Jig saw advice - Carvex or ?

[member=76909]ururk[/member] not that I’ve seen a bit of your shop in the stair thread, just buy the Mafell already  ;)
 
Michael Kellough said:
[member=76909]ururk[/member] not that I’ve seen a bit of your shop in the stair thread, just buy the Mafell already  ;)
LOL - I feel like that's the trajectory I'm on. But I'm still going to try the Bosch when it gets here. I should try to be financially prudent, and am quite happy with their 18v system and the tools I've bought so far. That being said, I don't have a lot of hope for the Bosch. Yet... egads - almost $800 for the Mafell to get a tilt base - I'm going to need a serious project to convince myself it's justified. Or see one in action (the only US distributor I could find looked like they were in Chicago).

I bought the KS 120 REB for a flooring project - justified. ETS 125 REQ-Plus sander to sand all the beams in my shop - justified. I could go on and on (not necessarily with Festool, I only have four of their products). The jig saw... I "need" one but have other means to accomplish the same task.
 
ururk said:
Yet... egads - almost $800 for the Mafell to get a tilt base - I'm going to need a serious project to convince myself it's justified. Or see one in action (the only US distributor I could find looked like they were in Chicago).

Timberwolf Tools in Chicago is the only current distributor. But, about 3-4 years ago Toolnut was also a distributor and they ran a killer sale on several Mafell items. That's when I picked up the P1cc for $495 I believe, that was a no-brainer.

Timberwolf is very easy to deal with, Nick Klomstad the manager, is pleasant, smart and he will/can answer any questions you may have about the tools. Overall a great experience and a high recommend.
 
I’d second the praise for Timberwolf. I bought the Duodoweler and they answered all my questions and helped me through the learning phase.

If they had a battery Mafell jigsaw, I’d sell both my Festool units immediately. I’d keep my very old corded Bosch saw.

I only use a jigsaw for rough cuts. Never trusted one for finish cuts.
 
Amazon pushed back the delivery date! So I am jigsawless. Still, using a Japanese pull saw, router, long bit, and some straightedges managed to cut some long (2”x36”) notches in 2x stock. This is the most utilitarian of uses I had hoped to put it to use to, and frankly suspect I wouldn’t be happy with the straightness of any of the jig saws.
 
Finally had a chance to use the Bosch. I had four notches to make - they will be covered by trim boards so perfection wasn't necessary.

I think I'm going to keep it. Why when I know the Mafell would make me happy?
[list type=decimal]
[*]While its 90 degree cuts weren't perfect, they were pretty darn close. Much closer than my now defunct Craftsman
[*]I'm "invested" in the Bosch battery system, so convenience wins out
[*]It was easy to sight and keep control of - something my Craftsman couldn't do
[*]It is light - and that's welcome
[*]Affordable - while I could kit it out with an LBoxx, dust collection, I don't need those at the moment
[*]There is a sliding lock but you only need to press one button to start it up
[*]I actually like the variable speed trigger, something I though I'd hate
[/list]

Some things I didn't like:

With the clear blade "guide" installed, sawdust built up and I had to stop and blow it out periodically.
The trigger is a heavy press - perhaps this is to enhance control - I think for long cuts it would get annoying
Because the batteries slot in from the bottom up, they can slide out - one of my slim packs did this while I was cutting.

Overall - this is a good purchase. If down the line I require a more precise tool, I know what to buy, and at that point it had better be some sort of income-generating job because I just have a hard time dropping that much on a jig saw.
 
Not having another battery platform is a huge bonus.

The Mafell might be gold... but so is it's price tag.
 
I have the Mafell P1CC and works great. Then I needed one cordless and buy the FESTOOL PSBC 420.

the Mafell have the Cunex blade which is very thick blade able to cut straight very well.

The festool i prefer to the Mafell when I work in site mounting cabinet forniture...the light of the PSBC is superb. And also have a cool circle jig

To make cut clean and straight I always prefer a router when possible. I like it is more relaxing.

If I have to chose one I go for the Mafell
 
Zubo said:
The festool i prefer to the Mafell when I work in site mounting cabinet forniture...the light of the PSBC is superb. And also have a cool circle jig
+1 for the light - having that spotlight on the cutting area is really critical. That's the only fault (on paper) I can find with the Mafell.
 
Here's the kind of stuff I'm using it for. The first trial was cutting four notches to go around four posts. I'm trying to notch around as close as possible (1/8") - when done I'll go back around and cut an even gap with my oscillating tool before trimming it out. This saved me... so much time. Prior to it I was using a Japanese pull saw to make slits across the notch, scoring the line with a blade, chisel and rasp. At least one hour per notch, if not two.

The second was to open up the stairwell. I marked a line 1/4" away from the floor joists - I'll later come back with a (sketchy) flush trim router bit I got off Amazon. I would *not* have attempted this with the Craftsman. I know - I keep beating that tool up - but it was just... so bad.
 

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Glad the Bosch is working out.

Tool companies that make different versions of the same tool to meet different price points run the risk of damaging their reputation. Craftsman and B&D both did that. But B&D Industrial tools were as good as anyone’s and the Sear’s Best range of Craftsman tools were also very good. A few of them were made by B&D Industrial but the low cost versions made buyers shy away from the brands when they could afford to.
 
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