While my 30 year old Craftsman jigsaw isn't the most used
tool in my woodshop now it has received quite a workout over the years as
a home improvement/repair tool. When I took up woodworking as a hobby a
few years ago, splintering and blade wandering caused both by the saw's
design and the use of cheap blades relegated the saw to its storage drawer
for all but the most rough cutting needs.
One of the newest jigsaws to hit the US market is the Trion by Festool. The Trion is available in both
D-handle and barrel grip styles and thanks to
Bob
Marino of FESTOOL I was able to evaluate both
versions.
Like always my main intent is to try to provide the reader with all the
information they need to make an informed purchase. There will be plenty
of photo's, some very close up, which I hope will give you a feel for the
tool. Click on any picture to enlarge it.
What's in the box?
 Let's
begin with the barrel grip version. Each saw comes packed in a case which
FESTOOL calls a Systainer. The contents include the saw, a dust port
adapter, removable power cord, chip guard, splinter guard, instruction
manual and warranty cards and a pair of blades.
Not just any old case!
  The
Systainer is a high impact plastic case designed not only to hold the
tool, but also to be stackable with other Systainers as well as on
FESTOOL's line of vacuum cleaners. At right you can see two Systainers
stacked and secured together. You will notice that the latches normally
used to latch the lid have been repositioned to latch the Systainer above.
Repositioning is accomplished by simply sliding the latch up and then
snapping it to latch the Systainer.
A closer look at the Saws and their Features:
Here's the specs on the Trion saws PS 300 EQ/PSB 300 EQ. Of note are the 6
amp power, Pendulum (orbital) action, and 5 pound weight:
- Power Consumption 720 W/6 A 120 v AC
- Stroke rate - 1" (2.54 cm) 1000-2900 spm
- Pendulum stroke adjustment 4 stages
- Bevel adjustment 0-45°
- Cutting depth wood 4 3/4" (120.65 mm)
- Cutting depth non-ferrous metal 3/4" (20 mm)
- Cutting depth soft steel 3/8" (10 mm)
- Weight 5.06 lbs/ 5.29 lbs (2.3 kg/2.4 kg)
The list of features is long so let's get to it.
Power, motor and speed control
  The
motor is a strong 6 amps which is on par with the other new jigsaws on the
market. The Trion features electronic speed control or what FESTOOL refers
to as Multi-Material-Control electronics. What this means is that the saw
will adjust for changing loads and keep the cutting speed constant. This
is actually a necessary feature since neither model of the Trion feature
trigger controlled speed (photo's left and right).
 If
you are paying attention you noticed that there isn't a power cord in the
above pictures. The Trion's power cord is detachable via twist lock. This
is a great feature for storage and greatly improves the ease of handling
of the generous 13 foot, extremely flexible power cord.
 The
barrel grip Trion has a slide switch (right) which applies power. For me
it was a bit awkward to adjust the speed while gripping the saw. The
D-handle (seen behind the barrel grip at right) does have a trigger and a
trigger lock but the trigger is not variable speed. The speed is still
selected by the thumbwheel.
Pendulum action
 The
pendulum or orbital action is engaged by moving the lever (left) near the
blade mechanism. There are three different levels of action (1,2,3) plus
off (0). The difference in speed and ease of cutting, especially in thick
hardwood is amazing. Using one of FESTOOL's exclusive
FSG
blades, which are thicker than the normal
blade, and the pendulum action and you can cut through 4" posts like they
were butter. The
blade application chart suggests that for
some blade/cutting applications it's better to turn off pendulum to
achieve the splinter free cut. My tests confirmed that as well.
Blade Change Mechanism
 Changing
blades on the Trion is a snap. At right you can see the only motion
required and that is to lift a spring loaded lever .
It is literally as easy as lifting the lever and inserting the blade and
letting go of the lever to lock the blade into place.
Click here to see a short video of a
blade change.
