Festool Jigsaw

Rob Zschoche

Member
Messages
32
Location
Northern Virginia
Hi everyone,

I am thinking about getting the Festool PS 300 jigsaw. If there is anyone here that has one, I'd like to talk to you about it and see if it will do what I need.

Please let me know if you have one...thanks.

Rob
 
I have the predecesor to the PS 300 - got it for half price when the cleared them out and introduced the PS 300. It is a really good saw - very smooth, decent cut, not much blade deflection.
 
i too have the predessor and have used a bosch as well, like the festool better..and i have cut 8/4 white oak and had very littel if any deflection. its the only festool i have, but have used others.. they are good tools but can be pricey. but i would definatly look at them before buying a new tool.. some woodcraft stores have displays out where yu can test run them..good option to compare apples to apples
 
Hi guys, thanks for responding....

My situation is this: for the most part, tools that I buy have to serve first as tools for my remodeling business (it's me with two employees). I have a three car garage plus a storage room but most of that is filled up with tools and materials for work. The amount of space that I am carving out for my woodshop is going to have to stay small for now.

I want to make a floor mirror for my wife, and the feet are going to be cut from 10/4 maple, and the top of the mirror will be an arched piece of 6/4 material. I have been considering getting a bandsaw, but most of the stuff that I buy needs to be portable enough to go out to the jobsite if needed. The one non-portable piece of equipment that I have at the moment is a 6" jointer.

My question for the moment is whether you think the Festool jigsaw will give me a good, square cut as I make the feet? If the blade is going to deflect then I might as well get a bandsaw.

I like the Festool because of the DC and I already have two Festool vacs. (DC has become increasingly important for me because of problems with my sinuses, and so far I have seen a good customer reaction when they see us using DC in their houses).

One concern I have is none of the Festool video clips that I can find show the jigsaw cutting anything thicker than about 1". I don't know if this is a happenstance or by design. In the catalog I think it says these saws can cut up to 4 1/2" of material, although I can't see how a jigsaw blade can do that without a lot of deflection.


Thanks for your comments...

Rob


PS The suggestion to try the tool at WC is good except the two WC in my area aren't terribly keen on letting people use the display tools. I asked once if I could use the display tool over in the work area and the manager said essentially "no, we don't want the liability if someone gets hurt".
 
it must be your store,, the one i go to basically started it up, and handed it to me and said sand with it or cut with it..i had been there before and that may have made a differnce.. lke i said i have cut 2" cherry and and white oak with mine.. but if you dont have a bandsaw yet, i would by a bandsaw over a festool jigsaw for all around work.. and you could take it or the jointer to the job site if it was in one of those enclosed trailers..
 
Festool`s jig saws are good but, in my experience, not good enough to cut 10/4 hardwood without any deflection.

I bought a second hand Sears Craftsman 10 inch bandsaw about two years ago for the bargin price of $120 (Canadian) and that is what I would use if I was doing to job that you describe.
 
My local Rockler also has an area where you can test drive the Festools and the Feins. Like Frank, my choice for what you describe would be a bandsaw, even a small one, before a jigsaw. With good blades I am surprised how well my 10" Rockwell/Delta does in thick stock.

My Bosch 1591 jigsaw is pretty effortless in 8/4 white oak but I am cutting within 1/16" or so of the line for final shaping by hand or over to the router table for template work. For closer than that on the primary cut I go to the bandsaw.
 
I'm very satisfied with my Bosch jigsaw and see no need to spend a lot more for a different color tool. Thick material goes on the bandsaw, like others have said.
 
I have the PS300 and think it may do the job but I'd never try it. I've been working on a freestanding mirror also and used the bandsaw for the cuts. I put the project aside for the time being until I find a mirror that I like.
DSC00214.jpg


IMG_0540.jpg
 
An update: I bought the Festool jigsaw with the barrel grip and have used it for a lot of remodeling work (the stuff that pays the bills).

I still haven't gotten to my woodworking project but will soon, I hope. I have a bit of extra money saved and will go ahead and get a bandsaw for the shop.

My 20 year old Porter Cable is definately not as smooth as the new Festool jigsaw. :thumb:

Dust collection is remarkably good and we've used it on a few installs where we had to make cuts inside and it was a great option to plug the saw into the vac.

The only thing I wish the Festool jigsaw has is a little light down near the blade to help my bifocals to see better.:D
 
Those festools do claim DC as a big advantage. Never really thought about a jigsaw having dust collections. That's an awfully nice option! :thumb:
 
Brent, we recently had to do a bunch of scribing, cutting, sanding, etc to get some built-ins to fit in the customer's master bedroom. All the furniture was in place and it was pretty much impossible to move anything more than a few feet to do the work. I never would have thought that I'd care about DC on a jigsaw, but in that case it was worth every bit of what I paid to be able to do the job so easily and cleanly.
 
I've been looking for a new jig saw. I have a Bosch top handle that I've had for many years. I have to think twice before I use it because I always get what I guess is blade deflection even with short blades. The cuts are often not 90 degrees. It may be operator error :dunno::dunno:. I'm thinking that a barrel grip may help me keep the base flat on the work piece when cutting if that is my problem :huh:.
 
Top