On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 16:40:10 +0100, "IMM" wrote:



So you can buy 6 Wickes (Kress) jigsaws for one Makita. The choice is
obvious for DIYers.


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

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 18:25:43 +0100, "IMM" wrote:


"Andy Hall" wrote in message
.. .

The Wickes one came in at 76% and was inferior to the Makita on most
issues including safety and equal on others.

Predictably, the Wickes product started to deteriorate rapidly:

"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."

My £6 Argos jigsaw has both of these.

So it's fantastic value for money for a short while according to
Which?. Doesn't seem very interesting to me.

Did it give the state of play for others after 15 hours?

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.



The Wickes is 9
time cheaper than the Makita. Would 9 of these outlast one Makita? I think
so.


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

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 18:25:43 +0100, "IMM" wrote:


"Andy Hall" wrote in message
.. .

The Wickes one came in at 76% and was inferior to the Makita on most
issues including safety and equal on others.

Predictably, the Wickes product started to deteriorate rapidly:

"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."

My £6 Argos jigsaw has both of these.

So it's fantastic value for money for a short while according to
Which?. Doesn't seem very interesting to me.

Did it give the state of play for others after 15 hours?

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

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

"IMM" wrote in message
...

"RichardS" noone@invalid wrote in message
. ..
"sPoNiX" wrote in message
...
www.argos.co.uk, product code 710/6811, was £59.99, now £6!

sPoNiX

for occasional use on thin materials, that;s a bargain.

wouldn't trust it for any kind of accurate use though.

I used one today. pretty accurate. Well far better than the B&D crap I
had.



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.


--
Richard Sampson

mail me at
richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk

On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 19:19:18 +0100, "IMM" wrote:


"Andy Hall" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 18:25:43 +0100, "IMM" wrote:


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

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

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


..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

"RichardS" noone@invalid wrote in message
. ..
"IMM" wrote in message
...

"RichardS" noone@invalid wrote in message
. ..
"sPoNiX" wrote in message
...
www.argos.co.uk, product code 710/6811, was £59.99, now £6!

sPoNiX

for occasional use on thin materials, that;s a bargain.

wouldn't trust it for any kind of accurate use though.

I used one today. pretty accurate. Well far better than the B&D crap I
had.

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.

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

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 19:19:18 +0100, "IMM" wrote:


"Andy Hall" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 18:25:43 +0100, "IMM" wrote:


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

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

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

Whatever that means.

On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 20:22:52 +0100, "IMM" wrote:


"Andy Hall" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 19:19:18 +0100, "IMM" wrote:


"Andy Hall" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 18:25:43 +0100, "IMM" wrote:


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

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

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

Whatever that means.


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

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

In article , Andy Hall
wrote:
So it's fantastic value for money for a short while according
to Which?. Doesn't seem very interesting to me.

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.

--
Tony Bryer SDA UK 'Software to build on' http://www.sda.co.uk
Free SEDBUK boiler database browser
http://www.sda.co.uk/qsedbuk.htm

see http://www.lidl.co.uk/gb/index.nsf/p...20041011.index

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

{£25.}


"IMM" wrote in message ...
"RichardS" noone@invalid wrote in message
. ..
"sPoNiX" wrote in message
...
www.argos.co.uk, product code 710/6811, was £59.99, now £6!

sPoNiX

for occasional use on thin materials, that;s a bargain.

wouldn't trust it for any kind of accurate use though.

I used one today. pretty accurate. Well far better than the B&D crap I had.

In article ,
IMM wrote:
A jigsaw is something which few people have a real need for. Few pros use
them enough to worth bothering with.

You're talking ******** again. When doing an average plumbing job in an
average house, a jigsaw would be second only to a drill in use, power
tools wise. And the same for many other general DIY jobs.

--
*Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Tony Bryer wrote:
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.

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.

