolutely perfect cut.
Rough Work:
All machines are supplied with a plastic no-mar shoe. This works for most woodworking tasks just fine and should last a long time with normal use. The Trion only comes with a plastic shoe and while woodworking only is fine, using the machine to cut metal or other rough material like cement backer board, etc... will cause wear on the shoe and could potentially scratch up wood surfaces. The Bosch comes with a steel overshoe, which is nice to have for rough work. However, getting is on and off the machine is difficult -- it is very, very tight fitting as it slides over the plastic shoe and I literally have to tap it on and tap it off with a wooden block and mallet. I worry that this may damage the base of the saw over time and so I really have relied on just using the machine with the plastic base. The Carvex is the best saw out of the bunch for rough work/different applications. With the interchangeable bases you can configure the saw for the given task quickly and easily. Also, if you mess up on the bases it is relatively cheap to buy a new one, which is great. Having a base for metal, rougher wood-work and even delicate surfaces with the felt and hook & loop all make for a nice package. I thought that the bases would be a little gimmicky when I first bought the saw, but have using them and seeing how easy they are to pop one and off, I really like having the options available and so far, they have worked out well. I have not used them all yet, but plan to on some upcoming projects.
Angle Cutting:
This topic has been hotly discussed in several threads on FOG as well as other sites. All three saws allow for angled cuts. However, looking closer at each machine points out some real differences. The Trion uses an Allen bolt on the bottom of the shoe and it pivots. While this works, it is clunky to use and it is difficult to dial in an exact angle. Getting the machine back to 90 degrees is also not as straight forward or easy as a the Carvex with its interchangeable bases. The Bosch saw uses a tool-less system -- simply pull a lever and you can quickly adjust the base to a given angle. It has stops for preset angles and I found these to be pretty accurate after adjusting the saw for 90 degrees (which this saw allows for 90 degree adjustment with a screw on the bottom of the shoe). Going back to 90 is straight-forward and I found it did not take long (the Carvex was still faster, though). On the Carvex, users cut angles by installing the unique angled base. This allows you to cut 0-45 degrees on both inside and outside angles and a dial on the back of the base enables you to precisely dial in any angle. This base excels at certain cuts -- angled cuts on a straight edge, for example came out perfect and I thought it was easier than using my TS75 (I could go slower and I felt that it was safer). I could also make beveled scroll cuts on the face of material and this will allow for some unique profiles. I even used it to cut some rough dovetails -- being able to cut on each wing for each angle of the dovetail pins was pretty cool (although you need to add support on each side of the work piece to support the wing close to the edge as there is not enough material to provide proper support (same issue as cutting a scribe with bevel described next). Where the angle base falls a little short on the Carvex is when scribing with a back-bevel. This is because the front edge of the shoe hits the edge of the material being cut if you are trying to cut into the material by more than a few millimeters. If you cut from underneath this may not be an issue as the wing can be fully supported on the keeper piece. Otherwise, this type of cut is a two part operation -- cut 90 degrees close to the scribe line, swap bases and then cut the angle. Again, this may or may not be a huge deal, but if I were a cabinet installer making these cuts often, this is a limitation of the machine in its standard configuration and I would seriously look at cutting a small piece of plastic or wood and screw it to the angle base using the tapped holes that secure the standard plastic shoe on this base. You could then use the angle base just like a traditional jigsaw's tilting base. I should also point out that this base does not allow for dust collection, but dust collection also does not work with the Bosch base when tilted either. In fact, some users have been discussing Mafell's angle base, but DC is not available for it either -- so when cutting angles, DC is not really an option. Setting the angle on the Carvex is more difficult than on the Bosch/Trion as you really need an angle gauge to dial things in quickly and precisely. In my test cuts I relied on the gauge provided on the base and while this was pretty accurate, it was difficult to see and getting repeat angles using this method requires a lot of trial and error. So the winner here is a toss-up -- traditional scribing I would opt for the Bosch. Unique cuts and certain joinery I would prefer the Carvex. I do not like the Trion's angle base adjustment compared to the other two.
