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jig saw question

todd | Posted in Tools for Home Building on April 19, 2007 08:14am

I burned out two of my old crappy jigsaws in the last week. Have my heart set on a new Bosch but didn’t pick it up yet.

Today, my brother called from the local Harbor Freight (he shops there since all his good tools were stolen during an apartment rehab, he’s still bummed.

“Hey, their jigsaws are on sale…you can get one with a laser light for $20 – half price!”

Curiosity got the better of me and I said sure.

Question: Picking it up tomorrow…It’s not big enough to be a boat anchor, what the heck am I going to do with it?

Todd

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Replies

  1. tek | Apr 19, 2007 08:26pm | #1

    Sell it on craigslist or ebay for $50 and put the money towards the bosch. 

    Repeat that a few times and you might have a free jigsaw.

  2. andybuildz | Apr 19, 2007 11:28pm | #2

    write Rigid on it and sell it on Ebay...

    View Image
    View more Chicago Electric Power Tools items

    ORBITAL JIGSAW WITH LASER GUIDE

    View Image

    • Bright red laser line ensures precise cuts
    • Three stage orbital action with 11/16" stroke
    • 500-3000 strokes per minute
    • Six-position dial speed control
    • Foot plate adjusts 0-45 degrees left and right
    • Soft grip handle
    • Comes with three blades and hex key
    • 120V, 60 Hz, 5.5 amps
    • UL listed

    Laser runs on two AAA batteries, sold separately.

    ITEM 92772-3VGA

    $39.99

    $19.99 

     

     

    http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM                                 

     
    1. noelski | Apr 20, 2007 03:22am | #3

      19.99 is what a good hammer should cost.

      The bosch jig saw is like most good tools- worth every penny

      I've stiil got the old one- 15 years of hard use.

      the new one must be used to be appreciated.

       

    2. Toolsguy | Apr 20, 2007 09:03pm | #7

      Oh for cryin out loud. Lasers on a jigsaw now? What next???? Laser on a ax?

      1. caseyr | Apr 21, 2007 12:22am | #8

        "What next???? Laser on a ax?"Hey, great idea. Maybe we will finally get something useful from the bazillions that were spent on the "Star Wars" anti-missile vaporing lasers...

      2. andybuildz | Apr 21, 2007 12:41am | #9

        Oh for cryin out loud. Lasers on a jigsaw now? What next???? Laser on a ax?<<<<I wuz thinkin' on something more........uhhhh..phalic? lol

         

         

        http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM                                 

         

        1. frost | Apr 21, 2007 12:56am | #10

          don't need a laser on that tool yet.

          I have a Bosch that I love, bought it a few years ago to replace an old barrell grip Hitachi that just never cut square.  I bought one of those Collins coping foot things and put it on the Hitachi so now it doesn"t ever have to be square, just has to cope when I need it. The Bosch is the one I grab for the everyday stuff.  Might work with the Harbor Freight one.

      3. rwjiudice | Apr 21, 2007 02:08am | #12

        Actally, I was in Lowes today and saw a PAINT SPRAYER with a laser (apparently a dot on each side to indicate where the paint will spray) !!!!!!!!!

        As dumb as my GE Microwave which, when you turn off the surface light, lights up the display and scrolls " surface light off" !!!   NO S%$#%!!!!

  3. User avater
    sawdustmaker | Apr 20, 2007 06:03am | #4

    todd, go with the Bosch. You won't regret it at all. I purchased mine to complete a project out of 8/4 oak, and it performed flawlessly.

  4. caseyr | Apr 20, 2007 06:18am | #5

    Some Harbor Freight tools are actually decent, many are worth their cost. Use it when you don't want to keep your good saw chained to wrist lest it disappear. If you set it down and it disappears over lunch break, it was only $20.

    I have no idea how well the jig saw works. I bought one of their $19 grinders for a situation where I figured it would be destroyed. It worked fine until the guy operating it ran it for several hours non-stop cutting stucco. When it died and the guy handed it to me, it was so hot that I couldn't hold on to it. It did cut all the stucco around 8 windows and a patio door - except for the last two feet...

    1. todd | Apr 20, 2007 07:51pm | #6

      I'm just a lowly diy but I decided a long time ago to buy good stuff or nothing at all, although I'll be cutting a house worth of fibercement with a cheapo circular saw bought just for that purpose.Anybody who'd buy that HF jig saw second hand would be even dumber than me!

  5. Houghton123 | Apr 21, 2007 01:54am | #11

    Can't answer that question, Todd, but over the last couple of years, I've picked up two Bosch jigsaws at garage sales that are old enough that the shoe doesn't tilt - I think they're the early imports to the U.S. (the journeyman I was working with then, then being over 30 years ago, called them "Swiss saws").  My son's using one professionally, and I've got the other.  They still run like, um, Swiss clocks.

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