(02-02-2025, 08:17 PM)Stwood_ Wrote: Buy the best saw from bosch, and the best blades. You won't regret it.

(02-02-2025, 08:27 PM)GaryMc Wrote: One of the first tools I bought about 60 years ago was a variable-speed Craftsman jigsaw, which is still in use.  This is a BIG sucker with a pivoting blade mechanism that can be locked in the forward direction or allowed to pivot depending on which sideways pressure you apply or by turning a knob on top.  It took a while to get the hang of the pivot idea, but the key is to go SLOW.  As above, wander or warp when cutting thicker material is a problem for any thin blade fixed on only one end.  Some hollow-ground blades I found somewhere do help.

 BTW, I have an Olson fret-style coping saw with 12" throat that I use for really intricate cuts and curves.

(02-02-2025, 12:51 PM)Bencuri Wrote: I have had a jigsaw for 20 years. Tried to use it once or twice, could never cut straight with it. Tired with different blades, even expensive Bosch blades, still unable to cut well with it. The problem is: even if I use a guide, the blade starts to live its on life and tends to wander, and the result is: it will start pulling the saw from the guide or towards the guide and make the saw get stuck. Even if I don't push hard.

My saw is a cheap saw, the own brand of a local department store. For a long time I thought it is the price of my saw that is the source of problems, so I planned once I have enough money I will buy a pro one to try that.

Recently it happened I needed a jigsaw for a specific task, so started experimenting with them and collecting info. In this project I need to cut curves (some are quite small) and straight lines. BY experimenting, in the end I managed to find a method that helps me to cut acceptable straight lines and larger curves. It is a bit time consuming but works: I sit in front of the saw, pulling it towards myself, and I push a little, then loosen, push and loosen. On every push I advance about 1/25". So this is very slow, but with this method I can cut along the line, and I can do so regardless of the quality or purpose of the blade. But small curves are still a problem.

So I decided to go and check the expensive jigsaws in a store. I observed them, and I found they have similar mechanism like my cheap jigsaw. Actually, apart from the higher price, some of them doesn't really look more advanced than mine. For example the Black&Decker seems to be very similar, yet it's much more expensive. So this raised the question for me: will I be able to work better with the expensive ones at all?

The other problem is that I purchased some of those tinier blandes that are for cutting curves. I tried cutting small curves with them, and it doesn't work. The saw cannot maintain the curve, I am unable to follow the line, the saw is staying away from the curve, and cuts a larger curve every time no matter how hard I push towards the curve. And most of the time if I push hard to make it follow the curve it starts burning the wood. Considering more expensive jigsaws have similar mechanism like mine, I wonder if buying a more expensive one will help this at all? I already have Bosch blades, so I wonder if a saw with a similar mechanism will perform better, if I already have the good blades?

I had been thinking okay, maybe these saws cannot cut small curves at all, but then I found this video. Check it from 9:42:

Is your current saw "orbital"? If so, try cutting with the orbital action OFF.



I need to cut the exact same curves, and as you see he is cutting perfectly straight without a guide and can cut the small curves like charm. My saw is struggling with larger curves already, even with Bosch blades. 

So what's the trick here? Is it only that he has a Dewalt jigsaw, or it is more than that? Can buying a pro jigsaw solve all these problems at once or it is more complicated that that?