GMC LS950SPJ Scrolling Jigsaw: Discontinued — What to Buy Instead
A scrolling jigsaw from GMC, in receivership since 2008. Blade guidance is what separates jigsaws, not the scrolling knob.
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The LS950SPJ was GMC’s scrolling jigsaw — a saw with a knob on top that rotates the blade independently of the body, so you could steer the blade around a curve without turning the whole tool.
GMC’s Australian business went into receivership in 2008 and the brand left the market.
Why scrolling heads disappeared
They were common for a while and are now rare, for a good reason: a blade that can rotate in its holder is a blade that is less rigidly supported, and rigid support is what keeps a jigsaw cut square to the face.
The modern approach is the opposite. Blade guide rollers and hardened guides grip the blade close to the workpiece and stop it deflecting at all. You steer by turning the saw.
If your cuts come out with a face that is not square — wider at the bottom than the top — that is blade deflection, and it is the single biggest complaint about jigsaws.
What actually matters
Blade guidance. A roller behind the blade and close side guides.
A rigid shoe that locks square and does not shift at the bevel adjustment.
Blade type. More than anything else. A down-cut blade keeps the top face clean in veneered ply; a coarse fast blade rips through softwood; a fine blade turns a tight curve. Changing blade type does more for cut quality than changing saw.
What to buy
The Ryobi ONE+ HP brushless jigsaw, linked below, is the current tool in the same market position, on a battery platform whose packs have been cross-compatible since 1996.
For genuinely fine scroll work — fretwork, interior cuts in thin stock — a jigsaw is the wrong tool regardless. That is a scroll saw’s job.