Last night I opened a thread looking for recommendations on a new jigsaw. The universal opinion seems to be that Bosch is the one to beat.
But I found a close out on the Festool PS 2 e, which I'm guessing is last year's model discontinued since the Trion ($250) came out. The price is $159, about the same as the Bosch or high end DeWalt.
Festool enjoys a great reputation and always seems to be highly regarded in reviews. So, even though it's not the latest and greatest, I'm thinking the PS 2 e might be a good deal.
I can't offer an opinion on this without stating that we sell the Festool PS2e, so take this for what its worth.
I have used the Bosch for many years, having worn out one and replaced it with the updated "Clic" version several years ago. I loved the Bosch - it was avast improvement over my original Craftsman saw. It cut fast in the orbital mode, the blade changes were easy, and the variable speed was nice.
When we were considering the addition of Festool to our catalog, the Festool rep came in to demonstrate the tools. He pulled out the PS2e and I said, don't bother (proudly) I use a Bosch. He said, that's why I want to show you the PS2e. We started out making a cut of the end of a 2-1/2" thick piece of hard maple. Nothing fancy, just a nice smooth "S" shape across the end grain. The cut was smooth and straight up and down. So then he said, lets do another one. Sure. So he made a parallel cut about 1/8" from the first one. And the resulting piece was a 2-1/2" tall, 1/8" thick, "S" shaped piece of end grain hard maple with parallel sides! It just got better after that. The vacuum system sucked the chips right up, so you could see the cut line, it connected easily to the straightedge system for super accurate cuts, and the tilt mechanism was easy to use - and accurate. The downside? Festool uses thicker blades for added stiffness, although it will work with other manufacturer's blades, you won't get the same results.
Hope this helps. Feel free to call my tech director, Darin Lawrence, if you would like further info (1-800-443-7937).
Let me give you one opinion based on my experiences with the Bosch
1584ASK that I own. It was built in Mexico, IIRC and frankly, I am pretty underwhelmed. The mechanism for changing blades is almost non functional and blade wander is all over the place. I don't know if I have a defective saw, but its performance has been a huge disappointment to me. That said, my Bosch routers work fine. The Bosch orbital sander I have is also borderline.......I ordered it and the jigsaw at the same time.
I saw that somewhere too. Frankly, it's worth a try. I now wish I had waited on that purchase.
I have never used Festools units but I understand that they are of Impeccable quality and would like to try some of there things. Yes they are very high price and that is what mainly keeps me away from them, But when they have a special they have a special and they really cut the price way down. If you get it let us know what you think I do not think that you would go wrong in getting one
Joe as someone who has owned many Bosch Jig saws over a time when most of you guys with home workshops never even heard of them, You either definately have something wrong with your machine or you are doing something wrong with it.
It does sort of sound like you have not been able to lock the blade down properly Bosch jig saws just do not wander unless the blade is loose simple as that.
Get it checked out > > Last night I opened a thread looking for recommendations on a new
Following up on this thought, I found a Metabo jigsaw for sale on eBay. No bids yet and asking to start at $85 plus $12 shipping. What do you know about Metabo? TIA.
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