Evening people, I currently use a Wickes cheapo that drives me insane. I can’t cut a true straight line without moving at 1mm a minute, or even at 90 degrees, the blade twists & bends with even the slightest force 🙁

I know the great makes such as Mafell have a straight, long & low blade guide to overcome these issues, but I can’t justify that sort of money, I have also noticed that the one I use has the roller blade guide well above the base plate.

So can anyone recommend a decent saw that preferably has a guide, solid if possible, that runs very close to the base plate to avoid my current issues without braking the bank?

Many thanks in advance guys & girls.

Lol I thought thus was going to be the puzzle variety!

If you’re cutting straight lines in thick stuff, is what you need not a circular saw instead? Jig saws aren’t really designed to hack kitchen worktops in half no matter how good they are.

My wife woke me up in the early hours the other day day to tell me how clever she was, I asked her what was so important at that time of the morning that couldn’t wait until the morning, she said she had to wake me or I wouldn’t of believed her that she had finished a jigsaw in record time, it had only taken her all night to complete the puzzle, but she said it said 3-5 years on the box!

Coat on & I’ll try not to slam the door on the way out…

Not this one.

Cougar, more the delicate stuff such as laminate or softwood, I have a circular but it would rip that stuff to bits despite the soft start 🙁

I’ve always found getting a vertical cut in thicker materials to be a problem wit a jigsaw. I’d second a circular saw if you need a long strait, square, cut.

Having said that the blue bosch jigsaws are nice.

If you’re cutting straight lines in thick stuff, is what you need not a circular saw instead? Jig saws aren’t really designed to hack kitchen worktops in half no matter how good they are.

If you are cutting worktop for joining, you want to be getting yourself a router and a jig. But a jigsaw is fine if you are cutting out say a hob or a sink and don’t mind the rough edges. I’ve cut loads(worked with my da fitting kitchens as a youngster), drill four holes in the corners and away you go, but let the jigsaw do the cutting for you, forcing it is a short cut to squigley or angled lines.

Canny say i can recommend any though, been years since i used them, from memory dewalt and makita were what i used though, still entirely possible to cut bent with those though, took me a few goes to get it that a lighter touch really is better..

I got a McAllister one a while back from B&Q. It was loads cheaper than the alternative mainstream brands, given it’s features. But, it seems to work really well. It’s got variable speeds, variable pedulum motion, laser guide, blower thing to move dust away from your cutting line.
All in all, well pleased.

I’ve also got a McAllister 1/4 sheet palm sander that works well too. I owned that before getting the jigsaw, so that gave me some confidence that it was an OK product.

what exactly are you doing with it? From the sound of things you don’t exactly sound like you really know what you’re doing.

I would only ever buy Dewalt, Makita or blue Bosch for sensible money. I use a 18v dewalt and a corded blue Bosch, prefer the dewalt though.

Also make sure your blade is sharp, get yourself a packet or five if you intend to do alot of cutting..

Not a pro but from my personal experience.

Bosch are a reasonable price / quality compromise.

Router and jig(s) for thicker stuff.

Use a fine toothed blade if you are experiencing the wood ripping and put making tape tape over where you are cutting, this helps to minimise the ripping of the wood and stop scratching of the surface.

TheFunkyMonkey – Member
what exactly are you doing with it? From the sound of things you don’t exactly sound like you really know what you’re doing.

I would only ever buy Dewalt, Makita or blue Bosch for sensible money. I use a 18v dewalt and a corded blue Bosch, prefer the dewalt though.

That’s rather presumptuous don’t you think?

I know the blade should do the work, I also know that having the lowest guide close to the plate will keep the blade straighter, so what more detail would you like me to add?

I was actually looking at getting a Makita 4350FCT, but I thought that asking about that particular product would yield little, my cheapo one cost about £50, I didn’t really want to add that detail either.

Cheers.

Edit, I was using masking tape & proper (expensive) laminate blades to cut contiboard type stuff & it still ripped it apart.

You can get blades that cut on the down stroke I’f you want a neater finish on the upper surface – a finer toothed blade will help too

Edit, I was using masking tape & proper (expensive) laminate blades to cut contiboard type stuff & it still ripped it apart.

Always used to cut a bit away on contiboard then just plain it down if you wanted a good edge on it. Didn’t take very long, plains go through conti like butter! Still easy to make an arse of one side though, wee bit of fine polyfiller in the unseen edge works a treat if required.

disclaimer – I am not a joiner btw! 😀 Just did a fair few shifts labouring etc to get money while at school and college!

I have a circular but it would rip that stuff to bits despite the soft start

😕 What soft start ? A circular saw blade should only make contract with the material when it has reached full speed. To allow it to make contact before it has reached its optimum speed will risk buggering up the cut/material and is dangerous as it is difficult to control and can snatch.

With ref to cutting with a jigsaw, some jigsaw blades cut straighter than others. I suspect that you are using narrow blades designed to cut tight curves, in an under-powered jigsaw which you are having to push more than would be required if it wasn’t underpowered.

Does your jigsaw even have the ‘circular’ pendulum stroke motion which all professional jigsaws have ? If so, make saw it’s set correctly, the non pendulum stroke is only for metal.

Get advice from a decent tool shop concerning which are the best blades they have for straight cuts.

Ernie, not sure soft start is the right term, but it does start at a slower speed to the setting on the machine, my circular is a quite basic B&D as I don’t use it that often, & the blade is quite coarse. What I need from a jig is to be able to do a straight cut at 90 degrees in wood upto 50mm or less, if I wanted a scroll type machine then I would of asked for such, I don’t, i would just like people to recommend a decent tool for the job 🙁

Anyway, thanks all for the input as always.

Cheers.

90 degrees in wood up to 50mm

Wow, you’re asking a lot out of your jigsaw. And quite simply you won’t get a jigsaw that will give you nice straight cuts in 2″ thick timber.

Who mentioned scroll saws btw ?

i would just like people to recommend a decent tool for the job

I’ve only bought 2 jigsaws in my life, both were Bosch professionals, the first one was nicked, and the second one I’ve had about 25 years. Since Bosch professional jigsaws are gonna be too expensive for you, I can’t recommend you any jigsaw – sorry. Hire one ?

you still haven’t really explained what you’re doing properly. ernie picked up on what I was getting at too.

It sounds like you’re using he wrong tool for the job, for conti, you need a circular saw with a fine blade. I use a plunge saw and rail for cutting laminates, does a decent job but for when a perfect finish is required I always finish with a router.

50mm is too thick to expect a good cut from a jigsaw, not sure you’d even do that with a festool

quite simply you won’t get a jigsaw that will give you nice straight cuts in 2″ thick timber.

Why can’t you use a decent sharp panel saw ? That’s what I would do, if for whatever reason I couldn’t use a circular saw.

I own festool and Bosch jigsaws and have used many makes over 25 years as a carpenter best advice from me is think about what you want to cut first , mdf, timber,work tops, metal etc most jigsaws work great on thin material up 18mm then squareness and quality of cut sorts out the budget stuff from trade gear the more you spend the better tool you get in basic terms but most Bosch tools are very good and they make good jigsaws . If you are using it every week on all materials go with the festool .use the right blades for the job and you won’t go far wrong, also don’t go to b+q or screwfix or jewson etc as they charge way over the top for power tools hunt for local trade tool suppliers and you will get the pro kit for close to DIY money . Or go car boot sale.