“Look, Mom! I can use power tools!” Meet my new Ryobi ONE+ 18V Cordless Orbital Jig Saw:
If you had told me a year ago that I would be standing in my garage cutting MDF with a jig saw someday, I would have laughed in your face. This whole blog/DIY experience has been amazing for so many reasons, and one of those is that it allows me to learn and to challenge myself by trying new things I didn’t know or believe that I was capable of. If you were to rate my knowledge of and experience with power tools on a scale from 1-10, I would be a negative 7. To be honest, they scare me. However, after attending the Haven conference and seeing Ana White whip together furniture from scratch while wearing high heels, I thought to myself – “Hey, I can do that!” (minus the heels). I have made it my goal to build a piece of furniture from scratch within the next year. I am well aware that I have a long way to go – but hey, I’ve gotta start somewhere, right?
Luckily, the awesome people at Ryobi Tools were kind enough to send me my very first power tool: a cordless jig saw. I have big plans for this saw (twin headboards for my boys – from scratch!, for example), but I wanted to take baby steps and just play around with it a little bit to try it out. For my test project, I opted to cut a circle out of MDF. (Hey, I warned you they were baby steps!). I plan on turning it into a mirror or wall art or something fun, but for now I just wanted to learn how to handle this jig saw. If you are looking for a jig saw — or if you want something a little less intimidating than a circular saw or a table saw to start with, for instance — I highly recommend this one! I love that it is cordless, because as clumsy as I am, I’d probably saw right through the cord. (Ok, hopefully not, but it is definitely a convenient feature.) I also love that it is lightweight and someone like me with no “guns” (aka muscles) can handle it.
There’s a handy little compartment built into the bottom to store blades, which is very convenient:
It came with two blades, and there is also a handy dandy laser guide that you can switch on or off, which helps with accuracy. The blades are extremely easy to change, and there are 4 orbital positions for a variety of cut options. You can also adjust speed easily depending on how much trigger pressure you use. The battery attaches easily and can be just as easily removed when it’s time to charge it. I noticed it charges very quickly too. So the final verdict on this saw? I love it. And let’s put it this way, if I can use this saw, then anyone can use this saw.
Here’s my slightly less than perfect but “it’ll do” circle aftermath. Turned out ok for my very first try!
I’m learning to be less intimidated by things I thought I couldn’t do. If I want to do something, then I’m going to learn how to do it, period. I’m excited to learn more about power tools, and look forward to putting this jig saw to good use. My husband wants to learn how to use it too, but I told him to get his own. (Totally kidding! I’ll share.)
For more information on this saw, or any of the other tools that Ryobi offers, be sure to visit their site. You can even join the Ryobi Nation, which is a project sharing community where you can upload or view projects and receive special offers.
Have you ventured into the world of power tools? Are you thinking about it? Please leave a comment and let me know!
Disclosure: I received this product for free to review. All opinions are my own.