Cut Quality:
All saws come with anti-splinter inserts to aid in splinter free cuts, especially in plywood. The Festool inserts are the same for both saws and they are the only ones that give a true zero clearance. Not surprising, the cuts with these splinter guards were also the best. Bosch already has a slot cut for insertion of the blade and while it is much better using this than not, the Bosch does not cut as cleanly/splinter free as either the Carvex or Trion. When tilted, the saws do not work with splinter-gaurds and cut quality is the same. All three saws cut very well using the same blades. However, I really found that the Carvex blades provided the best cuts using the Bosch and any blade I tried in either Festool provided great results. The Bosch saw has what it calls "Precision Control II Double Roller System" to provide blade support. It is essentially an upper and roller bearing, both with grooves, that capture the back of the blade and help keep the blade tracking straight. It also has two guides, but these do nothing unless things go way wrong in the cut and your blade bends one way or the other in the extreme. I found that when using thinner blades from Bosch or thinner Festool blades that I could not get true perpendicular cuts. This might be partly due to technique, but not matter what I did, how I cut, hand position, speed, orbit, etc... I could not get repeatable 90 degree cuts (no matter what material). However, when I used the Trion FS or FSG blades and the Carvex FS and FSG blades, I could get repeatable 90 degree cuts in all thicknesses of material. These stiffer blades are the best that I have ever used. On both Festool saws, the triple blade guidance allowed me to get perfect 90 degree cuts regardless of the thickness/type blade I used. Thick/stiff blades, thin blades, Bosch brand, Festool brand -- it did not matter -- all of my cuts came out perfect when the guides were adjusted. So, cut quality was the same when using Trion/Carvex blades on all three machines; when using other brands or thinner blades, both Festool saws win hands down.
Power:
All three saws had ample power to cut through all the wood I used in my initial testing. This ranged from 18mm/19mm plywood (both flooring ply and Apple ply), 19mm thick hardwood (Cherry, Maple, Walnut) and 8/4 Maple and Cherry. I also used the Bosch to cut some 6mm Travertine and will use the Carvex for some cuts in this same material as well. All saws had plenty of power although I felt like the Carvex cut through most material faster than the other two saws. I would say the Bosch was second fastest followed by the Trion. There was not a huge overall difference in speed, but I give the edge to the Carvex. I did most woodcutting in speed "A" on the Carvex and speed 6 on the Bosch and Trion. The stone was cut using speed 1 or 2.
Miscellaneous - other tangibles and intangibles:
The fit and finish on all the saws was excellent. The Carvex is the lightest of the three and ergonomically it fits my hand very well. It almost feels like an extension of my arm. Similarly the Bosch felt good in hand -- it, along with the Carvex, have rubberized grips on key areas of the saw's body allowing for a firm grip. The Bosch saw has a curved recess under it where you fingers fit making it comfortable, especially when cutting upside down. The Trion feels solidly built but it does not have any soft-grip material. The Bosch and Carvex both have lights to help illuminate the cut line. This light helps a little on the Bosch, but the Carvex really does a good job illuminating the work area. It has three modes -- stroboscopic, solid on and off. I like both the stroboscopic and the solid on position and I found that I switched between the two, depending on the cut. The stroboscopic mode seemed to help when making detail cuts for joinery, for example, where accuracy is key. Regular ripping and cross-cutting I preferred the constant on. The light switch on the Bosch is a button on top of the pommel and you have to depress it hard to get it to turn on and off. One thing that I really like about the Carvex was the braking of the blade when powering off. The saw comes to a stop almost immediately where as the Bosch and Trion do not fully stop for a couple of seconds. Not a huge deal, but stopping faster is safer and allows you to set the tool down or move to a new cut faster. I also liked have on/off switches on the Carvex on both sides of the saw -- very convenient. I often guide the saw with both hands depending on what I am doing and not having to activate a switch on only one side of the saw was a nice feature. All three saws come in a case -- the Festool saws obviously come in a Systainer -- a Sys 1. There is room for some lose blades, 5 anti-splinter inserts, Plug-it cord and a few accessories with both the Carvex and Trion. I fit the parallel guide in with the Trion and the Carvex has space for the tilting base or another base plate in the Systainer. The Bosch case is very well thought out -- it comes in an L-Boxx. This has room for the parallel guide in the bottom, saw, vacuum accessories, steel overshoe, anti-splinter inserts and a covered compartment that can house loose blades. Another nice feature is that you can place full packs of blades in the front of the case. All in all it is very nice, but it does not store as easily as the Festool Systainers along with my other Festool collection.
I really like all three saws and each one has its own strengths and weaknesses. I think when you add everything up the Carvex emerges as the top saw of the three and it is a close tie between the Trion and Bosch. The Bosch probably edges the Trion out by a little as it has a lot of the new features and functionality one comes to expect in a jigsaw. Cut quality is good with the stiffer blades, but it cannot compete with either of the Festool saws when using a range of blades. Who knows, I might buy the Mafell one of these days just to compare it to these other saws, but goodness knows that three jigsaws is a bit over-the-top and four I think would be totally crazy. But hey, that is what I have said about drills and routers and it has never stopped me. [big grin] One other standout thing with the Carvex is how easy it is to return to 90 degrees if you do switch to the angle base. Since most of my cuts are at 90 degrees, having the ability to accurately cut perpendicular is key and I like that I do not need to fiddle with any adjustments.
