need mother of all jig saws

[Charlie Fox]

any suggestions? i need a no-nonsense tool able to cut 6' long curvy cuts through 2" mesquite and other hardwoods. all i have ever had is basic handyman models, now i need a brute.
i want corded. Festool has several models and i am not real sure the difference. i will doing a lot of heavy work with this so i am prepared to pay for what i get. i.e. $500 for the rotex 150mm sander is what i call good quality for the bucks. same thing here.

[Matt Krusen]

Festool Carvex or the Bosch. People seem to generally agree that those are the two best jigsaws available.

[Dale Murray]

I am quite pleased with my Bosch JS572EBL.

[Charlie Fox]

found this:

http://www.toolboxbuzz.com/head-to-head/best-corded-top-handle-jig-saw-comparison/

looks like Bosch over Festool for my needs.......

[James Zhu]

Best jigsaw, Mafell P1CC.

http://www.timberwolftools.com/tools/mafell/MAF-P1cc.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_qkzWHfETs

[Greg R Bradley]

I have both Bosch 1590 and Festool 300 and feel the Bosch is a bit better on heavy work, while the Festool is a bit better on lighter work and has slightly better dust collection. I REALLY like the variable speed up to a speed limit set by a dial of the Bosch vs the on/off soft start up to the speed set by a dial on the Festool.

We know the JS572 is a bunch more expensive than the 1590 but we don't know if it is any better.

The Mafell P1cc is vastly better than both but also more expensive than both added together. I have a friend that builds wooden boats that bought the P1cc when it was only available 230 volt 50 Hz and used a convert so he could use that saw. Very impressive.

Edited to add: I see James posted while I did. Similar conclusions. Watch the video! Don't forget this extreme use requires Mafell Cuprix blades at high prices but will also use the same Bosch/Festool blades for normal use.

[Charlie Fox]

thanks - thats 900w = ~7.5 amps - more than the Bosch 7.2 amps - but $730 vs $290 for .3 amps, when power is more desired than precision, it looks like a lot of the $$$ is in precision for the Mafell. ....hmmmm.....thanks again - great food for thought

[cody michael]

could you use a bandsaw for these cuts? I'm sure you could get a decent bandsaw for a lot less then some of these jigsaws....

[Malcolm McLeod]

Search for "HEMA ZS 20". It is a not the mother, but rather THE MOTHER! Priced accordingly.

Not quite a jigsaw, but suspect it will get the job done.

[Charlie Fox]

want to make cuts like this, some may be full length cuts, out of 8/4 mesquite and walnut. obviously a band saw is not the tool. i like festool - but it is is about 1/2 to power of the bosch. now between the 1590 and JS572..... any blade recommendations for this heavy of work?


http://www.coyotewoodshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/August_06.jpg

[Mike Heidrick]

any blade recommendations for this heavy of work?



Bosch T308B Xtra-Clean

[Peter Kelly]

want to make cuts like this, some may be full length cuts, out of 8/4 mesquite and walnut.I think any jigsaw blade is going to drift around pretty significantly in 8/4 hardwood. The horizontal joinery shown on the table top in the photo seems more like a router and template operation.

[Lester Sak]

I've never used one, but the Mafell P1CC looks like a really serious machine @ $735 (http://www.timberwolftools.com/tools/mafell/MAF-P1cc.html).
Here's a video showing it going head to head against a Festool CARVEX PS420 EBQ-Plus - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5LeKf2_C_w. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5LeKf2_C_w)

[James Zhu]

I think any jigsaw blade is going to drift around pretty significantly in 8/4 hardwood. The horizontal joinery shown on the table top in the photo seems more like a router and template operation.

Check this video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQgVlAzQolE, cutting joinery on 8/4 walnut with Mafell's P1cc Jigsaw and 1100 F Guiderail.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plULNidSs30, p1cc cuts 145mm (5.7 inch!) timber.

Also, this video( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJPqf2Ymd2I ) is very impressive.

[Martin Wasner]

You need a band saw. They make them for doing beam and timer framing. Buckle up though, they're spendy.

A jig saw would be an aggravating tool to use for that.

[Rick Potter]

I missed it if you said you wanted a smooth cut, or were doing initial shaping, so I will throw this out to you. Milwaukee Sawzall (The Hatchet). It is 7 1/2 amps and is definitely a 'brute'. The handle folds down to become an oversized jig saw, and you can get lots of specialty blades online. It weighs about 10# and is very strong. Got mine on sale for $99.

If you are looking for finesse, this isn't it.

EDIT: I just tried looking up this saw, and could not find it. Apparently the cordless version is still available, but not the corded. Too bad, it was rated 5 star on Amazon.

[Anthony Whitesell]

You need a band saw. They make them for doing beam and timer framing. Buckle up though, they're spendy.

A jig saw would be an aggravating tool to use for that.

