Review of Festool Carvex Pendulum Jigsaw (561351)

Jon,

By the sounds of it your Festool acquisition account will be built up to the point of getting the Carvex and the Rotex 90 by the time they are available based on the previous postings.  [big grin] I hope mine is too!

Peter
 
Mike, Thanks for the video.  As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, but your narration adds exponentially. 

It looks to me that the adjustable table will replace my coping foot.  ( maybe with some "danny" mods [eek] )

Anyone have any thoughts about this use??

Dan
 
Dan Rush said:
Mike, Thanks for the video.  As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, but your narration adds exponentially. 

It looks to me that the adjustable table will replace my coping foot.  ( maybe with some "danny" mods [eek] )

Anyone have any thoughts about this use??

Dan

I don't have a coping foot but I don't know if your idea will work. I'd look at modifying the coping foot to fit the Carvex instead.
 
I should like to post some views slightly at variance with Michael's review.

First of all, I should like to inform all my fellow Festoolites that I am quite possibly the world's worst woodworker.  At gatherings of totally useless woodworkers, people point at me and say, "Who's that totally useless woodworker over there?" This is why I love Festool; they make me look good (well, OK, less bad). The discovery of the TS55 saw transformed my life, and every bit of Festool subsequently acquired has been marvellous - until now.

I never did get on with jigsaws - I hated the way their little blades were so wayward, often deciding to cut an entirely different line from the one I actually wanted. In addition, I had in mind a job that involved cutting a 60 cm diameter curve. Normally I'd draw a curve and then endeavour to cut along it, cutting outside the line and then sanding or planning back. Then I saw the adverts for the Carvex and its curve-cutting device. Just the shot, I thought. So, taking advantage of the shrunken Euro, I nipped across the border into Germany and to my favourite toyshop. There, after some thought, I parted with a rather large wad of Euros and came back with a PSB 400 EBQ set.

First of all, the Carvex saw itself looks very neat. It is surprisingly light, especially compared with its predecessor the Trion (which weighs a ton in comparison). I got the barrel-bodied mains-powered one. This has a neat plug-in point that tilts upwards, to make the device shorter. Oddly, it does not have an inclinable base plate, the first jigsaw I've ever seen that didn't - you have to fit an adjustable plate to cut angles, and when you use this plate, you can't collect dust, 'cos there's nowhere for the vacuum tube to go.

I tried the wiggly-waggly line cutting, as seen in the advertising video. And, as its name suggests, it carves rather well, cutting cleanly and with minimal burning. In the curves, the sides of the cut aren't perpendicular to the surface, but that would be asking for a lot.

I needed to cut a straight line, so I fitted the baseplate that slots on to the guide rail. Normally I'd use the TS55 for this, but I wanted to see how it managed on the rail. 10 cm into the cut, The Curse of the Wayward Jigsaw Blade was already making itself felt - the blade was already drifting from the marked line it was supposed to cut. It clearly wasn't going to get any better, so I stopped and used the TS55.

Then came the big moment - the cutting of the curve. The instruction book didn't say what exactly you were supposed to do with the "centring mandrel" (a little spike with a plastic handle) that accompanies the circle cutter, so I used it to mark the centre and banged in a small nail. And off we went. Or actually not. I found that, if you took it too quickly, the flexible metal ruler portion of the cutter did what flexible metal strips usually do, twist out of shape, with concomitant disastrous results at the saw end of things. Even taking it slowly, I found the blade twisting and burning and cutting everywhere but where I wanted the wretched thing to cut. So, back to the old way - use the circle cutter to draw the curve and then do it by hand and eye. This makes the curve cutter a rather expensive pair of compasses.

Perhaps I need to work on my curve cutter technique, but on my first attempt, I did not find it easy. So, most positive, but also slightly disappointing. Perhaps I was simply expecting too much from what is, after all, a jigsaw, with all the problems and disadvantages of the breed, and perhaps not even Festool can tame it.

 
hi teemac.

thanks for your'e honest opinion regarding the carvex.

when you were cutting the straight line with the guide rail.
did you clamp the rail down?
i imagine the the guide rail and work piece would have jumped about as they usually do when not clamped.

sorry to hear you did not like the circle cutting accessory.
i dont know why this has happened.
i would like to hear other peoples reports first before writing it off.
maybe there is a small learning curve.
i would keep trying until i was sure it was the jig and not me is the problem.

justin.
 
teemacs said:
Perhaps I need to work on my curve cutter technique, but on my first attempt, I did not find it easy. So, most positive, but also slightly disappointing. Perhaps I was simply expecting too much from what is, after all, a jigsaw, with all the problems and disadvantages of the breed, and perhaps not even Festool can tame it.

