Hi I am a newbie and i want to buy a jigsaw do you think the blacker and decker scroller/orbital jigsaw FS5500JS is a good buy
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Replies
Hi ecoore,
If there is one tool where price makes a considerable difference in performance, it's the jig saw. I know, because I have a pile of inexpensive ones. They can be a pleasure or torture to use. You don't appreciate the torture part until you have used a good saw. Bosch and PC are the two most popular brands but Hitachi, Milwaukee, Metabo make nice saws, also. At the higher end is Festool. Good blades also make a big difference but they won't make a poor saw a good one, and some of the better blades may not fit all saws.
Normally, I don't comment on tool models that I haven't used or owned. I've never used the B&D you asked about. I'm guessing it's a $40 saw. A reconditioned Bosch is three times that price but I think you will get ten times the saw. You may save yourself the extra money just in sanding the first piece you build with it. I use a PC but the prices for a Bosch at the site below are pretty good. You will thank me 20 years from now.
http://bosch.cpotools.com/saws/jig_saws/corded_jig_saws/
Thanks i see that if u want a tool for years to come just buy a good one in the first place and the botch is the better buy.
In the case of a jigsaw, there really is a difference in the accuracy of the cut, ease of use as well as longevity. A saw that bounces all over, and you have to force through a cut, isn't any fun to use. With the better saws, you can skim right along a pencil mark. Jigsaws don't see a lot of use in a cabinet shop. They are better on the job site where you have to fit to irregular shapes. If it is one of the only tools you own, it can be used in many situations, cutting shapes, cutting to rough length, ripping a rough edge straight. It's not the best for making nice, finished, straight cuts. You often need to sand or plane the cut edge. Jigsaws don't normally do well when you try to run them against a straight cutting guide.The better saws have a nice, long, heavy duty cord. Almost all of the less expensive power tools standout just because of their short cords. Good saws have much stronger motors which translates into more strokes per minute. Orbital action makes a cutting long rips much easier. Scrolling features don't work that well. A good thin scrolling blade will make those tight turns. I think PC makes the best blades but they only fit PC saws. Bosch also makes some good blades. I'd make sure any saw will accept the better blades. The variety packs of those black blades, you see sold inexpensively, are useless. I have a couple of poor photos of a hutch I built years ago, mostly with a jigsaw. Outside of a hand coping saw, there aren't many tools that can make these shaped cuts.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
>Thanks i see that if u want a tool for years to come just buy a good one in the first place and the botch is the better buy.
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Golly, I just gotta laugh at this typo...
If "botch" were a tool company, I would own every tool they ever produced!(actually, isn't that the house brand at the big orange?).
And if spell check was never inverted, er ...a .. well... dang!
I just gotta laugh at myself too...
Smiles and have fun. Terry
Santa Barbara,CA
I have had a Bosch for 15 years. It is as good now as the day I bought it and it has been put through the ringer. Bosch also makes good blades. I would look at a reconditioned one if price is an issue.
I second the Bosch motion.
My 11 year old barrel grip is still the envy of the other carpenters. Paid for itself about 10 years ago.....
The only thing better is a good bandsaw.
The older I get, the better I was....
I'll third the Bosch recommendation - although I personally prefer the handled version over the barrel grip version. That's a highly personal thing though that you should try for yourself to see what feels more confortable. Other than that they're identical. The festool is probably better but I don't use a jigsaw enough to warrant the added cost.
If you build it he will come.
Fourth....Bosch, no question.
John
I guess I'm piling on here, but forget the cheap B&D, and think Bosch.
Festool, by most accounts, is now the standard setter in this category, taking over the spot occupied by Bosch for years.
********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
I still have a20yr old barrel grip Bosch that has given superb service ,doing alot of benchtop work bought the barrel grip festool it is nothing short of the best to the original post $40.00 is not enough money for a tool that will last and do good work the money would be better spent going to a good lunch.
