Can any saber saw really cut a true vertical line?

[Sam Murdoch]

I have been using a Bosch 1587AVS
257462for many years now - usually with the Bosch T101B blades. I throw in a new blade every time I need to make an important cut. No matter the condition of the blade or the softness or hardness of the wood I can never seem to get a true vertical cut in stock thicker than 1/2". I have the option of adjusting the attack angle of the blade and I know as much as one can know that my plate is at a right angle to the blade, but it is a crap shoot how the cut will come out no matter what setting or blade I use. I might be the source of the problem sometime but I am a trained professional :rolleyes:- I can't be so off every time - can I? :confused:

This Bosch is the best I have ever used in this regard but I'm asking if I really have to accept bad cuts as the nature of this tool or are some newer models more accurate? I think of course of the Festools or even a 2013 version of the Makita or Bosch models. Does any one have some real world experience? Thanks for opinions.

[Peter Quinn]

The new ones with the improved blade guide work better. I have the 1587 at home and use the 1590 at work, the 1590 is a lot better. Metabo and festool make versions with good blade guides too. Feed speed and pressure are important to, if you don't let the blade do the cutting things go wonky quickly, I know this because I'm a notorious over feeder. Just like a bs, the correct blade for the material is important too. Too many teeth for the thickness will cause the blade to follow the grain on rip cuts, most saber saw cuts involve at least some rip cutting.

But in honesty, IME , they are not really super precise cutting instruments like a guided track saw or router and template can be.

[John McClanahan]

I'm waiting for others to answer first.

John

[John Bailey]

I've got the 1590. When I want a good cut like you are asking, I use one of the blades that cut clean both up and down. I've used with a guide and it does pretty good. Having said that, it's never going to be like a circular saw.

[Jeff Duncan]

Oh c'mon John....jump right in:D

My feeling is the jigsaw is not a great tool for precision cutting. I've used a bunch of different saws at different shops over the years and settled on the Bosch myself. With a sharp blade cutting slowly through stable material the cut usually stays fairly square. However once you try it with hardwoods you have grain to deal with. Being that the jigsaw blade is by design unsupported on one end, your at the mercy of the wood grain your cutting. I still use one on almost every install and it gets the job done, just not usually for precision cuts. I find other ways to do those;) Oh and FWIW I have NOT tried the Festool, though they say they do track better???

good luck,
JeffD

[johnny means]

I find that no one ever knows the right way to turn a jigsaw. Most people will grip the handle and twist with there wrist causing the blade to flex away from the turn. Turns should be made in such a way that the blade is at the center of the turn. Think bandsaw or scrollsaw. Eurostyle saws with the knob above the blade are great for this. I dont have one of these so I grip my jigsaw around the front with my thumb throufh the hole.

[David Helm]

It is the nature of the blade and the nature of wood. The blade does not have guidance low on it so can be deflected. The varying degrees of hardness in the wood grain is very good at deflecting blades.

[johnny means]

257463

I don't have my saw right now, but this blender will illustrate the grip I use just fine.

[Andrew Joiner]

I have the 1590. It cuts surprisingly square in very dense hardwood. By far it's the squarest cutting sabre/jig saw I've had over the years. The 1590 has hardened guides that ride on the blade, plus the grooved bearing guide. Does the 1587 have that?

[Sam Murdoch]

You guys are all telling me what I had begrudgingly accepted as the reality of saber saws - don't expect much! Just hoping to get some feedback on newer models in case there is some technology that I have missed. Johnny - I wasn't even considering curved cuts - just aggravated by the quality of my straight cuts. I know that it's not a track saw but...:(

No guides that ride on the blade Andrew, but it does have the grooved bearing.

[Greg R Bradley]

The Bosch 1587 is a good jigsaw that is durable.

The 1590/1591 is a GREAT jigsaw. The extra lower guide helps to solve your problem along with proper blade choice. It is built as well as your 1587 but has the better guide mechanism, better blade change system, and available dust extraction option. Supposedly, the new JS372 replaces the 1590/1591 but for $300 it should. I've examined them in-person and can't see how it can be as good.

The Festool Trion has a blade guide mechanism that looks to be almost as good as the 1590/1591 as long as you don't change blade thickness often.

The only Jigsaw I've seen cut squarer than the 1590/1591 is the Mafel P1cc, but only if you use their cuprex blades at around $20 each. The guys that build wood boats say they are incredible.

I would go grab a 1590/1591 before they disappear.

[John McClanahan]

I have a Bosch 1591, and the extra blade stabilizers help. I use the better Bosch blades with the ground teeth and that helps too. I also feed at a slower speed and that helps too. Even then, it the blade tip wanders, I'm not too surprised.:cool:

John

[Pat Barry]

No. It can't be counted on for that purpose.

