recommendations on jig saws

[HowardH]

I've have a Trion and one thing that drives me nut is you simply can't see where the blade is cutting.  I can guess pretty well on a straight line but trying to follow a curve is almost impossible, at least for me.  A P1CC would be nice but a bit out of the budget.  It's been a few years since I have owned a Carvex so maybe it's time for a revisit.  What about a Bosch?  Just looking for a idea.

 

[Cheese]

I own a Trion and rather liked it for a few years. I then purchased a Carvex and rather liked that because of the LED lighting.

However, the Carvex is light and rather cheaply made compared to the Trion.

The largest issue I had with both Festool saws is that the blade will not remain perpendicular to the cutting surface.
When cutting 2X material, the blade will continue to toe into the center of the material no matter what you do.  If you’re cutting circles in thick stock, this is a recipe for disaster.

Consequently, I purchased a P1cc and am estatic about it’s performance.

 

[ColossusX]

If I get another corded one, it will be a Bosch.  Just haven't seen the Festool ones as worth it.  And I cant afford the Mafell lol

 

[ScotF]

I own the P1CC and the Bosch JS572. I have owned the Trion and Carvex and and sold them both and kept the Bosch and of course the Mafell. The P1CC is hands down the best jigsaw out there in my opinion and worth every penny. The Bosch is a very good saw and it has plenty of power and cuts pretty well, but some cuts you get a little blade drift and the cuts are not 90 degrees. Not horrible, but it is not perfect. I have thought about adding another Trion because it was well made and I really liked that saw when I had one. I think the Bosch is more a construction tool and the Mafell can do fine woodworking. The Trion was on par with the Bosch, maybe a little better in some cuts - it might be the second best that I have used. The Carvex is a nice idea and it did OK on some cuts, but getting it to cut straight was difficult and I just never liked it.

You might want to look at the Bosch if you want a good comparison to the Trion.

 

[AlexThePalex]

If I get another corded one, it will be a Bosch.  Just haven't seen the Festool ones as worth it.  And I cant afford the Mafell lol

My thoughts exactly. After shortly owning the Trion and trying the Carvex I don't find anything special about their jigsaws. I would have expected more from Festool there, so my vote definitely goes to Bosch if the P1cc is out of the question.

 

[Dick Mahany]

I have a corded Bosch 1590 EVS and like it very much.  Plenty of power, adjustable pendulum motion and reasonable blade visibility.  I have cut many different materials with it and wouldn't trade it.  It is about 10 years old, used frequently and zero problems. 

It has been replaced with a newer model but mine keeps running fine.  My only regret is that I wish I would have purchased the barrel grip instead of the handled version.

I recently added the optional dust collection attachment to it and it works okay but it could be better.

 

[Jiggy Joiner]

Got two Makita 18 volt cordless brushless jig saws, they have an LED and blower on them.
Can’t fault them, not sure if the corded version is the same spec?

 

[Bob D.]

I have a corded Bosch 1590 EVS and like it very much.  Plenty of power, adjustable pendulum motion and reasonable blade visibility.  I have cut many different materials with it and wouldn't trade it.  It is about 10 years old, used frequently and zero problems. 

It has been replaced with a newer model but mine keeps running fine.  My only regret is that I wish I would have purchased the barrel grip instead of the handled version.

I recently added the optional dust collection attachment to it and it works okay but it could be better.

I know this is an old thread, but I was searching for a more recent post where someone asked about the Bosch 1590 EVS jigsaw. I've had mine for over a decade like Dick and I wouldn't give it up. I think it cut better than my Carvex which I sold last year.

Anyway, I was on the HD site today and they are still selling this same model saw. My local store claims to have over 100 in stock with a limit of 2 per order for $169 each. I thought this saw was dropped from the rolls long ago. I'm glad it's still available because that means parts should still be plentiful for my 12+ year old version of the saw. But I still can't believe they've been making this same saw all these years.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

For me, a jigsaw is not much more than a refined version of a reciprocating saw (sawzall).
I don't expect much from one except for minor "close enough" cuts, before routing to a template or simple notches. It's kind of a space between a sawzall and a multi-tool.
I had Bosch for years and was fairly happy with it, but when I had to replace it, I went with Carvex because of the barrel-grip and dust extraction. The snap on bases are a nice addition and I especially like the bevel base plate.
Bosch (and most of the others) just blows the dust forward ahead of the cut line, Carvex pulls it away with the vac. However, this is not a 100% thing, some situations do not allow the extractor connection, angle base for example. At that point, you get nothing but dust build up, so it's not perfect either.
I have no experience with Mafell, but I just don't need that kind of performance anyway.

 

[afish]

For me, a jigsaw is not much more than a refined version of a reciprocating saw (sawzall).
I don't expect much from one except for minor "close enough" cuts, before routing to a template or simple notches. It's kind of a space between a sawzall and a multi-tool.
I had Bosch for years and was fairly happy with it, but when I had to replace it,

I have no experience with Mafell, but I just don't need that kind of performance anyway.

I replaced my bosch which was still perfect but I did away with a bunch of corded stuff to go cordless and the jigsaw was one of them.  The bosch is a workhorse and will probably out live its owner but I wouldnt trade my cordless barrel grip dewalt unit.  I mostly use mine for cutting up the waste from the cnc and cutting scribes.  I cant see the need for a 600 jigsaw but...different strokes.  I will say I use the cordless one a lot more than the Bosch just because its cordless and I can grab and go. I am also a big fan of the barrel grip over the top handle.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I had a cordless Makita, when they first hit the market. It came from Amazon, so I never actually touched it before buying. It was the biggest disappointment, especially for the price. IIRC, it was about $400 complete. (charger and 2 3ah batteries) That was the biggest battery available at that time.
It was very heavy and underpowered, since I was used to that superior Bosch, but did the job most of the time.
I still had the corded Bosch, so it would come out for bigger jobs, but the cordless was handy. I kept it, but was never happy with it. Especially disappointing because I waited so long for it to come out.

I got into the LXT platform very early. When I got the 5-piece kit, it came with a voucher for the recip saw as a bonus. Apparently they weren't available at the introduction, so they mailed them out to the first buyers a month or so later. I bugged the local rep several times at various shows/demos, asking when a jigsaw would be available and he never had an answer. Seems funny now, since Makita now has something insane like 100 tools for that battery platform? but it took something like 5 years?
They may have updated that original unit? but I have never seen one available in a retail situation to compare.
I'm happy with the corded Carvex, so no need at this point.