After a Cordless Jigsaw - What's good out there?

[wau5]

My jigsaw bosch gst135 although is a beast and still works fine is just super heavy, pretty hard to control due to size/weight and likes to snap blades like there's no tomorrow, there's also no dust blowing function, maybe it's just broken, dunno. and the worst of all- It has a Cord which I always have to watch out for as it always gets in a way and have to get extension leads whenever I want to cut something outside + it's already 10years old so probably Time to retire it.


I'm looking at the Makita 18v jigsaws -the DJV180 ones @something like £108 new ( I got few batteries already)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Makita-DJV180Z-18V-Jigsaw-Body-Only-/171952797450?hash=item28092f770a:g:j~0AAOSwa81XR~~6
135mm capacity in wood

or the bosch 10.8v ones @ something like £65 new ( also got few of those batteries already)

70mm capacity in wood

I need it mostly for precission cutting, and just cutting timber to length to process further or when going to timber yard to pickup timber and saw it to lenghts , I haven't found a need to cut anything thicker than 50mm with jigsaws so the bosch 10.8v would probably be fine.
Maybe anyone have looked in to those models before or have any of them and can comment on any of them?

I'm kinda leaning towards the small bosch one as it seems rather small, cheap, plenty of features, and it has the barrel grip which I think is more comfortable for precission cutting and easier to control?
thanks.

 

[foxhole]

Have the 14.4v Makita and it struggles to rip more than 3-4metres of timber before a new battery is required. Don't know what the 18v is like.

 

[catlad]

I have the 10'8 jigsaw I use it to cut round drain pipes when doing flat roove's
and that sort of thing. You are going to need the 4 amp batteries
for prolonged use I would say.

 

[Lmfao]

I have the Makita 18v jig and in my consideration it is a great piece of kit.
Use it with 4ah batteries and with a charge time of only 36mins I never have issues with having no power.
If I'm ripping a sheet then I use the Makita 18v circular saw, same battery, easy peasy.

lmfao

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I used a GST135BCE for about 10 years and what you describe sounds nothing like the tool I owned...... The weight is greater than a DIY tool, certainly, but it has power enough for most tasks and it actually weighs less than any of the 18 volt cordless tools I've tried to date (Bosch, deWalt and Makita) because they all have the additional weight of a battery pack. Can't say the weight has ever bothered me because 90% of the time mine sits on it's soleplate on top of the workpiece..... BTW it also does have a dust function - maybe yours is turned off?

So, this year I DID retire mine - and bought a Mafell P1cc instead. Whole different ball game, although the price is eyewatering but it has to be THE most accurate jigsaw I've EVER used (Festools included). Want to cut some 140mm diameter x 35mm thick softwood pads to go under a pool table with just the jigsaw?....

Try that with your GST135BCE - or any of the current cordlesses.

I have had a BJV180 for about 6 years. It is the 18 volt cordless version of the 4360CT(?) but lacks the variable speed control. In my opinion it won't cut 135mm accurately - more like 30 to 40mm at a pinch, but it will cut 100mm thick softwood (the DW and Bosch 18 volt models are no better) - but that was pretty much the case for the GST135BCE's corded predecessors like the GST2000 and GST120.

Battery life on the DJV180 isn't great - it eats 3 Amp batteries and even with 4 Amp ones it's not got the most impressive battery life, but then I mainly use it on sheet materials - for straight and plumb jointing cuts in solid stock I, too, turn to a circular saw - the Makita DHS680 - which is more powerful and better on batteries than even the latest, brushless Makita jigsaws (DJV181/182). I'd agree that as a secondary cutting tool, though, it is a very good tool. If you want more battery life and power as well as variable speed then consider the DJV182 brushless (D-handle) or DJV181 (body grip) but as others have said go with 4Ah or above batteries for heavy use

 

[big-all]

i have the bosch 10.8 and its a cracking bit off kit for the size
i havent really tried it on accurate work but suspect it performs similar to my old dewalt 18v that cut quite strait but crabs
in general 2x2ah or 2x2.5ah batteries are cheaper than one 4 hour battery

 

[big-all]

well thats ironic
ffx used to do the 4ah batts for around £65 and the 2.5ah for around £33
now the 2.5s are double at £65 unless thats a misprint and its for 2 batts but still more expensive per ah even so
http://www.ffx.co.uk/tools/product/Bosch-108Blue25-3165140818377-10.8V-2.5Ah-Li-Ion-Battery-Pack
and the 4ah are £42
http://www.ffx.co.uk/tools/product/Bosch-108Blue25W-3165140859455-Blue-Wireless-Li-Ion-Battery-10.8V
ahhh ok sorry my mistake thats not the 4ah its a wireless 2.5 ah doh
this is the 4ah at£51
http://www.ffx.co.uk/tools/product/Bosch-1600Z0002Y-3165140730365-10.8V-4.0Ah-Li-Ion-Battery

 

[wau5]

I used a GST135BCE for about 10 years and what you describe sounds nothing like the tool I owned...... The weight is greater than a DIY tool, certainly, but it has power enough for most tasks and it actually weighs less than any of the 18 volt cordless tools I've tried to date (Bosch, deWalt and Makita) because they all have the additional weight of a battery pack. Can't say the weight has ever bothered me because 90% of the time mine sits on it's soleplate on top of the workpiece..... BTW it also does have a dust function - maybe yours is turned off?

