Some time ago, local HD gave me a Ryobi JS 480L as a thank you for finding a pricing error (they slapped a ryobi planer price tag on a Ridgid planer --- wish they would have given me the planer, though!).
More recently, my daughter commissioned a woodworking job (a cradle for her doll) - so I finally had a good opportunity to use this saw.
The saw has a handy LED light that makes work a little more visible. Newer saws have lasers - which I think are over-hyped. The LED is nice. Another useful feature is the easy blade load/removal lever. I wasn't impressed by the fact the lever is plastic. Still - the feature itself is fairly decent.
Step 1: remove and promptly discard OEM blade. Insert a Bosch blade, or something of comparable quality. The OEM blade won't cut much. I replaced mine with a 10TPI Bosch Progressor blade.
Step 2: Check blade for square ---
I noticed the tool-free beveling base adjusts a little too easily (there's a quick release lever that is a little too quick to release).
Step 3: Evaluation:
The cradle that I'm working on is made of pine. The 4.8 AMP saw had no problem cutting away the wood (not surprising). No problem scrolling through the curves in my patterns.
I tried a couple of straight-line cuts with the base running along a square. For a jig saw, the cuts were reasonably square --- the blade did not drift around wildly, as has been reported on other Ryobi models.
I wasn't thrilled with the high amount of plastic on this saw, but it does not seem to interfere too much with the functionality. Should the mechanism ever break, the saw would likely end up in the trash (postage would be more than the value of the saw). The blades are easily switched out (much easier than the Bosch twist/lock mechanism). I suppose that could be a liability.
Speed adjustment --- there's a vari-speed dial, as well as a grip-based speed adjustment that confounds me, a little. I'm mostly trying to figure out why on earth a saw has two (2) speed adjustments (the Bosch has a material adjustment dial that adjusts blade tension - which I think makes a little more sense).
The JS 480L is certainly not a Bosch. Still, it functions reasonably well for what it was designed to do.
I would not have paid the original MSRP ($75) for this saw. My local HD has it on clearance for $39 - which I suppose is reasonable. Naturally, I'm pleased with the price I paid (naught). More important, my daughter is pleased with her doll's new cradle.
More recently, my daughter commissioned a woodworking job (a cradle for her doll) - so I finally had a good opportunity to use this saw.
The saw has a handy LED light that makes work a little more visible. Newer saws have lasers - which I think are over-hyped. The LED is nice. Another useful feature is the easy blade load/removal lever. I wasn't impressed by the fact the lever is plastic. Still - the feature itself is fairly decent.
Step 1: remove and promptly discard OEM blade. Insert a Bosch blade, or something of comparable quality. The OEM blade won't cut much. I replaced mine with a 10TPI Bosch Progressor blade.
Step 2: Check blade for square ---
I noticed the tool-free beveling base adjusts a little too easily (there's a quick release lever that is a little too quick to release).
Step 3: Evaluation:
The cradle that I'm working on is made of pine. The 4.8 AMP saw had no problem cutting away the wood (not surprising). No problem scrolling through the curves in my patterns.
I tried a couple of straight-line cuts with the base running along a square. For a jig saw, the cuts were reasonably square --- the blade did not drift around wildly, as has been reported on other Ryobi models.
I wasn't thrilled with the high amount of plastic on this saw, but it does not seem to interfere too much with the functionality. Should the mechanism ever break, the saw would likely end up in the trash (postage would be more than the value of the saw). The blades are easily switched out (much easier than the Bosch twist/lock mechanism). I suppose that could be a liability.
Speed adjustment --- there's a vari-speed dial, as well as a grip-based speed adjustment that confounds me, a little. I'm mostly trying to figure out why on earth a saw has two (2) speed adjustments (the Bosch has a material adjustment dial that adjusts blade tension - which I think makes a little more sense).
The JS 480L is certainly not a Bosch. Still, it functions reasonably well for what it was designed to do.
I would not have paid the original MSRP ($75) for this saw. My local HD has it on clearance for $39 - which I suppose is reasonable. Naturally, I'm pleased with the price I paid (naught). More important, my daughter is pleased with her doll's new cradle.