Want to thank all over the past several years who have bragged on the Bosch jigsaw. Santa finally brought me one — barrel style. I have used it three times since Christmas.
WOW!
There is NO comparison to the old jigsaws (I have three old ones to be thrown out now). Sure, it is heavy, no speed control on the trigger, and no laser light. However, the dust collection (with optional dust collector shroud) works great. Probably the best hand power tool dust collection of any of my tools. The blades are SHARP. Enough to be dangerous if you are used to the old blades I have been buying.
Again, thanks to all who suggested I get this one. Especially Sarge!
Happy New Year.
A bad day woodworking is better than a good day working — yes, I’m retired!
Replies
Congrats, Tree, and you have my envy. Some day.........
Tree, congrats and welcome to the club. It amazes me that Bosch does not give any serious press to this tool. The tool stores sell the best deals that they buy and the mags review them for bells and whistles or some other esoteric values.
For the benefit of the rest of us.
The bad news-
-it costs more than the larger top handle.
-it will get hot if you push her too hard. Perhaps your hand is over the air vents or you are pushing too hard? (ya have to remember it's not a saws-all)
-not usually stocked in large home centers.
The good news-
-With a hollow ground Bosch blade you can write you name with this saw, no problem.Get to understand blade type/speed vs. wood.
-I heard that Bosch has new/better blades . Has anyone tried them?
You should save an old saw for the dirty work like cutting composite cement shingles or old rusty pipe and save the Queen for more eloquent and artistic tasks. All the best Paddy
"I heard that Bosch has new/better blades . Has anyone tried them"?.....
I decided to address this to all Patty since I have tried them. I have been using Bosch jig-saw blades since I got a Bosch barrel grip about 6-7 (?) years ago. Best jig-saw.. best blades IMO but....
The Bosch "Extra Clean" blade in Not Hype... it is exactly that! And we are not talking about smooth on the up side... we are talking extremely smooth on both sides of the stock. After I purchased a 5 pack.. I went out and got another 5 pack in fear they might pull them off the market even though I cannot imagine why? :>)
Hope that helps....
Sarge..
I tried cutting cement board the other day. Cut fairly well for a bout six inches, then it got dull. A couple more inches it got very dull and then very very dull - like cutting tool steel with a cotton string. I think I finished up with an old chisel and mallet. Now that worked fairly well.
Tink, I kept a JS and a CS , old sears or hardware store brands from the 50's and 60's for cutting ugly stuff with grit blades. Paddy
That or an old Chisel. I can't think of any other way to cut cement board. What is a CS - a coping saw perhaps?
Edited 1/10/2009 7:52 pm ET by Tinkerer3
Tink, for shame?? Circular saw- 7 1/4". Not to worry I miss half the short hand around here. Paddy
You now own a great jigsaw! Do yourself a favor and pick up a package of the 308B "Extra Clean" blades. These things are incredible! I demonstrated this awhile back in my shop to a Doubting Thomas. I had a small piece of 18mm Baltic birch that I crosscut with a Ridge 2000 blade. He agreed that it was a very smooth cut...as good as he had seen from a tablesaw. I then marked out another crosscut on the other end of the piece and did a freehand cut with the Bosch blade and the jigsaw orbit set to the lowest level. The cut was noticeably smoother than the tablesaw cut and there was absolutely no chipout on either face. He said that it felt like he was rubbing his finger against a piece of plate glass.
I don't think the Orange Borg carries these yet, but I've found them in almost every Lowes I've checked. They're usually priced at somewhere between $12 and $14, and worth more! My only issue now is what to do with all the other Bosch blades I owned before these were introduced!
Regards,
Ron
I agree that Bosch blades are far superior. I got into a debate a while back about whether Bosch or Festool blades are better. We found out that Bosch makes Festool's blades. I haven't tried the new Bosch blades, but instead use the Progressor blades. They look really, really coarse, with 18 teeth over the length of a 4" blade. As a test, I made a crosscut across maply ply and was surprise to have a clean cut on both sides. By the way, I own an orange B&D jigsaw which is probably older that I am.
Chris @ www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
(soon to be www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
I thought the Progressors were the cat's meow... until I bought a 5 pack of Extra Cleans. There is a difference.. trust me. As far as the Festool jig-saw blades made by Bosch.. I have not used a Festool but it is very obvious to me that Festool blades are better. The price is more than Bosch and you "always" get what you pay for..... right?
ha.. ha... ha..ha..ha..
Regards from someone who would not trade my used Bosch barrel grip for a new FT jig-saw even swap... that's hard-core. And of course that will open a can of worms but I will be in my shop chuckling away as fishing is not on my agenda today.. hee...............
Sarge..
Edited 1/6/2009 11:14 am ET by SARGEgrinder47
Sarge,The marketing sure makes me think that they are better, but the Progressors leave little, if anything to be desired.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com(soon to be http://www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
I've got a few Progressors still in my jig-saw case. I'll gift wrap them... put them outside the shop and leave the outside flood light on. Just pick em up at your convenience. Meanwhile.. invest in a 5 pack of the Extra Clean and if you don't see a difference... e-mail me and I'll buy them and pay the shipping.
