On Mon, 13 Mar 2017 01:43:32 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

Never heard the term "orbital" for a jigsaw, but i have a Makita with
pendulum action and what sounds like the same blade fitting
arrangement. The blade is held snug against the roller, but not with great force.

Makita refers to it as an orbital jigsaw, but, yes, it's equivalent to
pendulum action, as far as I can tell. This is the first jigsaw I've
bought with this "feature". (Actually, it's only the 2nd jigsaw I've
ever bought.) Maybe Makita chose "orbital", as it's a term more DIYers
would recognise than "pendulum".

A fence with a jigsaw is a nightmare and i would never use one.

Okay, but with my previous AEG (as mentioned, it was 40 years old) a
guide or fence worked very well and blade deviation was minimal.

The blades are flexible
and so if you force a straight line cut with a fence, the cut may remain straight on the
upper surface, but the blade will tend to depart from perpendicular to the surface
(i.e. a slanted cut). This doesn't happen during freehand cutting because you are constantly
correcting the cut direction (i.e. hunting, albeit within a very narrow range of
movement, if you're good at it), rather than forcing it.

With freehand cutting one just needs lots of practice, I suppose...

A jigsaw is not a tool for cutting a perfect straight edge.

Yes, I'm amazed about that, having read the same statement all over
the web. I have only ever owned a jigsaw, never a circular saw, so
apart from handsaws, the jigsaw is all I have (although I'd quite like
a bandsaw, but can't justify the cost). Maybe I was spoilt by the
excellent AEG non-"orbital" jigsaw I bought in West Germany in the
1970s.

It is for curved and awkward shapes,

Something I never need to do!!

or for making an approximate straight cut (can be made perfect using a router or other tool, afterwards).

That neither. I only want straight cuts in plywood or MDF. If I'm
sawing, say, a real wood floor board or similar, I use the handsaw.

MM