Adjusting speeds on Bosch jigsaw

[CarvedTones]

OK, so I got the Bosch jigsaw so many folks recommended (photos and a proper gloat forthcoming). I have been doing a few things with it and I am quite impressed so far. I used the circle jig to cut a bowl blank out of some dry 8/4 spalted maple. I ripped oddball shaped green log sections to remove "points" from splitting wedges. I used a long blade and had good results all the way to 4" thick. I did break one blade and I managed to get sparks from the guides a few times.

Anyway, a couple of questions about adjusting speeds (yes plural)...

The Bosch has a speed control away from where your hands are when cutting. You just turn it off an on when you cut and the speed control is a separate control that you pretty much need to set in advance. I have only been cutting wood and leaving it wide open, even when cutting thick wood; I just slowed my cutting speed. Is there a good reason to slow it on wood?

The other speed adjustment is the orbital speed. The manual mentioned slowing or stopping it for hard materials, but I also backed it off a little with the really long blades in thick wood. Any good rules of thumb or particular situations to adjust it? I never had a jigsaw with this adjustment before.

 

[Ken Massingale]

Congrats Andy.
You must have the 1590 or 1591. I have the older 1587 and the speed control is on the trigger. The knob sets the max speed and the speed varies with trigger pressure. As for speed I just let the wood and blade tell me what they like.
I haven't found a rule for the orbit, I adjust it with my left hand when starting a cut to get the best result. Like you, I adjust it down on thick stock.
Not much help was it??? ;-)

 

[Tarhead]

I'm not sure what the correct way is but I have it on max speed (rear) for thin, soft, easy wooden stuff and slow it down for the big blade when I cut some 6X6's, 4X4's and regular blades for Aztek and PVC pipe. I haven't touched the orbital adjustment from the factory setting and don't have a clue where it's set. The rear blade guide overheated one of my big blades with it set to Rock-n-Roll and the blade bent and broke.

Get some of the T380B Xtra-Clean blades. You'll use your bandsaw less, I GARONTEEE. Amazingly clean cuts on both sides. I just wish they could produce a narrower version.

 

[flatheadfisher]

I bought mine when I was doing a lot of metal fabrication and the speed and orbit adjustments were very handy because I could adjust the saw to get maximum cutting speed without getting the blade too hot. I was happy when the saw was replaced by a sheer - much faster ccasion1 . I have used the saw for some of my woodworking stuff but I haven't needed to adjust the speeds that I remember. But, I haven't really used it in wood too much.

 

[CarvedTones]

I'm not sure what the correct way is but I have it on max speed (rear) for thin, soft, easy wooden stuff and slow it down for the big blade when I cut some 6X6's, 4X4's and regular blades for Aztek and PVC pipe. I haven't touched the orbital adjustment from the factory setting and don't have a clue where it's set. The rear blade guide overheated one of my big blades with it set to Rock-n-Roll and the blade bent and broke.

Get some of the T380B Xtra-Clean blades. You'll use your bandsaw less, I GARONTEEE. Amazingly clean cuts on both sides. I just wish they could produce a narrower version.

6x6s? What blade does that? 5&1/4" is the longest I found.

I don't have a big bandsaw or room for one right now, so this was on my list for the express purpose of handling cuts that a band saw would be commonly used for as well as being a major upgrade to my old Skil (which I am keeping so I have a jigsaw to loan out ).

 

[Tarhead]

6X6's are easy. Just start at one corner and work your way around cutting in from each corner. Faster and cleaner than a circ saw

 

[CarvedTones]

OK, I think maybe you are suggesting something I found by accident is a legitimate technique - those blades with the extra tooth on the end can be used to cut into something that it can't cut all the way through. I misjudged a log section that I was trying to cut and it did not cut all the way through the thickest part, but it did not buck either. It kept cutting smoothly. I did a couple of more cuts like that on purpose after that, cutting starting kerfs for my new froe (stealth gloat ). I broke that blade not much later on a "regular" cut and wondered if I had weakened it by doing the "trenches". That is another thing my old Skil would not do. It would buck like crazy and/or bend/break the blade if you ever buried it. I really like this saw.