Bosch Jigsaw
Model no. 1587AVSP
by Steve Fisher

I’ve been building stitch and glue boats for almost 2 years and being obsessive I’ve always been unhappy with cutting the panels. The edges were never straight until I made a cutting guide. That worked for keeping the cuts to the line but the blade would cant inward making for uneven panels. Basically the cutting guide has been a good idea but the execution left lots to be desired because of tool failure.

A few weeks ago I was speaking with a contractor neighbor and the talk got around to my boats. He, of course, has a complete woodworking shop in addition to all the job site tools so I decided to ask about jigsaws. Without hesitation he recommended the Bosch with orbital action. I immediately got on the net to check it out. Liked what I saw and then started shopping price. Amazon had the best deal, $149 and free shipping. I placed my order but was disappointed when a few days later I got an e-mail that there would be a shipping delay. Not being a particularly patient type I cancelled the order, got in my truck and headed for the nearest Home Depot. Glad I cancelled the order because I had originally ordered the barrel grip model but found that my hands were too small to comfortably hold and guide so I purchased the handle model.

There are a number of reasons why this tool does such a great job amongst which are variable speed, a dust blower (it always helps to see where you’re going) and best of all the orbital action. What the orbital action does is to advance the blade on each stroke. The instructions say to let the saw advance on it’s own and it does. Heavy weight and low vibration add to the ability to keep the cut on line. I now look forward to cutting out panels and the ability to cut multiple panels at one pass saving time and trimming panels to match. It’s a bit pricey but then you get what you pay for.

Steve Fisher
stevenfisher@mac.com
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