Ecoore, when I saw the title of your post "best jigsaw to start with" my mental repsonse was "The one you want to end up with!" Trust me, I've thrown away more money on jigsaws than is reasonable for any sane, intellilgent human. Should have just bought a reallllly good one in the first place. I haven't used the Bosch, but it would be right up at the top of my list when doing research.
Listen to these guys, they know what they're talking about! A cheap jigsaw is simply a waste and will very much lessen any enjoyment you might get out of your project.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Add my voice to the Bosch choir, I actually prefer the metabo but I don't think it's enough better to justify the price difference. That being said you may be able to talk a dealer into putting a Metabo in your hands for the same price. Smoother saw, 3 year warranty, better dust collection, epoxy coated windings etc. Personally I prefer the barrel grip, but as noted by a previous poster purely personal preference. Try to use them personally before you buy because if you get a good one you will have it for many years!
I have a Bosch, not the newest model. It was a vast improvement over my old Dewalt. That said I recently purchased the Dewalt 18V jigsaw. I LOVE it. powerful and smooth. And so very, very convienient. I just leave it lying around and grab it whenever I need a quick cut. No cord to hassle and that is worth a lot! I own another battery so running out of power is not a real problem. So if you need a jigsaw for commercial or great amounts of cutting, perhaps a corded saw would be the better option. But if not, the incredible convienience of the battery operated jig saw is worth considering.
Are you talking about a tool you hold in your hand for freehand cutting - or, might it be a scrollsaw, which I define as a table mounted, fine bladed saw for intricate work?
Jerry
It's pretty clear by his original post he really is talking about a jigsaw:
"blacker and decker scroller/orbital jigsaw FS5500JS is a good buy...."
Model number, even. I don't think B&D makes a scroll saw. At least I hope not, ROFL!!!!!!!! Wouldn't that be a hoot?!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Sorry! I missed that Model # bit. So many posts come from overseas*, I was thinking of the teminology confusion we run into.JerryWhen I fisrt 'joined' I was amazed at the number of posts timed in the wee, dark hours of the morning. Then it dawned on me that these were written many time zones to the East.
"...posts timed in the wee, dark hours of the morning. " I know what you mean! Last year, I ran an eBay fund-raising auction, selling a piece made by a woodworker in Australia. My email was drivin' me nuts, because his messages would stay on top for half-a-day, as other more current emails would sail in and fall in line behind the one I had received "tomorrow."forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Back in my younger days, I was led to believe a jig saw sat on a table, as you mentioned as a possibility. The thing you gripped in your hand was a sabre saw. Other names of tools have change also. Is this fact or am I fantasizing?
I put this in another thread, I remember it this way:
Old Term
New Term
circular saw
table saw
skill saw
circular saw
jigsaw
scroll saw
sabre saw
jigsawMy goal is for my work to outlast me. Expect my joinery to get simpler as time goes by.
Old Term - New Term
You bit the nail on the head. Because they have put new names to tools, does that mean that the old names have become obsolete? And at what time did they become obsolete?
Do you agree with the following?
Old New
Jointer Planer Jointer
Jointer Planer, Planer Jointer Planer
Sliding Tee Bevel Tee Bevel
Monkey wrench I saw one of
those once.
Three of us: John D., you and I must be about the same age. I agree. Saber saw is what I called it.Jerry
I don't know what age all of you are, but Viagra has divided us into the Four Ages of Man:
"Viagra? What's that?"
"Viagra? Who'd need that?"
"Viagra? Heh heh <wink>"
"Viagra? Maybe tomorrow. I'm tired."My goal is for my work to outlast me. Expect my joinery to get simpler as time goes by.
Seventy three. How about you?
79 - and I love, and live, every minute of it. I play tennis with the 40-50 year-olds when I'm not in the shop. I guess I.m lucky to have had good parents.Jerry
Oh, wow. At seventy nine, that is great. I never was very good at tennis and this old body is slowing down noticeably, but I can still swing a pick or sledge some. Hope I can still do it at seventy nine. Congratulations.