Blade Guide
  The
next innovative feature is the blade guide system. Much like a band saw
the Trion captures the blade between a pair of carbide guides. The collage
of pictures at left show (clockwise from upper left) the guide and
adjustment hex screw, the guide front on, the guide from below, and the
guide adjusted for the blade. The photo at right shows the included allen
wrench being used to adjust the guide. The wrench conveniently stows right
in the base plate of the saw.
  The
manual instructs you to adjust the guide until it "almost touches" the
blade and that the blade must move freely. In the photo at left I adjusted
it to where I thought it should be. The blade did move freely and because
you actually draw the right guide to the blade while the left guide stays
almost stationary, I thought this was correct. Well it is correct if you
leave pendulum mode off but in this case, I cut about 6" of wood with the
pendulum mode on 3. The result can be seen in the photo of the overheated
blade at right. When I noticed this the blade would no longer move freely.
Apparently the pendulum mode requires more clearance than "almost". In my
subsequent tests I adjusted the guide with more clearance for times when I
used the pendulum mode and did not have another problem. I did however
have the guide adjusted for a fine cutter blade and forgot to re-adjust it
for the thicker blade and had the same overheating happen.
My recommendation is that unless you need the guide for a specific cut,
adjust it to give the blades plenty of clearance so you don't overheat and
ruin a blade. The fine and scroll blades seem to benefit the most from the
guide.
Base Runner
 The
base runner is constructed from what appears to be cast aluminum and has a
plastic skid plate attached to its bottom. The runner is an integral part
of the Trion's dust extraction system. I'm not sure of the purpose of the
rear ducts on the runner in the photo at left.
  As
well as housing the dust ports and the allen wrench, the base runner also
has 0°, 15°, 30° and 45° angle indexes although only 0° has a positive
stop. It is difficult to see in the photo at right but even though the
base is cast, the angle index lines up perfectly. To adjust the angle,
loosen the screw with the large end of the allen wrench and push the base
runner forward about 1/4". That will move it out of its 0° indexing
position and allow you to change the angle. Set the angle and tighten the
locking screw. The chip guard cannot be used when the saw is at anything
other than 0° so it must be removed before you adjust the angle.
 The
base runner can be adjusted either forward or back from its default
position. With the runner in the front position (left) you can even make
pilot-less plunge cuts. More on that later. The instructions refer to the
runner in the front position meaning that the locking screw is towards the
front of the adjustment slot. In reality the runner is to the rear and the
blade is to the front. The clear plastic piece around the blade is the
chip guard.
Dust Extraction
 You
can't say FESTOOL without thinking about their line of quiet vacuums. All
of FESTOOL's tools are designed to integrate with their vacs. As mentioned
earlier the dust extractor adapter plugs into the base runner. For best
efficiency you should also install the chip guard.
I did try the dust extraction and it worked pretty well but my Shop Vac©
is so noisy that I stopped using it. If you want to keep your sanity (and
hearing) while using a shop vacuum cleaner to catch dust from portable
saws and sanders, I suggest you look at the quieter vaccums on the market.
Of course Festool has a variety of vacs which should work great.
Chip and Splinter Guards
 At
left is the chip guard and at right is the splinter guard. The chip guard
is used to aid the dust collection effort and the splinter guard will
enable you to make fine, finish cuts (with the right blade) The use of
these guards does obscure your sight of the cut line especially after they
get dusty.
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PRODUCT TIP
Here's two tips which will help you keep a bead on
that cut line.
First Tip:
Wipe both the Chip and Splinter Guards with a fabric softener sheet.
This will help keep dust from sticking to them. Re-apply as necessary.
 Second
Tip: Take a Sharpie(tm) marker and color the
point of the guard. The clear guard is difficult to see and this will
help make it stand out.
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Different Strokes for Different Folks
Alright, I know, that's an corny old cliche but I needed a lead in for
this next section. As I mentioned above, the Trion comes in two styles.