So, this year I DID retire mine - and bought a Mafell P1cc instead. Whole different ball game, although the price is eyewatering but it has to be THE most accurate jigsaw I've EVER used (Festools included). Want to cut some 140mm diameter x 35mm thick softwood pads to go under a pool table with just the jigsaw?....

Try that with your GST135BCE - or any of the current cordlesses.

I have had a BJV180 for about 6 years. It is the 18 volt cordless version of the 4360CT(?) but lacks the variable speed control. In my opinion it won't cut 135mm accurately - more like 30 to 40mm at a pinch, but it will cut 100mm thick softwood (the DW and Bosch 18 volt models are no better) - but that was pretty much the case for the GST135BCE's corded predecessors like the GST2000 and GST120.

Battery life on the DJV180 isn't great - it eats 3 Amp batteries and even with 4 Amp ones it's not got the most impressive battery life, but then I mainly use it on sheet materials - for straight and plumb jointing cuts in solid stock I, too, turn to a circular saw - the Makita DHS680 - which is more powerful and better on batteries than even the latest, brushless Makita jigsaws (DJV181/182). I'd agree that as a secondary cutting tool, though, it is a very good tool. If you want more battery life and power as well as variable speed then consider the DJV182 brushless (D-handle) or DJV181 (body grip) but as others have said go with 4Ah or above batteries for heavy use

Thanks mate, well I bought my GST135BCE used at around 6years old, probably one of the best jigsaws when released, however with age (now at 10years old as well it has started to develop some problems ) it also has started to speed up itself to the highest speed out of a sudden from time to time and that's pretty dangerous.. btw is there any manual way to turn the dust blower on/off? either mine is turned off or it doesn't works..

your mafell looks sweet, but no way I can justify buying that one
I kinda have a plan to buy one of those makita circular saws as well sometime in future, but I feel that jigsaw is a more universal tool and I have corded circular as well in the very rare occasion I need one.

 

[wau5]

i have the bosch 10.8 and its a cracking bit off kit for the size
i havent really tried it on accurate work but suspect it performs similar to my old dewalt 18v that cut quite strait but crabs
in general 2x2ah or 2x2.5ah batteries are cheaper than one 4 hour battery

btw can you cut comfortably 50mm stuff with your bosch? what's the max thickness you have tried to do with it?
and how is the battery life on them?
I have 4x of 2ah batteries that came with a bosch multitool.

btw the chinese replica batteries are pretty good, bought 2 for I think £12 together for both and they performed as good as bosch and still are performing the same 2years later..

 

[big-all]

to be honest any strait work is a track saw table or chop saw
i dont often cut greater than 21mm pine
will have a look at trying it on say 44mm pine on strait line then a gentle wavy line pendulum off and see what happens

 

[wau5]

after doing more hunting I have started to like the DJV181Z ,the newest brushless model, but £160 for it.. fuuk..sounds extremely overpriced for a rough cutting tool I wont be using everyday.

Seems like bosch has pretty nice 18v jigsaw as well, the gst 18 v-li s , and at £105 much more reasonably priced as well, however I got no 18v bosch batteries already

& I'm still looking at the small 10.8v bosch ones, as I got the batteries already and its super cheap at £63
But I seriously can't find much info about it or any videos showing where they have cut up larger stuff with it

ahh decisions...

 

[oilboffin]

I've got an AEG brill tough as nails

 

[Roger928]

This is the festool carvex getting its butt kicked by the p1cc.

The p1cc has a lot less clearance between the base and the machine body in comparison to most other makes.

Question for J&K.
Does that make it more difficult to see the cut line with the p1cc?

 

[big-all]

after doing more hunting I have started to like the DJV181Z ,the newest brushless model, but £160 for it.. fuuk..sounds extremely overpriced for a rough cutting tool I wont be using everyday.

Seems like bosch has pretty nice 18v jigsaw as well, the gst 18 v-li s , and at £105 much more reasonably priced as well, however I got no 18v bosch batteries already

& I'm still looking at the small 10.8v bosch ones, as I got the batteries already and its super cheap at £63
But I seriously can't find much info about it or any videos showing where they have cut up larger stuff with it

ahh decisions...

if you are still thinking off a 10.8 i will try on some 44mm tomorrow but i hate waste so will only do it iff you ask me too

 

[Deleted member 174758]

The p1cc has a lot less clearance between the base and the machine body in comparison to most other makes.

Does that make it more difficult to see the cut line with the p1cc?

It can be a tad awkward on occasion, but it is possible to loosen the base (lever at the right side of the body) and slide the base about 50mm towards the rear of the saw and then relock it to make the cut line more visible if you need it. I also find the cut line view with the (accessory) tilting base to be somewhat better than the standard base. In general, though, it isn't a problem.

When choosing the P1cc I was undecided between going for the Festool and the Mafell for quite some time, having already concluded that the Bosch GST160BCE wasn't for me. I'm happy with my purchase. To put it in perspective, these may explain one reason why:

Those are 135mm diameter circular "pads" cut out of a 38mm thick scaffolding board with a P1cc and fence/trammel point using a Bosch T244D blade. The sides are nearly perfectly square to the tops and they wiould happily roll across a bench top. Try doing that with any other jigsaw, including a Festool Carvex.

In general I use a cordless jigsaw on thinner stuff, such as plywood, where minor run-out doesn't matter. I have cut structurl tenons with the BJV180 in 5 x 2s using Bosch T344D blades with reasonable results and requiring only superficial cleaning-up - it's just that i can't do it consistently