--
*Could it be that "I do " is the longest sentence? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Gel wrote:
see http://www.lidl.co.uk/gb/index.nsf/p...20041011.index

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

{£25.}

That's a CIRCULAR saw not a JIGSAW!

John

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:
In article ,
Tony Bryer wrote:
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.

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.

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?

--
Chris Green

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:
In article ,
IMM wrote:
A jigsaw is something which few people have a real need for. Few pros use
them enough to worth bothering with.

You're talking ******** again. When doing an average plumbing job in an
average house, a jigsaw would be second only to a drill in use, power
tools wise. And the same for many other general DIY jobs.

Well, for once, I agree with IMM. I have a jigsaw and I do lots of
DIY plumbing and electrical work around the house but I very rarely
use the jigsaw. In fact the *only* thing I can remember using it for
over the past year or so is chopping some holes out of plasterboard
(dry lined walls) for some sockets. For every other sort of cutting
job I do I have better (as in better suited, not necessarily more
expensive) tools.

--
Chris Green

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.

wrote in message ...
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:
In article ,
IMM wrote:

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

You're talking ******** again. When doing
an average plumbing job in an
average house, a jigsaw would be second
only to a drill in use, power tools wise.

I have done countless pipe jobs in houses and never used a jigsaw. I can't
see where I would use one. The new rotozip thingies are great for cutting
floorboards right on the joist. Circular saw are great for removing tongues
in T&G.

He must cut his plastic pipe with his jigsaw.

Well, for once, I agree with IMM. I have a jigsaw and I do lots of
DIY plumbing and electrical work around the house but I very rarely
use the jigsaw. In fact the *only* thing I can remember using it for
over the past year or so is chopping some holes out of plasterboard
(dry lined walls) for some sockets. For every other sort of cutting
job I do I have better (as in better suited, not necessarily more
expensive) tools.

I have never seen a kitchen fitter cut out a hob or sink hole with a jigsaw.
Most have I watched used a circular saw and finished off the corners with a
handsaw. I have seen some use a router with a clamped straight edge.

"stuart noble" wrote in message
...

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.

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.

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
For tool purchases, Which? would be the last place I'd look for
comparisons.


I'm curious about those who knock Which. It receives no public money,
and describes the methods they use for testing. And can't be influence
by advertising or having specially prepared products presented for
testing. The publishing world is littered with examples of the
commercial press getting things very wrong through just these reasons.

I usually take their advice when buying the sort of thing I'm not
terribly interested in - washing machines, vacuum cleaners etc. And
have always been happy.


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.


--
Ian White
Abingdon, England

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

Does anyone care what Which say anyway?

No. When they've tested things that I know about, they've been so
wildly inaccurate or misled that I've little faith in them for when
they test things I don't know about.

--
Smert' spamionam

In article ,
wrote:
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.

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.

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

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.

--
*Why is "abbreviated" such a long word?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
wrote:
Well, for once, I agree with IMM. I have a jigsaw and I do lots of
DIY plumbing and electrical work around the house but I very rarely
use the jigsaw. In fact the *only* thing I can remember using it for
over the past year or so is chopping some holes out of plasterboard
(dry lined walls) for some sockets. For every other sort of cutting
job I do I have better (as in better suited, not necessarily more
expensive) tools.

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.

--
*Real men don't waste their hormones growing hair

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
stuart noble wrote:
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.

The only people who should care are those who pay for it. However, most
who comment unfavourably on their findings don't subscribe - or even read
the entire report. And I'm not aware of them cutting corners in testing.
After all, that's what their main purpose is. Or certainly what I
subscribe for.

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.

I'd certainly agree there. I've no regrets about buying a decent one. Of
course, if you're not sure how much use it will get, a cheap one may make
sense and then replace it with a good one as your skills improve.

--
*Too many clicks spoil the browse *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
IMM wrote:
I have done countless pipe jobs in houses and never used a jigsaw. I
can't see where I would use one. The new rotozip thingies are great for
cutting floorboards right on the joist. Circular saw are great for
removing tongues in T&G.

