Tried using a cheap jigsaw for baseboard trim and it fought me the whole way

I picked up a $30 jigsaw from a hardware store clearance bin last weekend to do some baseboard cuts in my living room. Cut through the first piece fine but the blade kept wandering on the second, throwing my 45 degree angle off by a good 3/16 of an inch. Anyone else had luck straightening out a jigsaw cut or is it just time to spring for a miter saw?

2 comments

2 Comments

jade_lane191mo ago

I was watching a YouTube video last week and some carpenter guy was saying cheap jigsaws have way too much play in the blade holder... makes the blade wiggle no matter how careful you are. Maybe spring for a miter saw if you can swing it, that wandering drove me nuts too.

wren9761mo ago

jade_lane19, I get what you're saying but I've been using a $40 jigsaw I picked up at a pawn shop for years and it cuts straight enough for what I'm doing. Sure, if you're trying to build furniture-grade stuff or make super tight curves, the extra wobble probably matters some. But for basic plywood cuts or rough framing, I honestly can't tell the difference between that and my buddy's $150 Bosch. People get real worked up over tool specs online, and half the time it's just someone trying to justify why they spent more money than you.