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DEWALT DW321K Heavy Duty Variable Speed Top Handle Jig Saw Kit | List Price: $182.55
Discount Price: $183.59
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Brand: DeWalt
Binding: Tools & Hardware
Features: - Tool free blade changing
- Accepts universal and T shank blades
- Includes dust blower and kit box
- Orbital action for faster cuts in wood
Dewalt does not know how to make a jig saw [Posted on 2005-10-27]
This is the second Dewalt model I tried. I cannot recommend it. The most important feature of a jigsaw in my opinion is to be able to make a square cut while following a line, curved or straight. This saw cannot do either. The plunger that moves the blade up and down has a very large "play" sideways. You can move it with your finger side to side by more than 1/16th of an inch. That kind of movement translates into a larger movement at the cutting area of the blade. So no matter what kind of cut you are making, curved or straight, the blade wants to wander. Once it moves 1/16th away from your line, you apply force on the saw to move it back. That makes it worse. As you make a curve, the blade deflects more and more as you get into the curve, making the cut not square. You end up with a very rough cut even with finest blades. You have to cut proud of your line and waste time sanding. You can do this test at Home Depot or somewhere you can see different models. Take this saw and push the plunger sideways, then take a Bosch and do the same. You will see that Bosch is rock solid, does not move visibly, whereas Dewalt is lose as if they forgot a bolt or two. I bought a barrel grip Bosch and I am happy..
Great tool for those who *read* the manual. [Posted on 2005-12-19]
I nicked this saw barely used on Ebay for $40. Thanks to all of you who gave it bad reviews here, must be the reason it went so cheap - and I got me a great tool. It seems this saw has suffered from the 'real men don't read manuals' syndrome. Sure enough, the saw I got arrived sans manual, which probably got discarded by the previous owner the first thing after opening the saw. So, I printed and thoroughly studied the PDF version off Dewalt website.
I will just go over the problems that seem to be mentioned the most here.
1. Dust removal: works a lot better if you turn it on. My saw arrived with the switch on 'off'.
2. Inability to make a straight cut: Orbital action is for aggressive cutting, and manual specifically cautions to set it to 0 for precise cuts - or for cutting metal. My saw arrived with orbital jacked to 3. Previous owner must have had trouble cutting straight. And this saw is powerful. I shudder at the thought of trying cutting metal on orbital with it.
3. Base plate retention lever working loose. It did come loose during test cuts. Manual says if that happens, tighten the screw holding the lever. Which I did - and the lever never came loose again - ever.
4. Blade retention mechanism. Manual states that in order to secure the blade, one must turn the tab clockwise a couple turns before pushing it down. Having done this, I never had a blade go loose. This is one knock for Dewalt - the claim to support both T and U blades is not entirely correct. You CAN chuck a T blade, but a quick survey of the mechanism assured me that is is really made for U blades and is not likely to hold T's properly. This problem is made worse by the fact that later Dewalt jigsaws are all T-blade users, and the only Dewalt blades I saw in stores were T. So I got me a set of quality Bosch U-blades. Never tried this saw with a T.
So far, I've been using this saw for several months - cutting all sorts of things with it. Not a single problem. No bent/ejected blades. No crooked cuts. No desire to ever get another jigsaw.
The Best I ever had [Posted on 2006-05-31]
This saw feels and cuts like the powerful saw that it is. I cut out new bases for my boat seats out of 3/4" plywood with it. I was amazed with the ease it went threw the plywood. Now I know how a pro tool performs.
Dewalt DW321K HD Jig Saw [Posted on 2006-08-01]
Great tool! Enough power for finish cuts in tight places! Very versatile!
Should have believed the bad reviews... [Posted on 2006-08-23]
After reading the review that said "read the manual", I figured I could pick up a good saw (that was badly adjusted) for short money. Oops. This thing is a piece of junk. It doesn't matter how aggressive (or not) the orbital action is when the shaft has play - I can not get this thing to track a line properly, or to make true cuts. Since pretty much all of the professional quality tools use T-shank blades, it's getting harder and harder to find high-quality "u" blades, so the fact that they don't fall out of the saw is pointless - the saw was designed and advertised as working with both, it should work for both.
Of course, try looking for a used Bosch - there aren't any, at least not any with a good discount over new. Guess that should tell you something right there. Save your money and buy a Bosch first time out instead of trying this piece of junk first.
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