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Jigsaw Review - Skil 4495 Orbital Jigsaw w Laser
I'm writing this jigsaw review soon after finishing a significant home repair. Our house, which we have been trying to sell, had a water line break when the outside temperature reached -35 degrees F at night for a few weeks. The house is about 200 miles from where we currently live and we failed to have anyone check on it for a few weeks. The heat was set to 65 degrees, but this just wasn't enough. The water was supposed to be turned off, but we had the utility company turn it on for an inspector to check the plumbing for a potential buyer. The buyer backed out and the inspector never showed. It was during our wait for the inspector that the water line froze and broke.
What does this have to do with the Skil jigsaw? Well, I had to grab a jigsaw once I arrived at the house to start repairs because I didn't bring one with me. I bought the Skil 4495-02 jigsaw from Walmart for about $50. Since Skil is owned by Bosch, and this jigsaw is rated at 6 amps, I thought I was buying a decent jigsaw to get the job done. This jigsaw review is based on my experience in using the Skil jigsaw for one week. I only used the one jigsaw, so this jigsaw review is only based on the one saw and it could be possible that any shortcomings of this saw might not have been found in one of the other jigsaws on the store shelf.
To start, here's the basic specs:
Skil 4-Position Orbital Jigsaw with Laser Guide, 4495-02:
Powerful 6A motor
Built-in laser guide for accurate straight cuts
4-position orbital cut control for fast or smooth cuts
Variable speed trigger adjusts speed to cut
Custom molded tool rest design to prevent blade from damaging material
Tool-less blade change accepts both T & U shank blades
Tool-less foot adjustment for easy angle changes
On-tool blade storage keeps blades handy when needed
I'll rate my experience on three criteria; Cutting Power, Features, and Cutting Accuracy. Any jigsaw review, or power tool review in general, must be completed with some set criteria in mind, and the three criteria noted here will give a good idea of what you can expect from the 4495 model Skil jigsaw.
To begin, let me tell you that this saw has plenty of power. It never struggled to maintain a cutting speed, even through some very dense wood. A 6 amp motor is enough for nearly any cutting that a person might do with a jigsaw. The features I'd like to mention in this jigsaw review are noted above. The orbital action performed as expected. The fact that the saw can accept both the T and U shank blades is nice. Vibration was dampened well too. As you can tell from the picture, this is also an awesome looking saw. It looks like it could really kick some ass!
This is about all of the good I can say in this jigsaw review. The remainder of what I can report on is based on a number of poor qualities. First, the variable speed trigger is only OK. It works, but the mechanical motion of the trigger isn't as user friendly as some models. The foot design is a standard molded metal and not the more desirable cast foot. The laser guide is nice and is also adjustable, but this doesn't really matter because the bottom line is that this jigsaw simply doesn't cut straight. In fact, to cut on a straight line, I had to twist the jigsaw by about 5 degrees counterclockwise. All the features in the world don't matter much is the saw doesn't cut straight.
So, based on this jigsaw review, would I recommend this jigsaw? My answer is no. A person is better off using a jigsaw that cuts straight, even if they have to sacrifice some fancy options to get an affordable jigsaw that cuts accurately. It's possible that I just got a dud, so you may try one of these for yourself and get lucky. In fact, if this jigsaw cut accurately, it would wholeheartedly recommend it. It has plenty of power, some nice features, looks cool…if only it could cut accurately! I returned the jigsaw to Walmart and I look forward to using a Bosch or Dewalt again.
Oh, and just in case you're curious about the home repair, I'll post a few before and after pics below. One full bathroom was destroyed along with part of a laundry room and the flooring in a bedroom. This jigsaw certainly helped with this repair, but getting accurate cuts took a lot more effort than it should require.
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Bathroom Restored