I hope this review/post is helpful. If anyone has any questions on any of the machines, please let me know and I will be happy to try and answer them as best that I can.
Scot
I think that Frank Pellow has done an OUTSTANDING job on his review of the Carvex along with the other two saws referenced above and I wanted to start a thread to share some of my initial thoughts too. I did not have a camera with me to take any pics over the last two weekends but I plan on doing so in the coming weeks as I continue to put these tools to the test. First let me say that all of these saws are very capable tools, far above other jigsaws I have used in the past. I think that picking between them really comes down to some finer details that help separate them from one another. This is not to say that one is clearly superior than the other, but in my opinion with my use so far, some of the machines are better suited to certain tasks than others.
Let's start with the available accessories. For me, accessories are an important part of a tool buying decision and Festool clearly scores in this category for both the Trion and Carvex. Circle cutters and guide-rail stops are available for both machines. The Trion also has a parallel guide available that I find handy when cutting thin strips and cuts off the rail. Of course the Carvex has the interchangeable bases available to allow users to reconfigure the saw for a specific task. The Bosch does not have as many accessories available, but the machine comes well equipped in the standard set-up that includes a steel overshoe for rougher work and you can now buy an edge-guide/circle-cutter/guide rail stop "all-in-one" accessory. All three machines also allow for dust collection and anti-splinter inserts for improved cut-quality.
Circle Cutting:
All three saws allows for easy circle cutting. The Trion and Bosch are limited in the diameter of circle you can cut with each machine using the accessory circle cutter. The Trion allows for circles roughly 120mm - 720mm in diameter and the Bosch allows 127mm to 420mm in diameter. The Carvex has the best circle cutter of the bunch and it allows you to cut an impressive 68mm to 3M (well over 9 feet!!!) in diameter. Carvex wins the circle cutting task hands down.
Parallel Ripping:
The Bosch and Trion allow for a parallel edge guide to aid in making rip cuts. The Trion allows up to a 200mm cut from the edge and the Bosch allows for 170mm from the edge. The Carvex does not have a parallel edge guide available. The Trion saw is a little finicky to set-up with the edge guide and circle cutter -- it uses bracket that attaches to the saw with two thumb screws. It does work to secure the guides to the saw, but it is a little awkward to get them adjusted. The Bosch is only slightly better than the Trion and due to the way the brackets install on the flat metal rod, it only allows for 16mm cuts as the narrowest you can use. The front dust shroud cannot be used with the Bosch when the parallel fence is installed and on the Trion it is very, very difficult to get it installed -- extremely tight fitting that I worry about breaking it so I just leave it off. I think that Bosch wins with this accessory over the Trion as it is easier to install, has a longer edge to register the stock and is multi-purpose -- one accessory to use for circle cutting, guide rail use and parallel cutting off the guide rail.
Guide Rail:
All three saws allow the use of a guide rail to aid in straight rip cuts. I was pleasantly surprised that the Bosch accessory was designed to be used on Festool's guide rail and it works very well. I believe it also as a groove that would work on Mafell's guide rails too (I believe Mafell makes guide rails for Bosch for sale in other countries). The fit on the guide rail was pretty good, but there was a little bit of play and no way to mechanically adjust it. The Trion also has a guide stop available. You simply clip the Trion into the base and there is a groove that rides in the channel. The Trion guide stop allows users to take out any slop so that you get a perfectly calibrated accessory for increased accuracy. There are also little pointers on the front and back of the guide stop that you can use to line up your cut to your layout lines (I find this very handy). The Carvex uses the same base as the circle cutter as the guide rail stop. It has two channels on each side, which is nice as it allows you to cut in either direction on the rail. It is not tight fitting to the guide rail and there is no way to adjust it for slop (similar to the Bosch). However, in my test cutting with all three machines I did not really discern any difference in overall cut quality or accuracy, not something I was expecting. I think that it has to to with the natural way I push the saw forward against one edge of the rail that still allows for an accurate cut. Still, I give the Trion the nod with this accessory since it has the indicator marks and does allow for adjustment to ensure an absolutely perfect cut.
