A mind of its own

This is a tool I wish I never would have purchased. I would have prefered to get by using a coping saw and dealing with a blister or thirty. This tool generates such a level of frustration that it is amazing that the same engineers who design Dewalt, Porter Cable, and Delta could allow such a monstrosity to leave the lab.

This particular unit has a quick blade release, variable speed, variable orbital action and an adjustable base.

The quick blade release does release the blade quickly and hold it solidly. I have yet to have a blade pop out. Unfortunately the entire saw has to be held at a 30 degree angle to the cutting line in order to get a straight cut. Remove your finger and stop the cut for a second and the blade resets itself to some other magic angle. The vertical cut is also at an angle, probably about 5-15 degrees. In thicker materials it is almost comical if it wasn’t so frustrating. I can only attribute this to a loose blade, or possibly a misadjustment in the blade carrier. Unfortunately the unit is thread locked to such a point that no adjustment is possible.

The variable speed is also quite interesting. I installed a new shower surround yesterday and used this little gem to trim a panel to size. We wanted a nice, slow, smooth speed to reduce gumming on the surround. The variable speed would work on the first three inches or so, then it would randomly move up or down, before finally settling on maximum speed about four inches later. So for the remaing 50 or so inches the blade was moving at full speed gumming up the cut. We ended up using my japanese pull saw to finish all the panels, it was faster, smoother and required less cleanup.

The variable orbital action does what it says. Lots of orbital action for splintered, fast cuts. No orbital for slow, splintered cuts. And right in the middle for sort of fast splintered cuts.

I haven’t tried the adjustable base yet but I can imagine some new sort of frustration will result.

This tool is of such poor construction that it fails at even the most basic task it has been designed for.

I can’t state how crappy I believe this tool to be. I plan on using it for some fiberglass cutting before fishing season which destroys any jig saw in short order. Though I’m sure even then it will frustrate.

-- Casey, Engineer, Escanaba, MI