Unfortunately, I have to agree. Cutting is about chip removal. If the blade stroke is shorter (much shorter) than the material thickness, then the chips can't clean and the blade can't cut. I have tried to use a jigsaw to cut a 2x4 and it is miserable task. A bandsaw can clear the chips as it doesn't have an upstroke, it pulls the chips through and out. Check Craigslist up may be able to find a used 14" bandsaw (prefer Jet, Delta, Rikon when going used, avoid Reliant, Central Machinery) in the middle of the prices quoted above and will be twice the machine as any jig saw.

[Greg R Bradley]

Watch the video mentioned by James Zhu of the P1cc cutting 5.7" thick timbers. Here is the link again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plULNidSs30

I can easily believe it because I've watched a friend do curving cuts in 4.5" thick white oak and was just astonished.

The work linked by the OP here: http://www.coyotewoodshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/August_06.jpg shows curves that could be easily done by a P1cc. BUT you need to realize that most demos of the P1cc all are using the Cunix blades. I am a bit confused by the lap joint shown at the end. If that is used all the way through the joint, then it seems all jigsaws won't work.

The Cunix blades are expensive and only work in a P1cc. They do give you straight cuts, lack of blade bending on curves, and the ability to do an amazingly tight curve compared to blade length. They are are twice as wide at the teeth than at the back edge and are very rigid. They are also expensive. The P1cc will also use regular Bosch/Festool, etc. blades.

[Jim Dwight]

2 inch hardwood is not an issue at all for my Bosch barrel jig saw. You have to push a button on the top handle and rotate it and then twist the blade to change blades - not sure which model that is but it's 10 years or so old (and still works very well). I have cut 3.5 inch thick pressure treated wood with it and it does fine. I don't think I've cut similarly thick hardwood with it but would do so if I need to. If the grain doesn't encourage the blade to tilt it cuts quite square. Sometimes the grain is an issue and there is a bit of an angle to the cut. This isn't significantly a function of the saw. All they can do is have a guide that goes up and down with the blade which it has (cheap jig saws do not). The blade is unsupported after it goes through the base and it therefore has the chance to tilt. That is true of all jigsaws and is a reason a band saw will cut more reliably square. But bandsaws will not do every cut a jigsaw will do. Most of the time the jigsaw cut is square enough. I haven't seen a review that said another jigsaw was significantly better than a Bosch.

I've also used an inexpensive jig saw before and it was totally frustrating. You have to realize that a good jigsaw with orbital action and a decent motor is a totally different tool. The orbital action speeds up the cut a lot. The better saws also have a 1 inch stroke versus not much more than half that for an inexpensive saw. Good jigsaws cut about as fast as a circular saw. They are not slow cutting tedious tools. I also use my Bosch to cut steel up to 1/4 inch. That goes much slower but with the right blade goes pretty well.

[Matt Day]

What exactly is the OP going
To use this saw for?

Cutting the end of the table shown in the picture you attached? Why not a router or CS with guide? Cheaper and probably a smoother straighter cut.

[ken masoumi]

want to make cuts like this, some may be full length cuts, out of 8/4 mesquite and walnut. obviously a band saw is not the tool. i like festool - but it is is about 1/2 to power of the bosch. now between the 1590 and JS572..... any blade recommendations for this heavy of work?


http://www.coyotewoodshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/August_06.jpg

A few months ago I was also looking for recommendations on the best jigsaw and jigsaw blades in this (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?227923-Question-for-Bosch-JS1591-jigsaw-owners&highlight=Bosch+JS1591)thread and that was the first time I had ever heard of Progressor jigsaw blades,I ended up buying a whole punch of these blades in a box set , they are definitely thicker and more robust than your average T shank blades, there's less chance of them bending or breaking during a cut but what really impressed me the most with these progressor blades was the quality of the cut they can produce, of course you have to chose the right blade which brings me to the following chart I found on Bosch tools dot com, the chart will help you find the most appropriate blade(s) for cutting all sorts of materials such as metal, wood, plastic, etc.
http://www.boschtools.com/Products/Accessories/Pages/BoschProductSubCategory.aspx?catid=1098


I have used my JS 572 (Barrel grip) a few times and can tell you it is in fact a decent (or as you said:"no- nonsense") jigsaw with tons of power/ beefy blade guide mechanism.I was really tired of mediocre cuts, frustrating performance of the cheap jigsaws I had owned in the past and wanted to(once and for all) buy a good quality(or at least better than average but reliable) jigsaw so I chose JS572, although the price was too high for my taste, but I forgot about that soon after I used it.
As far as which blades for the task, T308B25 ,T344D/(or DF) seem to be the right ones.

[Martin Wasner]

A place I used to work at had a timber framing shop as well as the cabinet shop. I don't remember what I had to do with it, but I used one of these (http://www.timbertools.com/Products/HEMA-portable-bandsaw-wood.html) and it was pretty awesome. I tried getting a buddy of mine who was doing a ton of pergolas at the time to buy one since we were doing it about the most asinine way possible. Long jig saw blades to rough the shape, then using a templating bit in a router to final the profile. I think there was a huge amount of handwork left to do since the bit wouldn't make it through the entire thickness of the material. On rough lumber, you can do a finish cut with that bandsaw that blends in with the rest of the material faces.