Firestorm 18 volt Cordless Orbital Jig Saw FS18JS
Written: Apr 18 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cordless, plenty of power, good battery life, orbital action
Cons: Heavier & larger than some corded jig saws
The Bottom Line: If you need to work where there isn't any power, you can't beat this saw for the price.
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| buggman's Full Review: FireStorm 18 Volt Orbital Jigsaw FS18JS |
Firestorm 18 volt cordless Orbital Jig Saw model FS18JS.
Unlike many of my old jig saws being tied to a cord or tethered to an extension cable, this saw also adds Orbital action to make cutting through tough lumber an easy task.
This saw, like many of the 18 volt cordless Black & Decker Firestorm tools can be purchased separately or as part of a multi tool kit.
I purchased my saw separately, as none of the big kits had exactly what I was looking for.
This saw uses the FS18 or HB18 18 volt slide in style of Firestorm batteries & it can also use the Extended run batteries as well.
I’ve used both a standard FS18 battery pack as well as a FS18BX (extended run) battery & while both have nearly identical power, I suspect the Extended run battery will allow for more cuts before needing to be charged.
This saw, much like the Firestorm Reciprocating saw (see my review for that tool too) is a bit heavy, even without the battery. It’s also a little bigger than my corded Craftsman professional jig saw (the Craftsman is quite large itself). I like a jig saw to have a small footprint, be compact & easy to maneuver. While this saw is a little heavier & larger than some of my other jig saws, it’s still pretty nimble & easy to use.
I wouldn’t recommend using this saw if you’re cutting holes in a ceiling all day, because your arm will give out in a short period of time. If you’re making occasional cuts on a work table or saw horses, you’ll be fine.
I have a couple of jig saws that have orbital action & I don’t think I’ll ever buy another jig saw unless it has an orbital feature. Basically, your standard jig saw works by the motor moving the blade straight up & down while you push the blade into the material being cut. With the orbital action, the blade moves up & down, as well as back & forth in a sweeping motion. This action greatly increases the rate at which material is removed, thus speeding up the cut.
The orbital action on this saw is adjustable from no orbital action to maximum orbital action.
I’ve tested this action by cutting some 2” x 4” lumber with the orbital action off, minimum, and maximum setting & there’s a world of difference. With no orbital action, the saw struggles to make its way through the stud, but turn up the orbital action and the blade slices through that stud like it was nothing.
Blade changes are a snap with the tool-less blade clamping device. Just lift up the clamp lever, insert the blade, let go of the clamp lever & your blade is installed. The saw came with one general purpose blade that is a tang style shank, but I quickly grabbed a few of my old style jig saw blades to put them to the test.
My fine metal cutting blades, the aggressive fast cutting wood blades to the fine 1/8” wide fine wood cutting blades all slid right in the tool-less blade clamp & held tight.
There’s plenty of area all around the blade to watch your cuts, although I prefer a smaller area around the blade as I mainly use my saw for rough cuts & the closer the base is to the blade, the less chance the wood will chip out on top of the work piece.
The saw came with a plastic tube adapter that somehow clips onto the side of the saw to be able to connect a shop vac to suck the debris away from the cutting path.
In all my years of woodworking, I’ve found the best way to get chips & debris out of the path of the blade is to simply blow them out of the way with good old human air pressure. You don’t have any hoses in the way & you don’t have to worry about getting the hose hung on something, possibly ruining your cut. My vac attachment will probably spend its life setting in the back of my tool cabinet.
If you need to cut a bevel (or angle) on your project, the base is adjustable via a large thumb wheel located at the back of the body of the saw. Just tilt the base to match the angle of cut you need & lock the base down with the thumb wheel. I wouldn’t recommend using the orbital action when cutting bevels as it could catch the wood & kick-back or pull the blade off to one side.
Although I couldn’t find the info anywhere concerning the speed of the blade stroke online… printed on the side of the tool it states 0 – 2500 spm. The speed is actually variable, depending on how far you pull the trigger. This is an extremely important feature; with a single speed saw you are either ON or OFF. With variable speed, you can adjust the blade stroke speed based on the type of cut you’re making. For precise cuts you may want to use a slower speed, while for rough orbital action cuts you can run wide open for maximum cutting speed.
I’ve used both the regular & Extended run batteries & both work equally well. The Ex run batteries don’t seem to offer more horsepower, rather more length of cuts before needing to re-charge.
I have yet to bog the motor down with anything I’ve thrown at it, even pressure treated 2” x 4” wet lumber. A lesser saw would kill over at the mere sight of a soaking wet treated board.
Although it’s a little heavy & a little taller & longer than many of my other jig saws, this will probably become my #2 jig saw simply because I can take it wherever I need to make a cut, even if there isn’t an electrical outlet anywhere in sight.
This will come in real handy whenever I need to work on something out in the yard or at a house that doesn’t have power.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
buggman
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Reviews written: 110
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