Any thoughts on the value of this cordless jigsaw

Correct. My Makitas are now quite old but since they seem to be indestructible it makes more sense just to replace batteries until they finally die. These days I am a light user (but something of a collector of toys). I've mostly been happy with my non-cordless Lidl tools and they are producing an increasing number of cordless tools. Note that they have two different battery options. So when they had a relatively cheap cordless angle grinder (something on my wish list for a while) I bought one, plus charger and a couple of batteries. I passed on a chainsaw on a stick the other day, but might get a cordless jigsaw next time they have one.

Perhaps Amazon are kindly flagging up to us that "Top 1000 reviewers" may well not be what they seem.

Fake reviews are becoming more of a problem. But you can usually get the sense of a product by looking at a reasonable number. People who mention a slightly negative aspect are likely to be genuine.

I hadn't spotted that and I barely looked at the reviews before deciding I didn't like them, I was mainly commenting that I simply would not buy a no-name cordless because of long term battery support. (I know that most things use sub-c cells and, in the old days, I re-celled a few. But now that there are half a dozen or so "big names" who have been around for a long time, and whose reputation is likely to live or die around batteries, I reckon it is worth sticking with one of them).

Unfortunately Makita have replaced the battery technology (different physical connection and battery protection circuits) since I purchased my Makita cordless drill some years ago. Original replacement batteries or cloned compatibles seem to be very much more expensive than the latest batteries for their newer cordless tools. However as I already have two of the older style of batteries, with charger, I recently purchased a new cordless Makita impact driver (bare) for not much money. The driver was "old stock" being sold at a discount.

I recently borrowed the current models of a Makita cordless SDS drill and angle grinder with 4Ahr batteries. I was impressed with the performance of both and they compared favourably with my older corded models.

As a matter of (genuine) interest, how do you tell that - does it say it somewhere I've missed?

Positive reviews are worthless, often all fake. Only way to learn anything is look at the -ve reviews.

NT

Is it the same ruse as printers with half filled cartridges but the refills are as expensive as the printer? Brian

Rather than following that link I just searched amazon for cordless jigsaws. It appeared at the top of the page with ?sponsored? next to it.

Amazon is awash with sponsored no-name products all with glowing 5 star reviews. Given that they are never household names you have to ask yourself how they?ve all go 5 star reviews so quickly. Simple answer is that the sellers have paid for the ad AND the reviews. It?s clearly very lucrative.

Tim

I have several battery power tools - but I don't think I'd bother with a jigsaw.

I've got a fairly inexpensive mains one and for my frequency of use, a cordless would be litle to no benefit. Also, would be heavier.

Jigsaw is something that is sometimes essential but, much of the time, I try to avoid.

They are often fake too. They are also done by people that don't have a clue about how to use the product.

Then there are the really odd one like "product doesn't work.. 5 stars"

Thanks. While I had noticed the unknown name products I hadn't spotted the "sponsorship" system.

The battery in my HP laptop was out of warranty but they replaced it, no questions asked. This was two weeks ago.

I gave them 10 out of 10.

I suppose I could have scared them when I told them it was swelling up but still passed diagnostics. They didn't even question why I. Had dismantled the laptop.

Funny that they collected it and when it came back they had also replaced the screen, keyboard and top because of hinge issues which I hadn't noticed.

I have been offered free products for five star reviews. I have only done one and it deserved five stars.

dennis@home submitted this idea :

A few years ago now, but I had a problem where I needed just a replacement for a damaged connector on an HP laptop motherboard. HP flew a near complete faulty laptop from the US, free of cost, for me to cannibalise for parts.

Looking back, it seems quite foolhardy that I spent so many years cutting wood with hand saws. I never did like the sound of machines much. I'd think nothing (at the time) of ripping 1 1/2" Oak or Elm boards into 6 or 10 foot planks.

I didn't live in a cardboard box...etc.

Without a doubt such activities played a major part in producing the physique that I enjoy today, which in its turn lead to the ultimatum that had me retiring and transporting most of my handtools to Canada and leaving them there. In good hands of course.

The finishing touch was a garage sale that cleared out the remainder.

Now, due to nostalgia and a garage without electricity, I'm trying to convince myself that a good quality, battery powered jigsaw will provide all my sawing wants, without incurring the wrath of my good lady wife if she decides that I'm regressing into my previous state.

IS it why people in the UK receive deliveries of pointless silly items that they haven't ordered (or been asked to pay for) ?.

not a hope in hell. The closest you'll get to a universal saw is a handheld mains circular saw.

NT

Strange you should say that. I recently lost my Opinel in the move. I've already found that I can do everything I want these days with a jigsaw, albeit slowly. The difference is that I need a battery powered model, because my garage has no electric supply.

Do you mean the NiCads?

Original replacement batteries

Ebay item 202625450878, two 14.4 3AH NiMH for £24

Ebay item 123820818811, two 18V 3AH NiMH for £28