The ongoing confessions of a tool snob...

Around boat builders and boatyards you come across a lot of tool snobs.We are all allowed to have our opinions on such things as tools (it being a free country and all) but we often do ourselves a disservice by taking it too far...

For instance, just about everybody I know is of the opinion that Bosch makes the best jig saws around and I would not be fair if I did not admit that this is most likely true. Over the years I've used enough Bosch jig saws to confirm, to me at least, that they are indeed one seriously fine bit of hardware.

For a long time I have been pretty much a DeWalt guy in my power tool selection as they are well made, strong enough for serious boatbuilding jobs, and not too awful silly expensive as some. Sadly I have become less than enamoured with things DeWalt with an ongoing problem with the last few batches of batteries I've purchased, so when I needed a new jig saw, DeWalt was simply not on my short list.

As it happens the short list consisted of two barrel grip jig saws one, a Bosch and the other, a Makita... The problem was at the time neither was available and, as my old jig saw had died, I needed something and I needed it right away.

Living in the Caribbean one is not often given much of a choice when buying needful stuff... No Bosch, no Makita and except for an amazingly over priced DeWalt, the only available jig saw at my local hardware store was a Black and Decker....

Ooh yuck (fellow tool snobs will understand this reaction).

Since I needed to cut some stuff right away I bought the B&D as a temporary disposable solution to the problem with the intention to buy either the Bosch or Makita ASAP and then trundle the B&D into our trade goods and, hopefully, unload it on a less discerning boater at the next nautical flea market I came across...

I know that this is going to get me kicked out of the "Greater Brotherhood of Tool Snobs International" but I really like the Black and Decker! Fact is, I have zero desire to get the Bosch or Makita now because the B&D kicks some serious ass.

In the six months or so I've had the B&D, it's sawed through various woods, fiberglass, plastics, aluminum, and stainless steel and it never even breathed hard. The blades are well supported and I've yet to come across any blade drift even in the hardest materials (including 3/4" thick 6061 T6 aluminum) and the quick change blade system works better than any other I've come across. Two things that I thought were useless bells and whistles, the smart select dial and a blade storage thingy on the side, both actually work great and are oh-so-needful... Color me impressed!

The really, really cool thing about this saw is it's street price at under $40... Really! The only down side is I still wished it had a barrel grip...

Listening to Jefferson Airplane

So it goes...