Review of Bosch PST 650 Jigsaw:

[DIY_Johnny]

Price paid in argos £33: Cheapest ebay price now £35, Screw fix £40

Given my review in the parent section of this website of the challenge jigsaw, I decided to buy another one and toss the first out. I was a bit annoyed as I have spent £25 of that and then was going to spend £35 or so on a better one. However if I have just lumped the money together I could have got a decent make.

Anyway Argos gave me a refund on the first (11months later!) as long as I bought another from the store so I opted for the BOSCH green one (500W)

As with all these reviews a carpenter would give a more compressive opinion however for a first time user you get a different aspect to using a machine


Initial appearance
Compared to the cheaper Challenge jigsaw the Bosch looked like it was underpowered and could do very little (800W v’s 500W). Cable could be a bit longer but nice weight and feel to it. It came with a Perspex splinter guard on the front which soon got tossed aside as did the on-board plastic blade holder. For a DIY man you are not going to be changing blades consistently and the box will always be near to hand. So again this got tossed aside. It comes with one wood blade which is a little disappointing but its better to have 1 decent one than a pile of rubbish blades

A major drawback was the lack of guide rail and laser

Use in practice
First cut and difference compared to the Challenge was much more noticeable. It cuts perfectly smoothly and kept the blade rigid. The soft start is quite good and you have to press the button in quite a ways to get it on full power so lots of control for the novices. I pissed about cutting curves / circles / wavy lines and all performed brilliantly. Blade is razor sharp so little rough cuts. As regards suitability a heavy use DIY man does not need any more. I would like to see a trade’s guy opinion of it. I am not in a trade so cannot comment on its suitability there

The air blast facility is not bad but not as effective as it claims

Vibration is noticeable a lot lower that the challenge and barely noticeable on anything I tested.

Angling the base plate is done via loosening a screw so not the quickest but holds it secure

The first major drawback becomes apparent quite quickly: lack of guide rail. I was cutting a section for an access panel at the top of a piece of MDF and made 2 vertical cuts using the mitre saw. To knock the square out I need to make a horizontal cut with the jigsaw. A guide would have been handy to make the parallel line. You get round it using a baton to slide the base plate of the jigsaw along but a drawback all the same. The unfortunate aspect to the machine is that there is nowhere to attach a guide.

The second (possible) drawback is the lack of a laser. I personally so not see the need for a laser on a jigsaw but others may do so I can say to more on it

Overall
Well worth the money and more power than you expect for a small motor. I would really avoid temptation of buying a larger one as the small size makes it ideal for your tasks. I know some people who use a jigsaw to replace a circ saw but I am against that. However, the lack of guide is a serious drawback and would tempt me towards another brand. I got it for £33 so can’t complaint. The odd time you see a Bosch blue being sold for a few quid more than a green but here there is a very large jump in price to a BOSCH blue so not suitable at all for DIY.

Recommended (7/10), the guide rail would bring it to a 9

[Worktop Man]

Looks good for the price, The last bosch jigsaws I had packed up on me. I do use them everyday bust still expect them to last more than a year..