dremel trio vs. jigsaw.....

[durango dude]

I have a debate (friendly) with a neighbor....

Is there ANY reason to purchase a Dremel Trio instead of a Jigsaw?

His claim - the trio does everything a jigsaw can do --- and then some.....

I"m scratching my head, thinking "I don't know about that....."

[chopnhack]

First thing that comes to mind is depth of cut. What would be the max thickness of material you would be cutting? Would you want a multi purpose tool that goes from drywall and tile duty to fine woodworking? Notice the product has a low amperage rating indicating at least to me that the motor is not a workhorse and yes true on a rotary tool your not trying to push a blade through the work, none the less you still have to remove the wood to get the work done! I will all depend on your needs and intended usage and frequency. HTH.

[Bill in Buena Park]

I was never really happy with the cut quality of my Rotozip in wood (I suspect this would behave similarly) - spiral cutters, in my experience, have a tendency to want to wander, my guess is because of how the cutting torque acts when in contact with the wood, and require very active control to keep steady, vs. a jigsaw. If I can't cut it on my bandsaw, I really like a jigsaw with a nice Bosch scrolling wood blade.

These may be better suited for drywall cutting, and maybe grout removal if the grout bit fits.

[LCHIEN]

sounds like the Trio is a Rotozip with a right angle handle.
Probably Does many things but none of them well. Designed to sell to wives and children who don't know what else to buy their dad for Father's day - haven't seen one but the probably have one of those TV ads like Rotozip where they have some guy building a whole house in 5 minutes with one. Power: 2 Amps.

Jig saw is more of a single use tool. 6-7 Amps vs. 2 Amps. Recipocating action vs rotary action. I really don't see how you can compare.

I'd like to see both tools crosscutting a 2x4. I don't think thats the best use of a jigsaw but I bet it'll be a lot better than the Trio!

[Shep]

I tested the dremel in the BORG. Wasn't too impressive for wood cutting. I'll stick with my jigsaw. It has a lot more power and it's a Ryobi.

[Cochese]

I'm of the opinion that multitasking tools do well in many aspects, but never master any single one. While the Trio can serve as a jigsaw, it's not a jigsaw. While it can serve as a router, it's not a router.

If you lived in an apartment and needed something compact and cheap, I can see the appeal. If you have a workshop, I'd rather put more money into unitaskers that can handle the jobs better.