Need a reality check!

I pulled out the jigsaw this a.m. - a tool I hardly ever use, and wound up getting frustrated in a major way. If the sledge hammer had been in plain sight, there would probably have been one less jigsaw in the world.

The problem is that I just could not get a cut down into the baltic birch ply at a crisp 90 degrees to the face, I fiddled and fiddled but it was always 5 degrees or so off. After three ruined pieces and an hour wasted, I went to the bandsaw and got a good cut in about 5 minutes.

My question is: Should I expect a jigsaw to make square cuts or am I doing something wrong?

Background: The saw is a Bosch 1590 EVS. I'm using a Bosch brand blade for smooth cuts in wood. The saw is set to a fairly slow speed. I fiddled with the sole to get it square to the blade. I took my time, slow cut rate, used my finger on the front leg to guide the saw gently, and still came up with an angled cut. The blade seems to be bent slightly, so I put in a new blade which didn't help much. The new blade never bent.

What's your technique for using the jigsaw? How can I get a good cut? Or should I go looking for the sledge hammer??:dunno:
 
I too have the bosch. Great saw.

But I don't depend on a square cut when using it

Sink cutouts, etc.
 
I share in your frustration on the jigsaw. I haven't been able to get a square cut either. Slowing down the feed rate helps a little but won't neccesarily stop the angled cut.
 
jesse, i have the same bosch saw, and an air driven sioux......and i use `em to get close to where i need to be:eek: ...i`ve yet to find a jigsaw that`ll scroll at a perfect 90 through any fairly dense material.......you`ll have somewhat better luck turning off the oscilation and running the blade as fast as it go but i wouldn`t expect any blade supported at only one end to remain at 90 deg. as it`s being side loaded like when you scroll with it..tod
 
jesse, i have the same bosch saw, and an air driven sioux......and i use `em to get close to where i need to be:eek: ...i`ve yet to find a jigsaw that`ll scroll at a perfect 90 through any fairly dense material.......you`ll have somewhat better luck turning off the oscilation and running the blade as fast as it go but i wouldn`t expect any blade supported at only one end to remain at 90 deg. as it`s being side loaded like when you scroll with it..tod

What Tod said :D
 
Top