Just how long have you been doing these 'countless' pipe jobs? Rotozip
thingies are far more recent than jigsaws. My first one piece B&D jigsaw
is about 25 years old, although not now used since I got a decent one.

--
*I got a sweater for Christmas. I really wanted a screamer or a moaner*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Ian White wrote:
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.

They've always aimed at the average consumer. The sort who just buys
something that will do the job, and wants reliability and value etc.

With things like high quality cameras, hi-fi, even cars, enthusiasts will
always bicker among themselves about which is best.

It's not and never has been aimed at enthusiasts. Nor can anything ever be
perfect. But I'd rather be guided by it than adverts or just pure price.
Which is how some on here appear to buy or indeed recommend things.

--
*Nostalgia isn't what is used to be.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:
In article ,
wrote:
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.

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.

I very rarely use a handsaw either now. There's a pruning saw I use
for pruning (!) which is a hand-saw but for other sawing it's:-
Circular saw for cutting sheet
Chop saw for cutting things up (and I'll take the wood to the chop
saw rather than do it by hand just for the guaranteed squareness)
Chain saw for logs (and small trees)

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

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

That's not what you use it for, it's where you take it! :-)

--
Chris Green

In article ,
wrote:
I very rarely use a handsaw either now. There's a pruning saw I use
for pruning (!) which is a hand-saw but for other sawing it's:-
Circular saw for cutting sheet
Chop saw for cutting things up (and I'll take the wood to the chop
saw rather than do it by hand just for the guaranteed squareness)
Chain saw for logs (and small trees)

I certainly make a great deal of use of my PP sliding compound saw. It's
not bad at the price. I'd love a really good one, but they're seriously
expensive.

And I do the same - often carry things to the workshop to use it. But it's
a bit too big to take elsewhere - which is why I was querying the IMM
comment about pros not using jigsaws. Of course you wouldn't where there
was something better - like in a workshop. But different when out on a job.

--
*Being healthy is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article , "Ian White"
says...
snip
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.

I unsubscribed for that reason. They phoned me up a few times trying to
tempt me to stay. I explained that for most of the stuff I was
interested in I could find broader and deeper stuff in specialist
magazines or on the Interweb - their response was that they have a
website too :-\

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)"
writes
In article ,
wrote:
I very rarely use a handsaw either now. There's a pruning saw I use
for pruning (!) which is a hand-saw but for other sawing it's:-
Circular saw for cutting sheet
Chop saw for cutting things up (and I'll take the wood to the chop
saw rather than do it by hand just for the guaranteed squareness)
Chain saw for logs (and small trees)

I certainly make a great deal of use of my PP sliding compound saw. It's
not bad at the price. I'd love a really good one, but they're seriously
expensive.

Been toying with the idea of one of those. Problem is, I keep thinking
, mmn , next size up would be useful......

However, I need to replace the cheapy manual mitre saw that I've been
using for a few years, so I thought a smallish compound mitre saw is
probably the best idea, as I can cart that about the place and then buy
a bigger sliding saw if need be in the future.

Then a gain B&Q have a PPPro sliding 8 inch saw for GBP130....., but
this is bigger and heavier.....

And I do the same - often carry things to the workshop to use it. But it's
a bit too big to take elsewhere - which is why I was querying the IMM
comment about pros not using jigsaws. Of course you wouldn't where there
was something better - like in a workshop. But different when out on a job.

Indeed, the joiner who laid some flooring recently for me, used a jigsaw
for cutting the planks.
--
Chris French, Leeds

In article ,
chris French wrote:
Then a gain B&Q have a PPPro sliding 8 inch saw for GBP130....., but
this is bigger and heavier.....

I've got the 10" version, which has two slides (still available at my
local branch last time I looked). Now it doesn't slide easily, but is
rigid enough to simply use this feature as an easily moved preset rather
than for opertion. And it will cope with 12" wide planks. The whole thing
is rigid enough to give pretty accurate cuts. I'm happy with it at the
price. A better blade helps a great deal as with all these cheap saws.

