Festool 561593 Carvex PS 420 EBQ Jigsaw

You get what you pay for. Completely incomparable to any other brand, this machine is amazing; sturdy, accurate and fast. It cut 3" thick Walnut dead square right out of the box!

For a jigsaw, this things a beast. It's not festool track saw accurate, but that's not what a jigsaw is for. It's powerful and smooth. You can take tight turns. It really excels for preparing work for a template if you don't have a bandsaw. For people who cry about the off switch, their just little girls.

I received my Carvex this morning and have used it for about two hours on a project and all I can say is "yes it's worth the money". My situation may be unique in that I'm making about 6 Adirondack chairs and I have a small shop so I don't have room for a full sized bandsaw so I'm making most of my rough cuts for the chairs with a jigsaw. After rough cutting a piece I then use templates to make the finished form using a flush trim router bit on a router table. This workflow with my previous jigsaw which was a pretty nice Bosch was time consuming and wasteful at best because the Bosch tended to wander on me in 2x4 and 2x6 cedar which meant I had to leave a bit more excess wood outside the pattern which then meant I had to spend a lot more time on the router table which is more dangerous with a 2" flush trim bit and takes a lot longer because you have to nibble away at the excess so that was becoming a real chore. After opening up the Carvex systainer and giving the manual a quick once through I was up and running with a blade and a properly cut splinter guard. Right off the bat I cut squarer, cleaner, quicker and more accurately than I had ever been able to do with the Bosch. The dust collection was also much much better which is important for me in a small shop. Like I said most of these cuts you would typically do on a bandsaw if you want the ultimate in square and accuracy but in the absence of owning that tool this is the next best thing for anything with a curve. After owning many of Festool's products I've come to the conclusion that the saddest day of owning a Festool tool is the first day when you have to fork over the money. The rest of your time with their tools you will be kicking yourself for not buying it sooner because they really are just that much better in almost every respect.If you use your current jigsaw the way I do and need square, accurate and clean cuts don't hesitate. Just get the Carvex. You'll thank me later.

I've been using a 30 year old jigsaw which has worked well except when I cut thick stock then the blade would not cut holes well. The barrel shaped body makes cutting more accurate, the led light has a strobe option so it's easier to see the blade as you follow the cutting line. The variable speed has an automatic setting which starts the blade slowly then increases the blade speed for a faster cut. This is my first Festool and it cost about $60 more than the Bosch I was originally going to buy but it was well worth the extra money.

This is a solid jigsaw with a great deal of accesories. I have come to relly on Festool tools for my business because of their quality in construction and more importantly thier product engineering that allows me to build quality furniture in a reasonable amount of time, in other words I don't mind spending way more for a Festool product because it saves me time due to their outstanding design and engineering.Most jigsaws have the capability of cutting at an angle right out of the box, not this one, you need the angled base accesory to get that feature.This jigsaw fails in a simple task even with the accesory kit. Try to cut an inward angle near the edge of a piece of wood, not right at the edge of a straignt piece of wood, but lets say 1/2" to 1/4" from the edge to scribe the piece of wood to a wall. Well you can but it is not as straight forward as you could with the previus festool jugsaw or most jigsaws on the market, you would need to: a) Purchase the angle base, and b) add a piece of scrap material next to the one you want to cut in order to have half the base touching the scrap and the other half of the base in the air (This is the case in any situation with the angled base not folded inward).It seams that this was an oversite in their design process. You need a base that just tilts to either side as a single unit, not one that folds inward or outward, it is that simple. Yes their angle base looks cool and for very specific cuts it's great, but it does not provide full contact with the material in most cases and in some situations just gets in the way.For a $350 plus $200 (accesory kit) I expect the tool to take care of all the normal task without having to create a special jig or a time consumming setup.I will probably return it, but if I deside to keep a Carvex I would choose the D handle because of the switch.

Disappointed actually. It was fairly expensive and although it comes with a nice sturdy case, there are other features lacking. For one, the on/off switch is not trigger controlled. It is located on both sides of the motor. In case of an emergency, it will not just shut off if you let your finger off a trigger. You have to reach up and shut it off. To me, that is a safety concern. Second, sawdust builds in the cutting line I try to follow making me go off the line constantly. It seems some of the lower priced jig saws have some sort of air blowing in the path of the blade but this saw does not. It did cut through 2x6 pine easy enough but not always a great 90 degree angle. My biggest concern is the safety issue with the on/off button located too far from fingers reach. If you dropped the saw it would keep running, etc.

If it had a tilting base I would give it 5 stars. The slow start is great. Ease of blade change is great. Adjusting the blade could be easier. It's pricey so it's not a tool you would "toss" in your van.