Cheap jigsaw!

[IMM]

My £6 Argos jigsaw has both of these.

Did it give the state of play for others after 15 hours? The Wickes is 9 time cheaper than the Makita. Would 9 of these outlast one Makita? I think so.

[Andy Hall]

That depends on the DIYer.

"But the bargain price tag comes at the expense of endurance. At the end of our 15-hour test, the jigsaw was not only very noisy, its motor bearings were clearly worn. Since it's so basic, it has neither an anti-splinter device nor a parallel guide".

Not very impressive

"Best on Test is the Makita 434OCT with an impressive total test score of 86 per cent. At around £175 it's not cheap so is best suited to the semi-professional or avid DIYer."

Which? really should be comparing apples with apples when it comes to price, and they haven't here.

Wickes pricing is effectively street pricing - i.e. you can't get a better price. For Makita, they have quoted the list price. You can get a 4340CT for £108.

.andy

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[Andy Hall]

Which? does tests like endurance on all products if it does them at all. They don't indicate that other products started to fall apart after 15 hours like the Wickes

They did say

"We don't recommend you buy the Draper 710W, Clarke CJS2 or JCB JCBE-JS710 jigsaws. They're not very accurate and struggle cutting thicker materials."

These are all products at £40 or less.

First of all the price ratio is not 9:1 it is closer to 5:1.

Secondly, if the Wickes product is falling apart after 15 hours with failing bearings it is not going to manage accuracy or ease of use as when new.

Thirdly, are you suggesting going out and buying 5 or 6 Wickes tools and putting them in the cupboard or are you suggesting returning to the store with a broken one every 15 hours? The first is a waste of money and the second a waste of time and money.

.andy

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[IMM]

Was this a 15 hours continuous test? If so no one operates a jig saw for 15 hours continuously.

[RichardS]

what materials? My experiences with cheap jigsaws is that they have been so inaccurate as to make their use pointless.

blade wandering I can, to a certain extent, live with, but the utter inablility to cut square, I could not.

[Andy Hall]

They don't specifically say, but on tests of other electrical products they simulate typical use.

.andy

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[IMM]

A jigsaw is something which few people have a real need for. Few pros use them enough to worth bothering with.

[IMM]

Whatever that means.

[Andy Hall]

I've seen it done with sewing machines using a small pneumatic plunger on the foot pedal controlled to create the effect of normal use.

.andy

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[Tony Bryer]

Well no, but you're not the person it's intended for. I suspect that the average DIYer's jigsaw doesn't see 15 hours of use in its entire life. If you're likely only to use it for a one-off kitchen refit and then rarely paying £19 for something that will do a good job for you in these circumstances is a good alternative to going to a hire shop. If you're a serial kitchen fitter then it is not a sensible choice.

[Gel]

see

have one of offer in UK from Mon 11th Oct 04.

{£25.}

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd say my jigsaw is my second most used power tool in a variety of DIY and hobby use. I bought a good Bosch many years ago to replace a working but wobbly B&D which in turn replaced a drill attachment. And the Bosch has performed faultlessly - long after the high cost was forgotten. The B&D kept on wearing out its blade support, and was a real PITA to change blades. The Bosch SDS system (was) almost worth it on its own as IIRC was unique at the time.

[John]

That's a CIRCULAR saw not a JIGSAW!

John

[usenet]

I very rarely use my jigsaw, it's the tool I use when nothing else will do, and that's pretty rarely. The commonest use I have for it is chopping out holes in plasterboard where a 'super duper' one is not really much better than a 'good enough' one.

What do you use your jig-saw so regularly for?

[stuart noble]

Does anyone care what Which say anyway? Testing everything under the sun must lead to a lot of corner cutting and false assumptions. Tools should be tested in the real world, and not by somebody with a publishing deadline to meet. I'd say the jigsaw is the main (possibly the only) power tool where you should pay as much as you can afford. These days I get away with cheap drills, circular saws, planers, that all perform close enough to more expensive ones I've owned in years gone by. But a cheap jigsaw is guaranteed frustration.

[IMM]

"stuart noble" should pay as much as you can afford. These days I get away with cheap

I use a rotozip thingy for many jobs that a jigsaw was used for. A jigsaw is only for the odd occasion when it would be ideal to use one. Hence I only paid £6 for a jigsaw, although at a vastly reduced price in a sale, I would not pay £80-£150 for one.

[Ian White]

I have too... but an uneasy feeling is growing on me.

The Which? formula for making product reviews and reporting them has been tried-and-true for a very long time. But during that time, all kinds of products have become much more complex. In order for consumers to decide what will be the "best buy" for them, there are so many technical aspects that they now need to understand, and try to balance.

With products that I do know about, I'm noticing that Which? reviews are being increasingly forced to skim the surface, and are having to miss out details that could be really important for some readers. That is gradually draining confidence about their reviews of other products that I understand less well - especially complex, technical financial products.

I don't have an immediate solution, and wouldn't dream of unsubscribing... but there does seem to be a growing problem.

[Andy Dingley]

On Mon, 11 Oct 2004 10:12:58 +0100, "stuart noble"

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'll use it for that. And cutting floorboards when lifting them. And near anything where you'd use a handsaw for a quick but not necessarily accurate cut. And often for cutting ally plate.

It's the one power tool other than a drill I always take when going out to do a job.

As regards 'pros' using them, film location chippies will always have one. But probably re-chargeable.

On a building site, something like a flip saw would be more general use. But perhaps too much effort when doing jobbing work.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Cutting floorboards is often a major part of any DIY work like plumbing or wiring. As regards cutting holes in plasterboard, you can use them, but then a padsaw is about as easy.

Of course, everyone has their favourite way of doing things.