[Dave Lehnert]

I have been using a Bosch 1587AVS
257462for many years now - usually with the Bosch T101B blades. I throw in a new blade every time I need to make an important cut. No matter the condition of the blade or the softness or hardness of the wood I can never seem to get a true vertical cut in stock thicker than 1/2". I have the option of adjusting the attack angle of the blade and I know as much as one can know that my plate is at a right angle to the blade, but it is a crap shoot how the cut will come out no matter what setting or blade I use. I might be the source of the problem sometime but I am a trained professional :rolleyes:- I can't be so off every time - can I? :confused:

This Bosch is the best I have ever used in this regard but I'm asking if I really have to accept bad cuts as the nature of this tool or are some newer models more accurate? I think of course of the Festools or even a 2013 version of the Makita or Bosch models. Does any one have some real world experience? Thanks for opinions.

I have the exact same saw for many years and have the same cutting issue as you do. There has to be a problem with that model saw. It is about the only higher ticket tool I m sorry I purchased.

[phil harold]

I dont have problems with straight cuts going thru 1.75" doors with a fresh blade but seems over 2" thick I get problems
curved cuts thru thick material is a dicey proposition...

[ian maybury]

I've a De Walt and out of experience refuse to use it for anything requiring a vertical cut - having seen scary amounts of drifts occur below the surface of say a laminated worktop.

It makes sense that some saws are a bit better (tighter guides etc) than others - and that a higher quality stiffer and perhaps more accurately sharpened blade may help - but realistically i've always concluded that the core problem is the floppy blade. Worse still that if a bit of a tilt gets started in a curved cut that the dynamic is somehow to continue to worsen the tilt.

Feeding gently and choosing a good (and not too long) blade definitely reduces the risk, but there's often a seemingly random factor about that doesn't inspire confidence. No doubt i'm missing something (i've not put time into debugging it - but suspect that it's even tiny amounts of sidewards pressure that cause most of the problem), but it's still a bit of a lottery here too.

This gentleman begs to differ, and offers some ways of getting around the issues. He even talks about cutting profiles on the feet on finished furniture in situ (brave man!!): http://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/master_the_jigsaw

ian

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I had a saw that did a pretty nasty job on vertical cuts once, it was a black and decker that got replaced with a makita, which was better. That was replaced with a 1590/91, whichever one the barrel grip is, and situation massively improved. You have to use a good blade, but that saw will do it's part.

[Sam Murdoch]

The 1590/1591 is a GREAT jigsaw. The extra lower guide helps to solve your problem along with proper blade choice.
I would go grab a 1590/1591 before they disappear.

This might be the best solution. The Mafel P1cc sounds like a great tool as well but I use the saber saw as a helper and the price of that one makes it more of the boss - other tools like the Festool TS55, I'm the helper, or at least a colleague :rolleyes:. I don't demand much of my saber saw but I would like it to cut a more straight vertically than what it does now, otherwise I can do better by hand.

[Cary Falk]

I would go grab a 1590/1591 before they disappear.

It might be too late. The last 5 at CPO Bosch are all gone. I think the only ones left will be on the used makret like E-bay, CL , and Pawn Shops.

[John Gornall]

When cutting curves in thick material the sabersaw usually deflects towards the inside of the curve so there's still wood to be removed to "fix" the cut. The Portercable 121 portable ocillating spindle sander is the answer - not sure if they still make them.

[Steve Baumgartner]

I also have a 1590. It does a better job than anything I had previously, but I still sometimes get a bevel. I don't think it is a question of squareness of the blade to the base. If it was blade-to-base alignment, all the cuts would have the same slant, and I could adjust it out. Instead, the amount of bevel is variable, even on a single cut. It may start square and then wander midway. What I have noticed is that once a bevel gets started, it tends to steer the end of the blade and thereby to self-perpetuate. So, the (easy to say, hard to do) key is to avoid starting a bevel. For me, the most common starting point seems to be when the cut wanders a tad off the line and I try to get back on. It takes a lot of care to avoid pushing to the side or trying to steer back too quickly. Either of those actions puts side force on the blade and voila - bevel!

[Lee Schierer]

Yes and No. I can get some pretty precise cuts in thick (1-1/2) stock with my Bosch barrel grip using the progressor style blades. I really like the T-234X blades for straight cuts. They also give a smooth surface comparable to a TS cut. However, they really don't like cutting curves because the blade is fairly wide (nearly 3/8"). For cutting curves you want a narrow blade and you have to let the saw determine the speed of the cut, if you force it, the result will be an out of square cut. The tighter the radius the narrower the blade needs to be, just like a band saw.