Sorry to hear about your experience. I have three questions if I may ask...

What was the thickness of the material you were cutting?
Exactly what blade were you using?
What were the settings for pendulum action and saw speed?

Forrest

 
justinmcf said:
when you were cutting the straight line with the guide rail.
did you clamp the rail down?
i imagine the the guide rail and work piece would have jumped about as they usually do when not clamped.
Hello, Justin, yes, I clamped it down - it didn't look as if it would work otherwise (unlike the TS55)

sorry to hear you did not like the circle cutting accessory.
i dont know why this has happened.
i would like to hear other peoples reports first before writing it off.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that I didn't like it, only that for me on this first attempt, it didn't work so well. My tendency is to blame myself, rather than the equipment, so I personally wouldn't write it off - my point was that it is not that simple to use properly. This is what's good about forums such as this - able people can help unable people such as myself to see the light.

maybe there is a small learning curve.
i would keep trying until i was sure it was the jig and not me is the problem.

I suspect a rather substantial learning curve! And I agree entirely with your last sentence.

Regards,
 
Forrest Anderson said:
Sorry to hear about your experience. I have three questions if I may ask...

What was the thickness of the material you were cutting?
Exactly what blade were you using?
What were the settings for pendulum action and saw speed?

Forrest

Hello, Forrest. The answers to your questions are:

(a) 12mm plywood
(b) A Bosch skinny one (T101 type)
(c) Full speed and no pendulum action. (As a passing comment, it's initially bit disconcerting when you start the thing and the blade moves relatively slowly, then when it bites, it abruptly accelerates, as if it says to itself, "Oh, my goodness, I should be working!")
 
teemacs said:
Forrest Anderson said:
Sorry to hear about your experience. I have three questions if I may ask...

What was the thickness of the material you were cutting?
Exactly what blade were you using?
What were the settings for pendulum action and saw speed?

Forrest

Hello, Forrest. The answers to your questions are:

(a) 12mm plywood
(b) A Bosch skinny one (T101 type)
(c) Full speed and no pendulum action. (As a passing comment, it's initially bit disconcerting when you start the thing and the blade moves relatively slowly, then when it bites, it abruptly accelerates, as if it says to itself, "Oh, my goodness, I should be working!")
teemacs,

I've tried some Bosch blades.  I didn't particularly like them, even the new one. 

I've been very happy with Festool jigsaw blades, although I have a bunch of Lenox blades.  For use on a guide rail, try a Festool "S 75/4" or "S 105/4".

Regarding technique, I like to keep my arms locked to my sides and the fingers of one hand on the base plate for guidance.  That improves my cuts a lot.

Dan.
 
I would recommend a standard wood blade not a skinny blade they are to weak and easily bend not mater how good the jigsaw is the blade will just bend.  The blade your using is more for scribing some  joiners I know use it for scribing skirting I have done in the past but I do prefer coping saw.

I would increase the pendulum I always have max cuts easier n quicker but does shred little bit.

The reason why the metal twisted is properly how your turning the jigsaw you should let the jigsaw flow round it self with out you trying to twist it round the bend.

The burning you get is again because of your pendulum not being on the right setting.

My Cordless Carvex is coming  Tuesday I hope maybe Wed  so ill try it out my self and do a video of it.
 
Dan Clark said:
teemacs,

I've tried some Bosch blades.  I didn't particularly like them, even the new one. 

I've been very happy with Festool jigsaw blades, although I have a bunch of Lenox blades.   For use on a guide rail, try a Festool "S 75/4" or "S 105/4".

Regarding technique, I like to keep my arms locked to my sides and the fingers of one hand on the base plate for guidance.  That improves my cuts a lot.

Dan.