But I'd dearly love a decent radial arm saw. Three phase. Yummy.

--
*Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Mon, 11 Oct 2004 19:33:36 +0100, chris French
wrote:



However, I need to replace the cheapy manual mitre saw that I've been
using for a few years, so I thought a smallish compound mitre saw is
probably the best idea, as I can cart that about the place and then buy
a bigger sliding saw if need be in the future.

I have a Delta one that I've had for a while which is compound mitre
only (no slide) and reasonably light.

I've tended to use it for in-situ jobs like fence and other outside
jobs or small pieces of work in a room.

For these kind of jobs it's worked well, but it is not really up to
precise joinery work in terms of repeatability - although reasonable
work can be achieved if care is taken on setups.

It's had a lot of use, and so I'd say that if you want something
reasonable around £150, this type of machine or equivalents are good.


Then a gain B&Q have a PPPro sliding 8 inch saw for GBP130....., but
this is bigger and heavier.....

I had a play with one of these and found the sliders a bit on the
stiff side and repeatability for fine work not too good.

However, if the width capacity is what is needed and precision less of
an issue, then for jobs around the house, probably not bad.

For my workshop I wanted something more precise. Unfortunately there
is a big gap and these start at about £400 plus. I looked at the
Elektra Beckum which is good and also very quiet, the Makita LS1013
and the DeWalt DW708. The DeWalt has a 12" blade, but the Makita has
a much smoother and precise action. I thought long and hard
about the purchase in terms of use and precision and settled on the
Makita. I've been very pleased with it and it gets a lot of use.
However, as you intimated, it's very heavy at (IIRC) 38kg, so I
wouldn't want to lug it around a site.



..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

"IMM" wrote in message
...

"RichardS" noone@invalid wrote in message
. ..
"IMM" wrote in message
...
Snip

I used one today. pretty accurate. Well far better than the B&D crap
I
had.

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.

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


I'd be interested to know how you scribe a sheet of MDF, some shelves, or a
worktop to a wall without one. Although it's not my most frequently used
power tool, it's certainly proved invaluable over the last couple of years,
and I wouldn't be without it.


--
Richard Sampson

mail me at
richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk

IMM wrote:
The new rotozip thingies are great for cutting
floorboards right on the joist.

But have an extremely short bearing life(hours) if used anywhere near
plasterboard. They don't last that much better on wood and the blade
life is appallingly low.

Regards
Capitol

"chris French" wrote in message
...
Then a gain B&Q have a PPPro sliding 8 inch saw for GBP130

Good tool. But I'm on my fifth one !!!!! All replaced FOC but they simply
don't last. Either the motor bearing fails or the guard actuator jams.

Problem is the Makita one I'd really like is about 4 times the price.

"G&M" wrote in message
...

"chris French" wrote in message
...
Then a gain B&Q have a PPPro sliding 8 inch saw for GBP130

Good tool. But I'm on my fifth one !!!!! All replaced FOC but they
simply
don't last. Either the motor bearing fails or the guard actuator jams.

PP or PP Pro. There is a difference in quality.

In article ,
Capitol wrote:
The new rotozip thingies are great for cutting
floorboards right on the joist.

But have an extremely short bearing life(hours) if used anywhere near
plasterboard. They don't last that much better on wood and the blade
life is appallingly low.

I'm also not terribly keen on a rotozip for this sort of rough work. They
simply go too fast and rather scare me. A nice variable speed jigsaw is
one of the safest power tools around.

--
*What boots up must come down *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

So, IMM has never seen a kitchen fitter use a jigsaw to cut out worktops.
Well, I've never seen one *not* use a jigsaw.
You might use the circular saw for a Butler sink where the edge is visible
but, for the usual insert, it takes bloody ages to set up 4 plunge cuts with
a circ saw. And the corners they do by hand? With what exactly?