Rough Work:
All machines are supplied with a plastic no-mar shoe. This works for most woodworking tasks just fine and should last a long time with normal use. The Trion only comes with a plastic shoe and while woodworking only is fine, using the machine to cut metal or other rough material like cement backer board, etc... will cause wear on the shoe and could potentially scratch up wood surfaces. The Bosch comes with a steel overshoe, which is nice to have for rough work. However, getting is on and off the machine is difficult -- it is very, very tight fitting as it slides over the plastic shoe and I literally have to tap it on and tap it off with a wooden block and mallet. I worry that this may damage the base of the saw over time and so I really have relied on just using the machine with the plastic base. The Carvex is the best saw out of the bunch for rough work/different applications. With the interchangeable bases you can configure the saw for the given task quickly and easily. Also, if you mess up on the bases it is relatively cheap to buy a new one, which is great. Having a base for metal, rougher wood-work and even delicate surfaces with the felt and hook & loop all make for a nice package. I thought that the bases would be a little gimmicky when I first bought the saw, but have using them and seeing how easy they are to pop one and off, I really like having the options available and so far, they have worked out well. I have not used them all yet, but plan to on some upcoming projects.
Angle Cutting:
This topic has been hotly discussed in several threads on FOG as well as other sites. All three saws allow for angled cuts. However, looking closer at each machine points out some real differences. The Trion uses an Allen bolt on the bottom of the shoe and it pivots. While this works, it is clunky to use and it is difficult to dial in an exact angle. Getting the machine back to 90 degrees is also not as straight forward or easy as a the Carvex with its interchangeable bases. The Bosch saw uses a tool-less system -- simply pull a lever and you can quickly adjust the base to a given angle. It has stops for preset angles and I found these to be pretty accurate after adjusting the saw for 90 degrees (which this saw allows for 90 degree adjustment with a screw on the bottom of the shoe). Going back to 90 is straight-forward and I found it did not take long (the Carvex was still faster, though). On the Carvex, users cut angles by installing the unique angled base. This allows you to cut 0-45 degrees on both inside and outside angles and a dial on the back of the base enables you to precisely dial in any angle. This base excels at certain cuts -- angled cuts on a straight edge, for example came out perfect and I thought it was easier than using my TS75 (I could go slower and I felt that it was safer). I could also make beveled scroll cuts on the face of material and this will allow for some unique profiles. I even used it to cut some rough dovetails -- being able to cut on each wing for each angle of the dovetail pins was pretty cool (although you need to add support on each side of the work piece to support the wing close to the edge as there is not enough material to provide proper support (same issue as cutting a scribe with bevel described next). Where the angle base falls a little short on the Carvex is when scribing with a back-bevel. This is because the front edge of the shoe hits the edge of the material being cut if you are trying to cut into the material by more than a few millimeters. If you cut from underneath this may not be an issue as the wing can be fully supported on the keeper piece. Otherwise, this type of cut is a two part operation -- cut 90 degrees close to the scribe line, swap bases and then cut the angle. Again, this may or may not be a huge deal, but if I were a cabinet installer making these cuts often, this is a limitation of the machine in its standard configuration and I would seriously look at cutting a small piece of plastic or wood and screw it to the angle base using the tapped holes that secure the standard plastic shoe on this base. You could then use the angle base just like a traditional jigsaw's tilting base. I should also point out that this base does not allow for dust collection, but dust collection also does not work with the Bosch base when tilted either. In fact, some users have been discussing Mafell's angle base, but DC is not available for it either -- so when cutting angles, DC is not really an option. Setting the angle on the Carvex is more difficult than on the Bosch/Trion as you really need an angle gauge to dial things in quickly and precisely. In my test cuts I relied on the gauge provided on the base and while this was pretty accurate, it was difficult to see and getting repeat angles using this method requires a lot of trial and error. So the winner here is a toss-up -- traditional scribing I would opt for the Bosch. Unique cuts and certain joinery I would prefer the Carvex. I do not like the Trion's angle base adjustment compared to the other two.
Cut Quality:
All saws come with anti-splinter inserts to aid in splinter free cuts, especially in plywood. The Festool inserts are the same for both saws and they are the only ones that give a true zero clearance. Not surprising, the cuts with these splinter guards were also the best. Bosch already has a slot cut for insertion of the blade and while it is much better using this than not, the Bosch does not cut as cleanly/splinter free as either the Carvex or Trion. When tilted, the saws do not work with splinter-gaurds and cut quality is the same. All three saws cut very well using the same blades. However, I really found that the Carvex blades provided the best cuts using the Bosch and any blade I tried in either Festool provided great results. The Bosch saw has what it calls "Precision Control II Double Roller System" to provide blade support. It is essentially an upper and roller bearing, both with grooves, that capture the back of the blade and help keep the blade tracking straight. It also has two guides, but these do nothing unless things go way wrong in the cut and your blade bends one way or the other in the extreme. I found that when using thinner blades from Bosch or thinner Festool blades that I could not get true perpendicular cuts. This might be partly due to technique, but not matter what I did, how I cut, hand position, speed, orbit, etc... I could not get repeatable 90 degree cuts (no matter what material). However, when I used the Trion FS or FSG blades and the Carvex FS and FSG blades, I could get repeatable 90 degree cuts in all thicknesses of material. These stiffer blades are the best that I have ever used. On both Festool saws, the triple blade guidance allowed me to get perfect 90 degree cuts regardless of the thickness/type blade I used. Thick/stiff blades, thin blades, Bosch brand, Festool brand -- it did not matter -- all of my cuts came out perfect when the guides were adjusted. So, cut quality was the same when using Trion/Carvex blades on all three machines; when using other brands or thinner blades, both Festool saws win hands down.
