SKIL 6-amp Jig Saw (JS314901)

The affordable JS314901 model from SKIL delivers the standard 6 amps at 3,200 strokes per minute.  This is enough power for most wood and light metal jobs.  The jig saw can handle 1/2″ aluminum stock and around 3/8″ for tougher metals.  Note that the specific blade is important here.  Cuts in wood require coarser toothed-blades while cuts in metal will require finer toothed-blades.  Futhermore, straight cuts benefit from thicker blades while thinner blades are better for curved cuts.  SKIL provides all these in a $10 blade pack if you want to cover all your bases.  Note that the JS314901 accepts u-shank blades, so keep that in mind when shopping for extra blades.

The base plate is sturdy and pivots to 45 degrees, which is standard for jig saws.  The pivoting action is controlled with a bevel lever located at the rear of the saw.  An orbit-control lever also controls the aggressiveness of the cut.  The saw weighs less than 5 lbs, which is definitely on the lighter side.  Arm fatigue is reduced but the tool is more susceptible to jerking around if the blade catches the wood wrong.

The jig saw includes two features we really like that are usually found on higher-end saws.  A horseshoe-shaped light surrounds the front of the blade and illuminates the cutline, blade, and kerf.  This is incredibly useful in all lighting scenarios.  Keeping the blade tracking on your cutline is a must and the light definitely helps.  However, a brightly lit blade is pretty useless if the cutting area is covered in sawdust.  SKIL aims to fix this with the other equally-useful feature: a dust blower.  Jig saws cut on the up motion which means that wood chips and saw dust are ejected upwards.  Since the only place for the sawdust to land is directly on your workpiece, cut lines and kerfs are often obscured.  The blower remedies this by keeping the area clear.

The JS314901 is technically a variable-speed jig saw, but that categorization is nuanced.  Most competing jig saws use variable triggers; i.e. a partial pull on the trigger results in a slower speed while a fully-depressed trigger results in full speed.  The SKIL variates its speed with a separate speed dial.  The trigger is binary, so it’s either fully off or fully on up to whatever speed is dialed in with the adjustment speed dial.  Most woodworkers familiar with jig saws greatly prefer the variable speed trigger rather than the binary trigger found on the JS314901.  Variable triggers allow you to easily speed up or slow down as needed down straightaway or around corners.  Sneaking up on desired speeds is more difficult with the binary trigger on this jig saw that we find annoying.

You can’t ignore the aggressive price here.  The JS314901 is among the lowest-priced jig saws on the market considering some of the features it includes.