jig saw/choices

[mike lucas]

<O</O

How in the world do you guys use your Bosch jig saws? I have two a 1581 (That was the first generation of the 1580`s series jig saw, the one that use a very long narrow screw driver for blade changes.) and a newer 1584 barrel grip, (Tool less blade changes.) One is more then 12 years old, while the barrel grip is about 7 years old. And I have never had a single problem with the base shoe or anything else on or in the saw. And I would bet that I have at least 200-250 hours of use on the top handle jig saw.
<O</O
Most of my use is in hard maple, red and white oak, hickory, and sassafras. with a pinch of pine. I have gone through several packages of blades (The 5 packs!) that are it. I want the 1590 just for the much improved tool less blade changing, as well as the tool less base mitering adjustment. But since I have two very good band saws, I can not justify it.

[Steve Evans]

Mike

Putting in a Jatoba floor, I would probably go through a pack of 5 in about 2 days. It's real fun stuff to work with

[Allen Grimes]

Allen, I have a Bosch 1584 that I've had for about 2 1/2 years. The Festool I've only had since around Sept of this year.
The Festool will make a square cut in much thicker/harder material than my Bosch will. This was compared using both the Festool blades on both machines, and the Bosch blades on both machines. As well, I've had a problem with bending the footplates on the Bosch cutting some hard woods, most notably Jatoba flooring. I know of two other shops who have had the same problem. One guy has gone through 4 footplates and will never buy another Bosch because of it. Whether the Festool is better in this respect remains to be seen, but I get the feeling that at least they'll stand behind it. Bosch has been indifferent to say the least, quite happy to collect the $35 Cdn each time it happens.
I do consider the price reasonable for the Festool. Including the extra footplates, I've spent close to the same amount for the Bosch. I think that under normal use the Bosch is an excellent machine, and I suspect the new Bosch would probably be very close or the same as the Festool with regards to the squareness of cut.

Steve

Thanks, Steve,

You're review was interesting, but I really want to know how the 1590/1591 compares to the Festool models.