The conventional D-handle and the barrel grip. I'm going to be honest and
tell you that I still don't know which one I prefer since each has its own
merits. Below is a set of photos of the two styles:
 
 What
I like about the D-handle is the sure grip. It is the style that I've used
all my life and it is the most comfortable for me. It is certainly better
suited for home improvement work where you might be using it in awkward
positions. For fine work however the higher grip can cause some stability
and control issues.
  For
accuracy in following a line I prefer the barrel grip version. It's lower
center of gravity makes it easier to follow the line and easier to keep
the saw planted flat on the work. I find the grip is unsure when I'm
carrying it but once it is on the work it feels secure. I prefer having
the crotch of my thumb-forefinger up against the front of the saw (left)
This seems to give me the best control and the surest grip. If need be you
can grab the top knob with your other hand to stabilize the saw.
If I had my druthers I'd have one of each style.
Warranty
This caused me a little confusion because the owners manual states that
the Trion comes with a 1 year warranty. In reality the Trion comes with a
3 year warranty. Included with the documentation is a warranty card which
entitles the owner to a 1+2 year warranty....that's 3 years.
The Trion is warranted for defects in materials and workmanship for a
period of 3 years and there is no exclusion for commercial use. If a
problem occurs within the first year, Festool will pay for shipping BOTH
ways. If the problem occurs during year 2 or 3, Festool will pay for
return shipping to you only. I don't think I've ever seen any product
where the manufacturer payed for shipping both ways.
Oh yea, if you are disappointed it will probably be because you bought the
barrel grip and don't like the feel or bought the D-handle and
subsequently decided you wanted a barrel grip. Not to worry, the Trion
comes with a 30 day money back guarantee. You can either return it for a
refund or swap it for a different grip style within the first 30 days.
Performance
I've put both saws through a variety of tests and they do both work well.
I used Festool blades for these tests and the blades are substantially
responsible for the quality of the cut. The Trion can also use Bosch
blades and I've put a cross reference column in the
blade chart I made. I tried to get some
good photos of the cuts but was unable to get the quality of photos I had
hoped for.
Effect of Blade Guide on accuracy of cut
 The
results of these tests were mixed. With some wood thickness/blade types
the results were excellent while with others they were disappointing. The
blade guide did perform very well with wood which was less than 1" thick
and excellent with 3/4" plywood as I expected it to. It also performed
well with the thicker wood if I used the heavier duty blades like the S
75-4 FS (left).
 It
did not perform as well with the thicker wood when I used the finish
blades like the S 75/2,5 (right). The disappointment here is that the fine
tooth blades do make a great, almost ready to finish cut but since they
are thin they were not accurate in the thicker wood during my tests. In
order to get the accuracy I had to use the S 75/4 FS blade. This blade,
while good, does not give the finish quality of the fine toothed blade and
therefore the cut will require more prep work before the surface is ready
to finish. Is it really a big deal in the scheme of things? No, but it
does not live up to Festool's unqualified claim of "No refinishing work".
  Tilting
the saw to 30 degrees, setting the pendulum to 1 and utilizing the S 75/4
FS blade in the same 2" thick white oak the results were impressive. If
you look closely at the photo on the left you can see that there is a very
slight bowing at the bottom of the cut although in reality, it is nothing
that a little sanding wont fix (right). I would consider the accuracy of
this angled cut in some very hard wood to be very good.
Quality of Cut
 Now
If you want to see a flawless cut take a look at the photo at left. I used
the same fine cut blade, S 75/2,5, as above with excellent results. The
combination of the blade guide, splinter guard and fine toothed blade
produced a ready to finish result in this 3/4" birch plywood. You can't
tell from the photo but that cut is burnished similar to the way a good
10" table saw blade such as the Freud LU85 would.
At right is some scroll work performed with the S 50/1,4 K blade on a
piece of 3/4 cherry. I did not use the splinter guard. The angle of the
cut was accurate and what I hope you can see is the smoothness of the cut
as indicated by the gloss of the wood.
