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Posted (edited)

Bandsaw is better. You get a straight 90 degree cut whereas a jig saw blade will always bend one way or another. The result is more work at truing the edges.

Edited by Southpa
Posted

I only have a Jigsaw (a sturdy, poweful Metabo), and that just about allows me to make the cuts I need. Not always straight, but still, works out OK. I hear really good things about the pro blue Bosch jigsaws, but seriously, as soon as I get the space, the first large power tool I'm buying is a bandsaw. Because while it works (if you've got a router to clean up wigglyness), jigsaws are far from ideal.

Posted (edited)

What do you guys think of this little guy?

Festool Trion Jigsaw

Dude, it's a festool. The undisputed king of portable power tools, bar none. I'm really jonseing for a Festool ROS right now, as well as for a router, and that jigsaw doesn't look half bad...and at $275, it's probably a steal.

Edited by mattia
Posted

I like the idea of using this, if it is as good as it says. That way I don't have to take up basically permanent space with a bandsaw, and I like the portability. I could take it outside on a nice day and do my cutting in fresh air. I don't do a lot of work, and I think for the amount of work I'd be doing (maybe 2 guitars a year), that this tool would fit my budget much better. I've seen what Hyunsu can do with a good jigsaw. Hmm...

Posted (edited)

Actually, the Bosch 1590/1591 jigsaws are getting reviews as being pretty much the best around. I have one, and it's incredible.

They have one of the most powerful motors in any current-production jigsaw, and they also have a unique blade guide system like that on a bandsaw - instead of just a support from behind the blade, there are also supports that clamp against the blade from the sides immediately above the sole of the tool. It has less blade wander than any other jigsaw I've ever used and is truly a precision tool.

It's also a good bit less expensive than the Festool :D. The 1590 is the normal-style while the 1591 is the barrel grip.

Edited by jnewman
Posted

jnewman, I had the chance to pick up and handle (but not use) the Bosch 1590 today. It definitely feels very solid.

Would the Bosch handle curves on guitar bodies any better then the $20 jigsaw my wife bought me? I was hand sanding that body for a weeks to get it squared up.

Posted (edited)

jnewman, I had the chance to pick up and handle (but not use) the Bosch 1590 today. It definitely feels very solid.

Would the Bosch handle curves on guitar bodies any better then the $20 jigsaw my wife bought me? I was hand sanding that body for a weeks to get it squared up.

In my experience, it would be better, but any jigsaw will have SOME wander. There are a few key things you want to do to minimize blade wander no matter what saw you're using. Use good, relatively new (i.e. still sharp) jigsaw blades with an agressive set to the teeth and go slower the tighter the curve you're cutting. Set on a saw blade is how much the teeth extend sideways from the blade. The more set there is, the better a blade is for cutting curves because the blade cuts a wider kerf and can cut slightly off-axis.

I also had a look (online) at the Festool, and it looks like it actually has the same blade clamp system, which surprises me as I thought Bosch had a patent on it. They may differ a little bit, but it looks like both have a similar system.

EDIT: Something I forgot to mention. Something most cheap jigsaws don't have is what's called pendulum or orbital blade motion (depending on where you are). Jigsaw blades cut on the pull stroke. A pendulum/orbital jigsaw moves the blade straight down on the push stroke but then pulls it forwards on its way up. Pendulum/orbital jigsaws can be set from no orbital action to full orbital action in usually 3-5 steps. A moderate amount of pendulum motion, in my experience, also helps a little bit with wander because it makes the cut start at the farthest point from the saw, where wander is most prevalent. By starting the cut as far as possible from the saw, the cut on the side of the wood away from the saw is less influenced by wander, which holds the entire blade more in line.

Edited by jnewman
Posted

OK then, have any suggestions on blades to use with the Bosch? How many teeth per inch should I be looking at?

By the way, I've decided to go with the microplane rotary shaper for cleaning up my cuts with the jigsaw (along with a template). That should make short work of any squaring up the body.

Posted

Bosch actually makes good jigsaw blades, too. I've been using the "Clean for wood" blades at 6TPI, but you might try the "Precision for wood" blades - they're also 6TPI and they're a little thicker with a bit wider set to the teeth so they shouldn't wander as much.

I can't do it today, but if you want I'll go cut some curves in 2x4's so you can have a look at it - I really haven't cut anything as thick as a guitar body with the saw in a pretty good while, and I can't promise it'll magically make all the edges perpindicular :D.

Posted

jnewman, that would be extremely kind of you. That is probably the next best thing to trying it out myself.

I'm not looking for perfectly square (but I wouldn't be upset if it were possible). With my cheap black and decker, its very, very bad on the curves.

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

I'm sorry, I ended up locked out of the workshop where I've been keeping all my stuff (I'm a college student), and now I'm away from campus on spring break - I'll be back in a week, if you can stand it to wait that long :D.

Again, I'm really sorry - someone had borrowed my keys to the shop and I couldn't get them back before we left.

  • 4 weeks later...
Posted

Man, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you. I got back to school and then I couldn't get the key back for the shop, and then I had to deal with leaving school (I'm taking off the rest of the semester). Anyway, I finally did the test, and the Bosch jigsaw does sharp curves ALMOST perfectly - On the sharpest curves I did, I could just barely tell that they weren't perpindicular, but it wasn't at all obvious. You can see the pictures here:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v494/jnewman606/Jigsaw/

In a couple of the pictures they look really not square away from the center of the frame, but that's just fisheye from the camera lens. Unfortunately I don't have a square handy, but you can still see that it's pretty good. I used the TD144DP "Precision for Wood" blades for the cut I did. I was really impressed - this thing is so good it's almost not even a jigsaw anymore :D.

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