Funny you should ask. I hate crappy jigsaws (hope this is what you mean by saber saw, although you might mean the larger recipricating saw).

Anyway, was at my brother in-law's and he had a good one. So I went and bought it, too. Love it. Smooth without vibrating the crap out of your hands, and comes with good blades, and holds the angle it is set at. Most jigsaws don't do that, and that really bugs me. Hard to get a simple 90 degree cut with a jigsaw, but the Bosch does it nicely.

Bosch 5.0 Amp Variable-Speed Top-Handle Orbital Jigsaw

Model 1587AVSP

$138 at Home Depot.

Thanks, Jeffery
That Bosch looks good.
And I meant to say jig-saw, I think the saber saw is the same thing..

Bosch and Milwaukee both make great ones. And for FYI, "sabre saw" and "jig saw" are interchnagable in this case. Actually sabre saw might be more correct, since scroll saws have long been called jig saws, too.

If you are trying to make long stright cuts, a jig saw would not be my tool of choice. You can keep a straight line by using a straight edge clamped to the door as a guide. But, the blade may have some warpage - you need straight through the door. For straight door trimming, I would use the circular saw or an electric planner.

Earth,
Like jtc says use a circular saw for the bottom cut on the door. Clamp a 2 X 4 on the door to use as a fence for the saw. I'd also score the cut line with a razor knife and put masking tape over the score line before using the circular saw to keep the wood from splintering.

Posted by: rredogg 5/Chicago Area (My Page) on Tue, Dec 13, 05 at 20:09

Earth,
Like jtc says use a circular saw for the bottom cut on the door. Clamp a 2 X 4 on the door to use as a fence for the saw. I'd also score the cut line with a razor knife and put masking tape over the score line before using the circular saw to keep the wood from splintering.

Damn good advice..
This is almost exactly the method I used to make a cut several years ago on another door, and it turned out perfectly..
The I had to go and experiment ...

The only quality sabre saw i ever used, that cut straight, and worked good, was one made by the real Black & Decker company, way back in the '40s! I bought it around 1947-8! It finally gave up 3-4 years ago, so my wife bought me a new saw for Christmas. I tried it, and i hate to hurt her feelings, but its NOT like my old B&D of years ago!
Rusty

The suggestions regarding the circular saws may be your solution for this job, but as for recommendations on a quality jigsaw, I recently bought a Dewalt DW317K. I have only used it a couple of times, but I have been very impressed with it. My previous jigsaw was a Skil (middle of their line). The smoothness and quality of the Dewalt is amazing in comparison. It is a joy to use.

The 317K retails for about $99. I found mine new on ebay for much less.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dewalt DW317K

For what it's worth, some people I've heard from did not like the DeWalt saw. Apparently the blade starts wandering after lots of use. The B&D Industrial (same thing as DeWalt for a few years) I had was designed with a weak mechanism.

Of course they may very well have fixed this now, so it would be a very good saw.

You didn't say which edge of the door you were cutting. Just a warning that the lockset side of the door is usually beveled slightly to prevent interference with the jam when closing the door and to prevent the gap between the door and jam from being too large.

The other problem with DeWalt's jigsaws is that they blow air in your face, instead of at the cut line. Also, the base-plate adjusting mechanism tends to jiggle loose. Just not particularly good tools. They are nice and smooth, but I wish now that I'd paid the little extra and gone to Bosch.

Porter-Cable made a worm-drive jig saw that was nothing short of amazing. I have one, and it's one of the smoothest operating saws that I have ever used. It is low profile and has a fixed base.

As far as I can tell, P-C doesn't list it in their product catalogs, maybe implying that it is no longer available. If so, that's a real shame, cause it's one of the best built jig saws that I have ever seen.

I do know that it was rather expensive when I bought it. I got a "deal" on it and it was still over $300.00 if I recall correctly.

It was very popular with craftsmen that deal with sheet metal.

That's the bayonet saw, probably. They're pretty slick for flat cuts since the blade is guided like that of a bandsaw. Problem is that you can't tilt it and it uses funny blades.

John....yes you are right. It is a bayonet saw. I have another P-C jig saw for when I need to make angle cuts and such.

Even with it's limited versatility, I still love to use my bayo saw.

The P-C bayonet saw is still around. I saw one on a site today as model 548, and about 315 bucks. They have been around for a long time, at least as far back as the late 1950's.

I don't think an angle base is all that necessary. I've never needed to make angle cuts for as long as I can remember.

Regarding the blades being oddball, I believe the Bosch design is also unique to that machine. These blades are designed to give a better cut, since they don't wobble like the universal style.

Rusty:

Those old B&D as well as Porter Cable and a few others were real tools. My dad bought a 6 inch P-C circular saw, model A-6, way back in the early 50's. He built a house with it, Now I've got it, and it's still going strong. The only repairs have been a switch and a few cords. 6 inch blades are still available for it, although only a couple of types.

Way back then, even Craftsman made some good portable power tools. I think they started turning into junk about the mid 60's, with all the plastic, and cheap sleeve bearings.

GG

Bosch invented the style of blade they use, but the majority of high-end saws use the same design now. Only PC uses the bayonet blade as far as I know.

When I bought my P-C bayo saw, I was able to pick-up a very good assortment of blades (read lots) for it at the time.

That's the only way to fly..........

Hello. My husband has a Craftsman Saber Saw and our daughter dropped it and the wood cutting blade that was in it broke. He has been trying all day to get the piece out that is still in the saw. He has tried a magnet, he has unscrewed the screws that hold that part together, he has tried wiggling it. Do you have any suggestions for him to try next? His saw is model 315-10703 and it is double insolation, 5/8 stroke and variable speed. It broke off flush with the blade holder.
Thank you in advance for any help you can give us with this.

If it's been awhile since the blade has been changed the the broken piece may be rusted or was bent when it was dropped. The first thing to do is to unplug the saw.

Make sure the set screws are turned out far enough or better yet remove the screws. Then use a small straight screwdriver and wiggle it between the broken blade and the blade holder. When you get the blade to slide over and it still will not fall out, use a pair of needle nose pliars and pluck it out. Hope this helps

Thank you Like My Yard. I'll go try right now. We did take all the screws out and I've put some oil on it and am trying soaking it in hot sudsy water right now. I'm on my way too try the screw driver.
Take care

My first jigsaw was an old Craftsman that was too tough to die. The base was held on with plumbers tape, so the saw was used mostly freehand, like a recip saw. I replaced this with a B/W Quantum saw, which when I needed to use it for actual cutting, proved incapable of cutting a straight line. I'm try to decide if I really need a jig saw.
I now use my Sawzall for a lot of the stuff I used to use the jigsaw for.
Norm

I have just become the owner (passed to me by a relative) of a CRAFTSMAN Model 315.27990 Saber Saw with no owners manual or other information. Web search is cold, must be a real old one. I'm working on reconditioning it as much as I can. It wasn't in to bad shape when I got it, but for some rust and leaking oil, plus just general bad shape. The only questions I have are: (a) What kind of grease should be put into the drive housing and (b) Where might I get a copy of the owners manual? Any input would be appreciated.