Power:
All three saws had ample power to cut through all the wood I used in my initial testing. This ranged from 18mm/19mm plywood (both flooring ply and Apple ply), 19mm thick hardwood (Cherry, Maple, Walnut) and 8/4 Maple and Cherry. I also used the Bosch to cut some 6mm Travertine and will use the Carvex for some cuts in this same material as well. All saws had plenty of power although I felt like the Carvex cut through most material faster than the other two saws. I would say the Bosch was second fastest followed by the Trion. There was not a huge overall difference in speed, but I give the edge to the Carvex. I did most woodcutting in speed "A" on the Carvex and speed 6 on the Bosch and Trion. The stone was cut using speed 1 or 2.
Miscellaneous - other tangibles and intangibles:
The fit and finish on all the saws was excellent. The Carvex is the lightest of the three and ergonomically it fits my hand very well. It almost feels like an extension of my arm. Similarly the Bosch felt good in hand -- it, along with the Carvex, have rubberized grips on key areas of the saw's body allowing for a firm grip. The Bosch saw has a curved recess under it where you fingers fit making it comfortable, especially when cutting upside down. The Trion feels solidly built but it does not have any soft-grip material. The Bosch and Carvex both have lights to help illuminate the cut line. This light helps a little on the Bosch, but the Carvex really does a good job illuminating the work area. It has three modes -- stroboscopic, solid on and off. I like both the stroboscopic and the solid on position and I found that I switched between the two, depending on the cut. The stroboscopic mode seemed to help when making detail cuts for joinery, for example, where accuracy is key. Regular ripping and cross-cutting I preferred the constant on. The light switch on the Bosch is a button on top of the pommel and you have to depress it hard to get it to turn on and off. One thing that I really like about the Carvex was the braking of the blade when powering off. The saw comes to a stop almost immediately where as the Bosch and Trion do not fully stop for a couple of seconds. Not a huge deal, but stopping faster is safer and allows you to set the tool down or move to a new cut faster. I also liked have on/off switches on the Carvex on both sides of the saw -- very convenient. I often guide the saw with both hands depending on what I am doing and not having to activate a switch on only one side of the saw was a nice feature. All three saws come in a case -- the Festool saws obviously come in a Systainer -- a Sys 1. There is room for some lose blades, 5 anti-splinter inserts, Plug-it cord and a few accessories with both the Carvex and Trion. I fit the parallel guide in with the Trion and the Carvex has space for the tilting base or another base plate in the Systainer. The Bosch case is very well thought out -- it comes in an L-Boxx. This has room for the parallel guide in the bottom, saw, vacuum accessories, steel overshoe, anti-splinter inserts and a covered compartment that can house loose blades. Another nice feature is that you can place full packs of blades in the front of the case. All in all it is very nice, but it does not store as easily as the Festool Systainers along with my other Festool collection.
I really like all three saws and each one has its own strengths and weaknesses. I think when you add everything up the Carvex emerges as the top saw of the three and it is a close tie between the Trion and Bosch. The Bosch probably edges the Trion out by a little as it has a lot of the new features and functionality one comes to expect in a jigsaw. Cut quality is good with the stiffer blades, but it cannot compete with either of the Festool saws when using a range of blades. Who knows, I might buy the Mafell one of these days just to compare it to these other saws, but goodness knows that three jigsaws is a bit over-the-top and four I think would be totally crazy. But hey, that is what I have said about drills and routers and it has never stopped me. [big grin] One other standout thing with the Carvex is how easy it is to return to 90 degrees if you do switch to the angle base. Since most of my cuts are at 90 degrees, having the ability to accurately cut perpendicular is key and I like that I do not need to fiddle with any adjustments.
I hope this review/post is helpful. If anyone has any questions on any of the machines, please let me know and I will be happy to try and answer them as best that I can.
Scot
