Jigsaw Tips - Festool Trion

[Chris N]

Here are my two tips for using the Festool Trion Jigsaw:

Problem: Plastic vacuum hose adapter seems like it may break every time the hose is attached as it takes a bit of force to push the hose on.
Solution: Attach the vacuum hose to the plastic vacuum adapter before attaching the plastic hose adapter to the jigsaw.  Maybe this is obvious to most, but it wasn't immediately obvious to me.  I found this to make a huge difference in the ease in which the hose it attached and also reduces the risk of breaking the plastic adapter.

Problem: Trouble seeing the blade?  Tired of blowing dust and chips out of the way because you removed the plastic guard so you could see the blade?  Wish you had the Bosch blower feature?
Solution: Take the other end of the vacuum hose (the end not hooked up to the jigsaw) and plug it into the discharge of the CT vacuum and remove the clear plastic dust collection adapter provided with the jigsaw.  While this defeats the sawdust capturing feature, the air from the CT blows away all the dust and really increases blade visibility.

Of course, you could learn to follow the pointer like Per did here.

Or you could build a $2 light like Bill did here.

Thanks for reading,
Chris

 

[Mirko]

Chris,

Great idea, now I can put the vac to use while using the jig saw!

FYI the hose will soften up with time, only then will it slip on easer, but yeah its easy to take the adapter off the saw at first.

Mirko

 

[erikfsn]

Or, you could get the Bosch jigsaw . . .

 

[semenza]

Hi,

        Good idea for the blower. I will have to try that. I have some jigsawing to do coming right up.  I just cut the opening larger in the front of the dust shroud last night, so I will be trying that also.

Seth

 

[robtonya]

I like those ideas, I am getting ready to purchase a jig saw for a upcoming project. I am torn between the Bosch, and Festool, but those tips help out. I believe I read somewhere was to take a majic marker and blacken the arrow on the tip of the Festool jigsaw too, I don't know if this will help or not.

 

[hissatsu]

I found that enlarging the opening in the front of the shroud to about 1cm in width helps a lot with visibility and doesn't make much difference with dust collection. It didn't take more than about 5 minutes and if done with a good hand saw and and then sand the edges, it looks like it came from the factory that way. I believe others on this forum have found this works pretty well. Why Festool did it the way they did, I don't know.

Pedro

 

[Zaphod]

The jigsaw is the one tool where I think many are looking through green colored glasses.  Having used both, I consider the bosch 159x series unequivocally the better jigsaw.  Lower carbide blade guides self-adjust, has a blower, and one can see the blade!  The Festool is nice, the bosch better imho.  A hundred bucks cheaper to boot.  Gotta give credit where due; Bosch is still the king of jigsaws.

 

[Frank Pellow]

The jigsaw is the one tool where I think many are looking through green colored glasses.  Having used both, I consider the bosch 159x series unequivocally the better jigsaw.  Lower carbide blade guides self-adjust, has a blower, and one can see the blade!  The Festool is nice, the bosch better imho.  A hundred bucks cheaper to boot.  Gotta give credit where due; Bosch is still the king of jigsaws.

I have botha Festool jig saw and a Bosch and I have no preference of one over the other.  They are both much much better than all the jigsaws that I have owned in the past.

 

[robtonya]

Thanks Frank. I like that you do own both, and no preference. I think I will have to go with Bosch then. I'm not a rich man yet, so the extra hundred plus dollars will help fund something else. I think maybe later down the road though I'd like to get the Festool.

 

[semenza]

Thanks Frank. I like that you do own both, and no preference. I think I will have to go with Bosch then. I'm not a rich man yet, so the extra hundred plus dollars will help fund something else. I think maybe later down the road though I'd like to get the Festool.

Hi,

      I have the Festool. No doubt the Bosch is an excellent saw too. The tool users on here are far too critical to say the Bosch is better  or equal if it isn't.    Rob, you could take some of the extra $100 and buy a systainer to put the Bosch in

Seth

 

[robtonya]

Thanks Frank. I like that you do own both, and no preference. I think I will have to go with Bosch then. I'm not a rich man yet, so the extra hundred plus dollars will help fund something else. I think maybe later down the road though I'd like to get the Festool.

Hi,

      I have the Festool. No doubt the Bosch is an excellent saw too. The tool users on here are far too critical to say the Bosch is better  or equal if it isn't.    Rob, you could take some of the extra $100 and buy a systainer to put the Bosch in

Seth

Thats funny. That way when looking at my stack of Festool, no one would suspect otherwise. Actually, I needed a jigsaw on the last job when laying down flooring. Since it was for a friend, I made him get one because I was holding out for the better brand (he went to Wal-mart to shop for his tools), and he got a $20 black and decker, and it didn't do bad for $20, it probably had alot more vibration than the Bosch or Festool brand.

 

[semenza]

Rob,

  I havn't used the Bosch. But when I went from a cheapo Skil to the Trion I couldn't believe that it DIDN"T vibrate. Make sit soooo much easier to control  and keep the cuts precise.

Seth

 

[josephgewing]

Hello all,

I just ordered a Dremel Flexlite 400 from Dremel for $19 + S&H of $4.  Much more expensive thin Bill E's DIY light but easier for me.  The Dremel # is 800-437-3635.  You can dial ext 3636 to talk to Shirley K or just follow other prompts.

I plan to stick mine onto the Trion with Velcro.  I may try it on the 1400 too.

At  dremel.com  choose Rotary Tool Attachments, then Lights and Flex Shafts, then click FL 400 Flexlite.  (Sorry I do not know how to do the one-click-to-the-web.)

I will post my experience in about 2 weeks.

Joe
Las Cruces, NM