Milwaukee Power Tools M18 BJS-0 Jigsaw 18V

This review is being done for Tool Talk, and thanks to Harry for sending out this Milwaukee 18 volt jigsaw for me to try. Now it comes boxed up with no batteries, but if you already have Milwaukee tools, then you can take the 18 volt battery from any other tools, and swap it between tools, as we all do.

Now, out of the box there's one T-style jigsaw blade. The jigsaw itself has a rubber fitting, rubber protector over the shoe that can be taken off, but is best left on. At the front, there is a blade guard to keep your fingers away from those ripping sharp blades. And there's an optional part, which I have fitted here, which slides in to the rear. It's a vacuum adapter, and it does fit onto the Milwaukee 18 volt vacuum, but I'm sure it'll fit with any other compatible vacuum hose.

Milwaukee do say that you should not use the other style of blade, which doesn't have these lugs, it's the U-type blade. I did try. You put one of those in, and as soon as you start cutting, it gets ripped out. So those lugs are part of the safety feature that, when you put it in the jigsaw, it engages positively and holds it in there.

Now, I've been using this on an outdoor woodworking project that I've begun. Trying to finish it between rain showers. And I did a comparison with my trusty Bosch 18 volt. As you see, it's a smaller beast, smaller in height, smaller in length. It also weighs less. But they both have a maximum cutting speed of 2,800 strokes per minute. So what I did was swap between them, two different blades. What I used was a 60 millimetre fine scribing cutting blade for cutting thinner wood. And I also used a 125mm, five inch, ripping blade for dealing with some thicker timber.

The Bosch claims to have a maximum cutting depth of 90 millimetre cutting through timber. And the Milwaukee, some of the paperwork says that it can deal with 135 millimetres. I use both of them to cut through some 20 millimetre ply, and then I cut through two pieces of CLS fastened together like this, but obviously a lot longer. And that's about 80 millimetres thick. And once I get used to it, the Milwaukee is an impressive beast. It weighs in at three and a quarter kilograms with a battery fitted, and that's 800 grams heavier than the Bosch that I'm used to. So at first the extra weight was obvious, but once I started to use it, I found that it was well balanced, it was easy to cut with, especially when inscribing the plywood and bits of batten.

Now, while both of these claim to have the same strokes per minute, I found that whatever I did, the Milwaukee was over 20% and close to 30% faster in cutting both 20 millimetre ply and 80 millimetres of CLS wood. It also felt more positive, even though I was using the same blades and swapping them between each tool.

Now, the Milwaukee here has two quick release levers. The one here underneath opens up, and then you can adjust the shoe, the bevel of the shoe, with 45 degrees either side. And that's very quick to do. Pull out the lever, shuffle the shoe, and then reapply the lever. Also at the front, there's a sprung lever, used for changing blades, and that's very quick and easy to use. And on the side, there's another lever for adjusting the orbital action. And it changes between some very clear, positive clicks to adjust the depth of the orbital action on the blade for when you're doing different types of cuts.

Whilst Milwaukee tools do cost more, there's a sturdy, quality feel for them, and I was very impressed. That may well be down to the fact of that say that inside the outer plastic and rubber casing, there's a solid metal frame throughout the tool. And that may out for the extra weight, but it certainly makes it feel nice to use, once I got used to it. I would say if your budget will stretch to Milwaukee, you will not be disappointed.