I'm a fun kind of guy... especially when I know in advance you will see the difference but forget the advertising and don't take my word for it... you won't regret it..
Sarge..
Ok, you've convinced me to try them. When I see them in the store, I'll pick up a pack. By the way, do you know if they are available in U shank? Old B&Ds don't have toolless blade changes!Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com(soon to be http://www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
The one's I got are T shank for the Bosch barrel grip. I did not notice if they had U shanks on the shelf or not. As soon as I saw T shank I picked up a pack and then got another on the next trip. I probably have to to to Lowe's this afternoon to pick up some odd's and end's on several small boxes I am in the middle of.
I will look to see and you might to to the Bosch main web-site to see if they list them... or just call Bosch technical support or customer service.
Regards...
Sarge..
Sarge,I raided several Lowes on a Thanksgiving trip to the US and returned to Canada with 6 packages! That should hold me until someone gets around to importing them into Canada. I went through several stores and never found more than 1 pack on hand. None of them were U-style.When they finally get up here, I suspect they will probably be listed for $20 a package. Still worth it, in my opinion!Ron
My Lowe's about 4 miles away has about 12-15 packs hanging on the rack. Perhaps if you can't get them... Extra Clean blade smuggling could be a prosperous venture up someone....... gitty up little GTO. ha.. ha...
BTW... a 6 pack should hold you until you sober up... :>)
Regards...
Sarge
Gosh Sarge,
We could both make some cash smuggling Bosch blade to the North State. The problem is we both live sorta South. Guess we will leave the riches to someone on the border! :-)
Oh well! Gonna go fishing!
A bad day woodworking is better than a good day working -- yes, I'm retired!
Maybe in the summer but.. that snow stuff is cold they tell me.
Just a note to gonna go fishing..
It ain't what color lure you use.. it's all in the presentation... :>)
Sarge..
What's "snow"?A bad day woodworking is better than a good day working -- yes, I'm retired!
From what I read they are only available in T style. I will have to try these after reading here about them.
Doug M
"Just pick them up at your convenience."
Not on your life. I remember the last time I was down there and some cranky guy met me at the door with that 45 in hand. The wife wouldn't even offer to send the body back. Ha!
Edited 1/10/2009 12:59 am ET by Tinkerer3
If you made it to the front door Sarge must have liked you. You would have expired a thousands yards out if he did'nt want your company!!
................................................
Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.~ Denis Diderot
Unfortunately.. close quarters anymore. The rural county outside Atlanta that I grew up decided to grow up about 30 years ago. So... I could walk outside my home and fire 8 rounds (a clip) from my .45 Auto straight up and when they came down it would most likely kill 8 people.
But with the boom currently stopped in it's tracks... on second thought it might just hit 8 fore-closure signs. Probably a good thing mine was paid off 4 years ago.
Back to my nap to await strangers with northern tags as they seem to enjoy stopping by on their way to Florida and paying to see alligator wrestling. Some things just aren't affected by the economy. You have to have entertainment regardless of the price. ha.. ha...
Regards from my southern sanctuary many refer to as the fort...
Sarge..
A couple of years ago when my jig saw quit working i too bought a Bosch due to many positive posts here and elsewhere. I must say that I'm sure glad that I listened to those who suggested the Bosch. While I had a lot of problems with my Bosch sander, the jig saw is a real workhorse. As others have said, the blades are fantastic as well and I haven't even tried their new line of blades.
Does your jig saw have a particular Model Number or such? ----WW 57
WW57,
This is the model that I received:Bosch 1591EVSK 6.4 Amp Barrel Grip JigsawI also received the dust collection option and it works great! Almost no dust. (Turn off the blower on the jigsaw)I hesitate to recommend tools or restaurants but this jigsaw is awesome.Maybe I just got a good one but most everyone on knots agree that it is a great saw!Good luck,81TreehouseA bad day woodworking is better than a good day working -- yes, I'm retired!
Thanks for the info-------WW 57
Snow is what you get when you leave rain out in the winter.
I know as I have 9" of it on the front lawn right now. (I had 9" of it on the drive but that is why I have a tractor).
As for the sale of blades to those that live south of my (we call them Canadians, and Yes I have to go South across the bridge to get to them) I live close enough that we could look into the idea. Besides in this day of free trade should we not be able to just take them across?
Doug M
Doug,
Just looked in the new McFeeleys catalog. The new 2009 is big! They list 16 (sixteen) different blades for the Bosch jig saw!
Don't know if they ship towards the North pole but might check it out.
We sometimes have water left out and when it gets cold it becomes that clear stuff you can use to cool drinks such as Jack, Beefeaters, Johnny, Jose, etc.
A bad day woodworking is better than a good day working -- yes, I'm retired!
Well in order to get snow you really need to add in a little wind durring the making of it. Otherwise you get waters normal form, solid (you call it ice we call it what water looks like for about half the year) ANd if they ship to the great north (Canada) then my retirement plan of running them into Canada is out the window. Oh well another great idea wiped out by reality.
Doug M
And another smart man that believes in barrel grip. They are the best saws bar none. The intricate coping that I can do with my barrel grip is amazing
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