Another vote for the Bosch (I like the new one--model 1590). The cheap ones (B&D, Skil, GMC, etc.) really aren't worth the struggle. If money is an issue, the Hitachis get good reviews and have a good feel to them, and, if I recall correctly, are not super expensive.
Elliott
A couple of thoughts. The big boys (Bosch & Milwaukee) are great. they are probably the best out there. But best for you or your application?
A band saw is really the tool of choice for curved woodworking, or a scroll saw, and possibly a sabresaw. Each has an application. Unless your name is Gates you probably have to make choices like the rest of us.
I've seen friends do routing with B&D drills from 1950, cut the (in the owners mind) goofy pencil posts from his bed with a bayonette saw, and cope boards with a skil saw. Every tool can be misused to get a job done. Since the time of stone axes we've been carving and scooping materials to make what we see in our mind.
The craftsmanship is in the hands of the artisan. Not the tool.
I address this to you because you said you are a newbie. As a freshman to this university you have to keep your options open. First priority (if you are married) is to make your mate happy with the time you spend in the garage backyard or basement. That means you need to make the benches for flowerpots and mscl honeydoo list construction projects. It is a problem and an opportunity.
Yea working the "white wood" from HD isn't as satisfying as carving mahogany but the opportunity is you get experience on something you have the excuse to say "yea I knocked that out for her flowerpots" (subtitled ...I got to buy this nifty Porter cable 7-1/4 inch circular saw)
Mercinary for sure but everyone gets what they want. Your mate, a bench and a strapping young construction worker, you a new powertool, experience, and maybe lucky.
The big (long term) picture is what do you need?
1. Tablesaw - Ripping And cutting most everything (cross cutting long things poorly)
2. Mitersaw (on a Sawbuck)- Cutting long things accurately and short thin things too.
3. Router
4. Bandsaw
From here tool selection gets task specific. Sabresaws, Bandsaws, Shapers, Jointers and thickness planers intermingle with a host of hand tools, and the gift family and friends should be told you need, CLAMPS.
This assumes you have the skilsaw and the drill already. (my favorite wedding gift for the any relatives by the way)
SO what is my point? Pick the projects to fill your quiver of tools. If you don't make your mate happy nothing works out. No projects, no tools, no ...entertainment. And as to the selection of which sabresaw to buy.. sometimes the 20 dollar project doesn't justify the 240 dollar saw. If you long term want a band saw don't waste your powder on a make do tool. In the early stage you need to keep focused on the tools you need long term. In my mind a sabersaw is really low. A 500 $ bandsaw now we're talking about a tool of your future.
If money is tight start with chisels, handplanes, spur bits & Japanese backsaws.
Edited 4/25/2006 12:30 pm by booch
Edited 4/25/2006 1:42 pm by booch
Ecoore,
Bootch is a sensible chap. Your first question should be, do I need a jigsaw?
In 8 years of woodworking, largely of the cabinet-making kind, a jigsaw is one of the few tools I have never bought. As I have bought every other tool (powered and unpowered) known to woodworking kind (except a mortiser) this might tell you something about jigsaws. They are not the most efficient of sawing tools, for cabinet making at least.
On the other hand, if your woodworking is of the mobile kind (that is, mostly on a site not in a shop) I'm sure a jigsaw will be most useful. Festool is probably the best, if their other tools are anything to go by; but have you the dollars?
Lataxe.
What's the first thread I happen to read over on SMC this evening but this. Deja Vu. Pretty amazing price. Dont know if the barrel grip version has the same deal or not.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=35374
If you build it he will come.
The Bosch has been outstanding for me--after enduring two cheapos before that.
John
I'd agree with previous posts- if you plan on using the saw much spend the extra $; think in the long run you'll find the B&D an exercise in frustration. Bosch is good though I prefer my current Milwaukee to the Bosch 1581 I previously owned and 1587's I've used- smoother, more power and far easier blade changes.
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