Hi Andy,

I know exactly what you are talking about.

About 15 years ago, as I was just "getting into"
woodworking, I replaced my $20 B&D jigsaw
with a Porter Cable.

I could not believe that they were supposed to be
the same tool meant to perform the same job! I could
never get a good cut from the B&D as it vibrated so much,
but I was naive enogh to believe that all jigsaws were more
or less like that and that the difference was operator skill.

Well, operator skill is definitely a huge factor, but having a rock
solid tool with a good blade made a huge difference for me.

I bought a lot of PC (and other decent brand) tools since then and vowed
never to buy a cheap tool again - sometimes it's hard to resist
a bargain, but for the most part, I learned my lesson about tool
purchases.

Congrats on your new jigsaw - hope you have many fine
years together!

Lou

In article . com, Andy
wrote:

I took a large step in my woodworking maturing process today - I
upgraded from an old, pea-soup-green-with-orange-cord B&D jigsaw to a
beautiful new Bosch 1590 with a soft rubber cord and nice, sharp
Progressor blades. Except I can hardly call it an upgrade - it's an
entirely different tool. Wow! From what I've read in the archives
here, many of you have experienced this transformation and found great
satisfaction in ditching (or trashing, thrashing, smashing) your old
jigsaw. So I had pretty high expectations for this new tool, and I
have to say you are right - absolutely worth it! Cuts straight, clean
lines, with no vibration or tearout, and blade change really couldn't
be easier! Fortunately I inherited the B&D so I didn't have to pay for
it, so I still only cried once... But the crying was brief, as the new
Bosch was only $149 at Coastal Tool, including a case and bonus blade
pack.
The nagging question in my mind, though, is how the old B&D jigsaw was
such crap, while the old Skil circular saw of the same vintage I
inherited works just fine and cuts beautifully clean, straight lines
(with a Freud blade and held against a straitedge, of course...)
Anyway, I thought some of you could identify.
Have a great weekend,
Andy