Thanks, Dan, but do you really think that Festool makes its own blades? I admit I don't know, but I'd be surprised if this were the case. I would have thought that it had them made by someone else and had the Festool brand put on them. They and the Boschs and the Metabos probably emerge from the same factory.
 
jmbfestool said:
I would recommend a standard wood blade not a skinny blade they are to weak and easily bend not mater how good the jigsaw is the blade will just bend.  The blade your using is more for scribing some  joiners I know use it for scribing skirting I have done in the past but I do prefer coping saw.

I would increase the pendulum I always have max cuts easier n quicker but does shred little bit.

The reason why the metal twisted is properly how your turning the jigsaw you should let the jigsaw flow round it self with out you trying to twist it round the bend.

The burning you get is again because of your pendulum not being on the right setting.

My Cordless Carvex is coming  Tuesday I hope maybe Wed  so ill try it out my self and do a video of it.

I was trying to let the jigsaw do the work, jmb, but it wanted to do something else. (Perhaps it sensed a bumbling incompetent at the helm and decided to have some fun).

I was working on the assumption that, for a curve, one would need (a) as narrow a blade as possible and (b) no pendulum whatsoever. Wrong on both counts?
 
I knew I saw a festool jigsawblade overview table somewhere, but couldn't remember where.. I finally located it, it was on Bob Marino's site: link, click on "view tip"

I'll probably get a carvex myself, but I'm not rushing, I think I'll wait a few months and see if they give some promotional stuff with it at a demonstration. (I got a nice sortainer in systainer 1 size with my protool circular saw (the thing was a promotional item only, I wanted to buy one to attach to the sortainer of my cordless drill, but they couldn't sell it)

I like a lot of the features; the strobelight, the angle base etc, but the lower weight sounds especially appealling.
 
teemacs said:
jmbfestool said:
I would recommend a standard wood blade not a skinny blade they are to weak and easily bend not mater how good the jigsaw is the blade will just bend.  The blade your using is more for scribing some  joiners I know use it for scribing skirting I have done in the past but I do prefer coping saw.

I would increase the pendulum I always have max cuts easier n quicker but does shred little bit.

The reason why the metal twisted is properly how your turning the jigsaw you should let the jigsaw flow round it self with out you trying to twist it round the bend.

The burning you get is again because of your pendulum not being on the right setting.

My Cordless Carvex is coming  Tuesday I hope maybe Wed  so ill try it out my self and do a video of it.

I was trying to let the jigsaw do the work, jmb, but it wanted to do something else. (Perhaps it sensed a bumbling incompetent at the helm and decided to have some fun).

I was working on the assumption that, for a curve, one would need (a) as narrow a blade as possible and (b) no pendulum whatsoever. Wrong on both counts?

No you don't need a thin blade at all for a curve unless your really really talking a sharp curve like as small as a pound coin.
Things like sheet material which is what you where using you don't need a thin blade. I have some thin blades but I never use them apart from scribing skirting  they never stay straight.

Unless I got it the wrong way round pendulum makes is easier to cut material so easier it cuts easier it can curve, normal blade can do a decent curve  and I am assuming because you where using the festool accessory to create a curve you were NOT trying to make a extremely sharp curve.

So yes in my opinion you where wrong in both ways lol sorry! lol  [tongue]

Soon as I get mine wish they had some in-stock Saturday they ran out apparently in Germany cus of high demands so some UK shops had a delay in delivery. I also bought the new kapex stand which should come Tuesday.

I paid

529 pounds incl for Cordless Carvex
375 pounds incl Kapex UG-KA-Set Base frame & legs

Good price!!!
 
JMB

was that 375 GBP including vat for the stand ?  I was quoted 350 + vat from my dealer.  They have just got 4 pallets of new gear so i will get my 240 volt Carvex this week  [big grin] but they don't have any drills yet so i will have to wait for the C15  [crying]  I notice the Axminster site is giving 3 Weeks waiting time on all new Festools !

Woodguy.
 
wintu said:
Hi Mike
thanks for your review.  can you tell us how  is dust extraction with this jigsaw compare to the old one?

thanks Paul

Hello Paul,

Sorry for this late reply.. have overlooked your question about the dust extraction quality..
Now for the dust extraction, i would say if you consider the better visabilty you may expect a tradeoff in dust collection quality, but to be honest.. my own experience with the carvex, even without splinter guard shows at least similar results, you would have using the PS300.. when you use the splinter guard, the results seem to be much better than the PS 300..