 I
did learn that the Trion has variable speed for a reason. At left (top)
you can see a scroll cut I made with the speed on high...burned the wood
pretty good. I slowed the blade speed down to "3" and the results were
much better. Here's where the dial type speed control has the advantage
over the trigger. With the dial once you have found the correct speed and
set it, it's stays at that speed until you select another. If you have a
variable speed trigger you would be hard pressed to keep it the same speed
through the entire cut, let alone the next cut.
Following a line
I found that the Trion was very easy to keep to the line and didn't tend
to wander at all. There are a couple of gotchas though. If you use the
splinter guard you will have a hard time following a curve because you
can't use the pointer on the guard...it's a half inch ahead of the blade.
You actually have to use the blade to follow the line for the most
accurate cut. With the guard as it builds up with dust seeing the line is
a problem.
I also discovered that the point on the splinter guard did not always line
up with the blade. I'm not sure why although I believe it is because the
blade is not always exactly centered in the runner opening. I could loosen
the runner locking screw and make the alignment more accurate. In any case
it was sometimes about the thickness of the line off to one side or the
other. Once you know this it's easy to align the pointer in relation to
the line to get adequate accuracy but for exacting cuts, you should use
the blade as the guide..
Plunge Cutting
 This
method intrigued me. I was curious how a jigsaw could plunge cut without a
pilot hole and not bounce all over the place. The secret is in the
pendulum action. Simply set the pendulum to 3 and move the shoe all the
way back so that the blade is as close to the front of the shoe as it can
go. Then resting on the front of the shoe, slowly tilt the saw into the
wood. Once you have it through like the vertical cut at right, you can
then use the saw normally to finish the cut. In this case I have to cut
downward toward the horizontal cut and then turn the saw around and cut up
to the other side of the opening. The results were rather good as you can
see in the photo at right where I was cutting out a drawer opening in some
luan plywood. These cuts was made with the S 75/2,5 fine toothed blade.
Power and speed control
Here's another area where the Trion really shines. My last test was to use
the S 105/4 FSG Festool unique blade which is rated to cut wood up to 4
3/4" thick. This blade is extra long and thick. I wanted to see how the
power and electronic speed control handled the arduous task of cutting
some 4 1/2" thick maple. I setup the saw for a pendulum of 3 and a speed
of 6. The piece of wood was a chunk of 8" wide 4 1/2" thick maple which
had only been air dried for about a year. While making the cut I at times
let the saw do all the work and at other times forcefully pushed the saw
into the work in an effort to change the load on the motor and see how the
speed control reacted. I did not attach the vacuum because I wanted to be
able to hear the saw's motor.
I captured this test in a 25 second mpeg clip. It's about 6 mebabytes in
size so it may take a bit of time to get started. What I want you to do is
listen to the saw....the motor pitch stays pretty constant throughout the
clip even when you can visually see me forcing the saw. I was very
impressed with both the power and speed control of the Trion. I also think
the speed of the cut was exceptional for a jigsaw.
mpeg clip of test cut
Conclusion
The Trion is a great saw. It has exceptional power,
handles great, has very good dust collection, can be combined with the
correct blade to provide almost ready to finish cuts as well as accurate
cuts and it comes with a superior case. The blade change mechanism is
extremely simple to use and secures the blade solid as a rock. The three
year warranty is exceptional as well. For me, the Trion elevates the
jigsaw to a finish tool.
The biggest drawback of the Trion to some will be it's cost. At a retail
of $250 it will be out of the reach of some woodworkers. The case while
very well made is also overkill for many woodworkers who will just pile it
on top of the other cases for their portable power tools. Perhaps Festool
could offer a version without a case and save the purchaser $10. On the up
side Festool does run periodic specials and the Trion has been sold for as
little as $195 which is not much more than the Metabo or new Makita.
Lastly, you have to understand that you will not be able to get ready to
finish cuts in every case. The quality and accuracy of the cut is material
and blade dependent but even at worst case the accuracy should surpass
that of an unsupported (no guide) blade.
Should you buy the Trion? All I will say is that if you do buy it you wont
be disappointed.
Copyright © 2003 ,
Bill Esposito
All Rights Reserved.
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