New Jigsaw.... Which One?

Stuart Ablett

Member
Messages
15,917
Location
Tokyo Japan
Looking for a little guidance here guys, I need to buy a new jigsaw.


bosch_PST_700_PAE.JPG

I have a Bosch Green (consumer grade) Jigsaw. It has been a workhorse, but the one thing that has always plagued it is the blade retention, sometimes for no obvious reason the blade just comes loose, and bad words are said. This just happened last night on the outfeed table for the SawStop, the blade just went it's own way off to the side causing a lot of bad words to be said, and making the hole for the DC pipe a lot bigger. I don't want this to happen on a client's job, bad enough that it wastes my time, but to possibly ruin a client's property, yeah, not worth it. The old green monster will still get work in the welding shop, with the right blade it does well cutting steel.


I'm looking at another corded Bosch, the JS470EB a barrel grip saw.
bosch_JS470EB.jpg

Link >> HERE <<

Does anyone have this saw?

Do you like it?

Can you recommend something else?

It's just under $150 plus shipping, so keep that in mind, the Festool Jigsaw is another $100 and Amazon will not ship it to Japan.

Cheers!
 
I have the 572, and I think the main difference is that the guide system is a little different, so this may not count. But I really like it, the barrel grip replaced my handle type Bosch 1591. It took a few tries to get the feel, but I do like it better. The later model Bosch saws use that t-shank blade, and I never had one of them come out. The best part of both the 1591 I had and the 572 I now have if that blade guide that keeps the blade at a 90° to the saw bade as you make turns and what not. I had a PC that would give you a beveled cut when doing curves. Can't say too much more since it's not one of my most heavily used tools...but I consider them every bit as nice as the Festool jig saws.
 
i have a barrel type stu, festool by chance only but the bosch version is very similar and have used them in the barrel design they do well.. does take a bit to trust the handle setup but its balanced well
 
I've had the Bosch barrel grip for a few years now. Like the others said, it took some adapting from using a handle type but I really like it. The guide system keeps the blade on track very nicely.
 
I have top handle blue Bosch (don't recall the model number offhand, but I think it's the 572), and like it a lot. I loaned mine to a buddy a few weeks ago. When he brought it back, he said he'd ordered one for himself because he liked it so much. I don't think you'll be disappointed with the blue Bosch.
 
I have the Bosch 1587 which was the last one before the easy/button blade removal and they seem to loose their blade caps (pop off). I relegated that one to metal cutting. When I found a deal, and they were still out there, I bought the 1590, which was the handled style (1591 was the barrel grip), and no one locally carried a barrel grip for me to feel. The newer ones use the same blade change mechanism that my 1590 does, because I loaned mine to my father and a contractor they had working on his house (I was closer and the contractor had left his at another job). At the end of the day, they both went out and bought a Bosch (don't know what the number is now).

Really, my only other two thoughts are, there was a competitor that Sears found someone that copied, that had a removable handle (d handle or barrel grip), or the old late 60's early 70's ones that Sears called Scroller, had a knob on the front to use it like a barrel grip. If Bosch ever did (prefer the first) either, I would love to try that as I expect it would be the best of both worlds.
 
Since this thread started I have been getting pop-up ads for the Bosch j-saw on Facebook and Yahoo. Lots and lots of them. I have a couple j-saws, at least one of them maybe older than me.:eek: Yep, that's really old. Only comment I can add is the first j-saw I ever used was a barrel type, I think it was a Scintilla (sp?) brand, it got pretty hot to hold after several minutes of using. That was back about ca. 1950.
 
Top