Lidl barrel jigsaw mini review

[Pete C]

OK...

First impressions, fairly heavy but well balanced. The 4m rubber cable is made by the 'Wuxi Wire Factory' no less :)

The blade clamp and mechanism has virtually no play at all, though the blade support roller has some side to side movement.

Comes with 3 blades, a coarse wavy set wood blade, a medium taper ground wood blade and a fine wavy set HSS metal blade. The box states the blades are Swiss made, but somehow I doubt the jigsaw is ;)

Tried it out with the medium wood blade on ply with the cutting angle at 90 deg, and found it cut a few degrees off vertical. Easily sorted, just moved the shoe foward and tried a few cuts adjusting until it was bang on.

Also found when cutting close to an edge the plastic shoe flexes in the middle which can make the cut wander, so took it off. Underneath there is a plated steel plate screwed to the ally base, so at least the steel doesn't mark wood the way ally would.

Next tried some test cuts on ply using a guide. If run at a fairly high speed or allowed to cut more slowly without pushing it hard, it does a *perfect* 90 deg cut with no wandering at all. ABSOLUTELY BLOODY MARVELLOUS!!!

That said, if pushed too hard on a slower speed or with the wavy set blade, it does tend to wander off vertical but not terminally so.

Tried a few cuts on a 2x2, much the same as long as the jigsaw isn't pushed to one side while making the cut.

So in in summary, not quite as good as a =A3100 jigsaw, but unbeatable for the money, especially as it has a 3 yr guarantee.

cheers, Pete.

[Doctor Drivel]

OK...

First impressions, fairly heavy but well balanced. The 4m rubber cable is made by the 'Wuxi Wire Factory' no less :)

The blade clamp and mechanism has virtually no play at all, though the blade support roller has some side to side movement.

Comes with 3 blades, a coarse wavy set wood blade, a medium taper ground wood blade and a fine wavy set HSS metal blade. The box states the blades are Swiss made, but somehow I doubt the jigsaw is ;)

Tried it out with the medium wood blade on ply with the cutting angle at 90 deg, and found it cut a few degrees off vertical. Easily sorted, just moved the shoe foward and tried a few cuts adjusting until it was bang on.

Also found when cutting close to an edge the plastic shoe flexes in the middle which can make the cut wander, so took it off. Underneath there is a plated steel plate screwed to the ally base, so at least the steel doesn't mark wood the way ally would.

Next tried some test cuts on ply using a guide. If run at a fairly high speed or allowed to cut more slowly without pushing it hard, it does a *perfect* 90 deg cut with no wandering at all. ABSOLUTELY BLOODY MARVELLOUS!!!

That said, if pushed too hard on a slower speed or with the wavy set blade, it does tend to wander off vertical but not terminally so.

Tried a few cuts on a 2x2, much the same as long as the jigsaw isn't pushed to one side while making the cut.

So in in summary, not quite as good as a £100 jigsaw, but unbeatable for the money, especially as it has a 3 yr guarantee.

cheers, Pete.

[Stuart Noble]

I think they need that to avoid binding the blade under sideways pressure.

A jigsaw's potential for wandering is really determined by the flexibility of the blade, the power of the motor, and the IQ of the user. This one sounds like a big improvement over the cheap B&D jobs of 20 years ago. Whether it would survive a sink cutout on a beech worktop when the resin starts bubbling is another matter but, as ever, horse/course.

[Millan]

OK...

First impressions, fairly heavy but well balanced. The 4m rubber cable is made by the 'Wuxi Wire Factory' no less :)

The blade clamp and mechanism has virtually no play at all, though the blade support roller has some side to side movement.

Comes with 3 blades, a coarse wavy set wood blade, a medium taper ground wood blade and a fine wavy set HSS metal blade. The box states the blades are Swiss made, but somehow I doubt the jigsaw is ;)

Tried it out with the medium wood blade on ply with the cutting angle at 90 deg, and found it cut a few degrees off vertical. Easily sorted, just moved the shoe foward and tried a few cuts adjusting until it was bang on.

Also found when cutting close to an edge the plastic shoe flexes in the middle which can make the cut wander, so took it off. Underneath there is a plated steel plate screwed to the ally base, so at least the steel doesn't mark wood the way ally would.

Next tried some test cuts on ply using a guide. If run at a fairly high speed or allowed to cut more slowly without pushing it hard, it does a *perfect* 90 deg cut with no wandering at all. ABSOLUTELY BLOODY MARVELLOUS!!!

That said, if pushed too hard on a slower speed or with the wavy set blade, it does tend to wander off vertical but not terminally so.

Tried a few cuts on a 2x2, much the same as long as the jigsaw isn't pushed to one side while making the cut.

So in in summary, not quite as good as a £100 jigsaw, but unbeatable for the money, especially as it has a 3 yr guarantee.

cheers, Pete.

I just got this

cannot for the life of me see any difference when altering the speed control.. I got it today and returned it for another as the speed dial was faulty. Now this one is the same. i cannot feel or hear any difference in the 500-2600 speed.

Anyone else got one of these.

[Weatherlawyer]

On Jul 14, 12:53 am, "Millan" wrote:

[Millan]

[George]

[George]

[Dave Plowman (News)]

The optimum speed would depend on the material. If cutting plastic a 'wood' speed might melt it.

[Millan]

[George]

[:Jerry:]

...and with that version the on/off switch isn't connected!... :~)

[Andy Hall]

Probably best really....

[Stuart Noble]

It really is difficult to believe that, having done the difficult bit, they can't assemble the bloody things properly.

[:Jerry:]

That's what British Leyland dealers used to say when carrying out a PDI on a brand new car!...

[Andy Hall]

You mean putting a motor inside and connecting a switch to it?

Still, what does it matter if the price is low enough?

[John Rumm]

optimum maximum

[Stuart Noble]

Maybe the robot was having an off-day

It's obviously possible to produce high quality components at a fraction of what anyone thought possible 20 years ago, so it's only a matter of time before the brands we know either get blown out of the water or make a feeble attempt to compete by putting their badge on even lower cost crap like they have in other sectors. I remember the first Makita palm sander from 30(?) years ago. We all had a good laugh in my local tool shop. It made a lot of noise and did little else, but it was very cheap.

[Weatherlawyer]

Which just goes to show the importance of good management, for it wasn't a lack of willing and capable workers; no matter how complacent, that ruined Britain.

I remember Gilpin hammers when everyone eulogised US ones.

And Marples must have been bought out by a foreign firm judging by the present quality compared to the little tanged (though well crafted cutting ended) wooden handled chisels of yore.

You didn't dare let loose on them with an hammer. Imagine that. Stupid.

[Andy Hall]

Do you mean the one on the assembly line or the one in quality control?

.. or move up market.

Since then, they have learned how to make quality products and provide proper spares and service backup. They have also learned about diversifying manufacturing and addressing currency risk and shipping cost.

I don't particularly care where products are made, provided that there is proper design and manufacturing and above all QA followed by proper service and spares. It has been possible to achieve that in mainland China, but usually where these issues are defined externally and supervised in the factory.