Budget Cordless Jigsaws

Cordless jigsaws for occasional rough cuts

If you'll mainly be making rough cuts and don't need the best precision, reviews say a budget cordless jigsaw is fine as long as you don't need much power or long runtime. The two best choices are sometimes hard to find, however, and you can buy a lot more features and performance by spending the same money on a corded jigsaw. It could be worth searching for a Ryobi or Black & Decker Firestorm cordless model, however, if you already have other cordless tools that use the same brand's 18-volt batteries and charger.

The 18-volt Ryobi P522 (*Est. $50 tool-only) is part of a vast array of Ryobi cordless tools that use the same batteries and charger. It's most cost-effective to buy the jigsaw as part of a larger cordless tool kit, but you can also buy two Ni-Cad batteries in the Ryobi P101 kit (*Est. $50) plus the P113 charger (*est. $30). And you have the option of upgrading later to lithium-ion batteries for longer run time and storage.

The Ryobi P522 jigsaw has a maximum speed of only 2,100 strokes per minute, compared with 2,800 on the Bosch 1590EVSK (*Est. $145). The Bosch JS5 (*Est. $80) is even faster at 3,100 strokes per minute.

The 18-volt Black & Decker Firestorm FS18JS (*Est. $45, tool only) earns relatively high ratings at Lowes.com. The maximum speed is high at 2,500 strokes per minute, and the saw has a dust port for a shop vac connection, plus tool-free blade and bevel changes. A 360-degree scrolling knob is designed to make intricate curves easier. The jigsaw weighs 5 pounds without the Ni-Cad battery. Yet the Ni-Cad battery, despite its low 1.2-amp-hour capacity, adds 2 or 3 pounds to the tool's weight.

At Sears.com, the 19.2-volt Craftsman 11569 jigsaw (*Est. $60, tool only) comes with a non-adjustable laser guide that owners say often obscures the cutting line. The jigsaw gets mixed reviews from owners, with an average rating lower than that of several corded Craftsman models. The maximum speed is only 2,100 strokes per minute.