After closer investigation of the dust extraction port, i noticed an interesting form with a very smooth surface inside.. it seems the extracted air is acellerated by the form of the DC port, so the air forms some sort of a laminar flow which works very effective, even over some 20-25mm distance to the blade and surrounding.. this may also be the reason for the angled or bevelled base not requiring DC at all.. as the air is so fast inside the DC, it may result in an under pressure area around the saw blade.. My next video will show liitle more about the dust exctraction and cutting quality on varoiuos material and compared to the PS330 (which i still own) and my Granny Bosch GST65.. Hope to get it done by end of this week.

kind regards, Mike

 
woodguy7 said:
JMB

was that 375 GBP including vat for the stand ?  I was quoted 350 + vat from my dealer.  They have just got 4 pallets of new gear so i will get my 240 volt Carvex this week  [big grin] but they don't have any drills yet so i will have to wait for the C15  [crying]  I notice the Axminster site is giving 3 Weeks waiting time on all new Festools !

Woodguy.

? 375 including vat   woodguy

both including vat

Yours is like 410 including vat

dont kno y this forum doesnt do the pounds sign
 
jmbfestool said:
No you don't need a thin blade at all for a curve unless your really really talking a sharp curve like as small as a pound coin.
Things like sheet material which is what you where using you don't need a thin blade. I have some thin blades but I never use them apart from scribing skirting  they never stay straight.

Unless I got it the wrong way round pendulum makes is easier to cut material so easier it cuts easier it can curve, normal blade can do a decent curve  and I am assuming because you where using the festool accessory to create a curve you were NOT trying to make a extremely sharp curve.

So yes in my opinion you where wrong in both ways lol sorry! lol  [tongue]

Sorriness unnecessary, I'm always happy to be corrected by my betters (which is nearly everyone else!).
 
jmbfestool said:
teemacs said:
jmbfestool said:
I would recommend a standard wood blade not a skinny blade they are to weak and easily bend not mater how good the jigsaw is the blade will just bend.  The blade your using is more for scribing some  joiners I know use it for scribing skirting I have done in the past but I do prefer coping saw.

I would increase the pendulum I always have max cuts easier n quicker but does shred little bit.

The reason why the metal twisted is properly how your turning the jigsaw you should let the jigsaw flow round it self with out you trying to twist it round the bend.

The burning you get is again because of your pendulum not being on the right setting.

My Cordless Carvex is coming  Tuesday I hope maybe Wed  so ill try it out my self and do a video of it.

I was trying to let the jigsaw do the work, jmb, but it wanted to do something else. (Perhaps it sensed a bumbling incompetent at the helm and decided to have some fun).

I was working on the assumption that, for a curve, one would need (a) as narrow a blade as possible and (b) no pendulum whatsoever. Wrong on both counts?

No you don't need a thin blade at all for a curve unless your really really talking a sharp curve like as small as a pound coin.
Things like sheet material which is what you where using you don't need a thin blade. I have some thin blades but I never use them apart from scribing skirting  they never stay straight.

Unless I got it the wrong way round pendulum makes is easier to cut material so easier it cuts easier it can curve, normal blade can do a decent curve  and I am assuming because you where using the festool accessory to create a curve you were NOT trying to make a extremely sharp curve.

So yes in my opinion you where wrong in both ways lol sorry! lol  [tongue]

Soon as I get mine wish they had some in-stock Saturday they ran out apparently in Germany cus of high demands so some UK shops had a delay in delivery. I also bought the new kapex stand which should come Tuesday.

I paid

529 pounds incl for Cordless Carvex
375 pounds incl Kapex UG-KA-Set Base frame & legs

Good price!!!

using pendulum in a curve will cause an out of square cut because the bottom of the blade is cutting forward of the top so it is on a different part f the cut
 
I agree - pendulum action is designed to allow a blade to cut faster, and more agressively. Dean's statement that it would cause deflection sounds like a sound theory to me.

For curved work, I would always ensure that the pendulum action is turned off. That is my take on it, but if you're unsure then do some test cuts & see what difference it makes.

JRB
 
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