Rockwell Bladerunner

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
I bought one. It's as convenient as advertised, and a great addition to my shop.

Now, one must be aware of an important fact: It is a jigsaw. If you don't know what to expect from a jigsaw, you might expect too much out of the Bladerunner.

Beyond that, however, it is an outstanding tool for more precise projects if you are a regular jigsaw user, or if you haven't the space for several specialist tools.

The thing weighs nearly nothing, but doesn't break. The parts are well designed. Everything is solid enough that simply grabbing the side handle is enough to carry it about. There is no folding, disassembly, or packing required to move it. It's no more difficult to haul about than a briefcase.

The wall mount is as idiot-proof as they say it is, and designed to securely fasten the unit to nearly anything. You just hang the thing up there and twist two clamps. It's seconds to remove or mount it, with no effort at all.

The cantilevered arm allows full-length cuts, and the design allows jigsaw convenience without the wobbling material, clamps, saw horses, or yoga commonly associated with such practice. It's spring loaded, and can be adjusted in seconds without effort or tools.

It's also speed-adjustable, which is outstanding, and is equipped with two tracks and a miter fence.

I've got a very expensive Bosch Precision Control jigsaw. I use it mainly for custom PCs. It's never been completely convenient, however. Lately, I've had some difficulty operating it, which prompted the purchase.

The Bladerunner has been a perfect way to always have everything I need at the ready for aluminum and acrylic work, with essentially no setup required for cuts.

It uses any common T-Shank blade, which means you get to use the good stuff. It's not the most powerful thing in the world, but that just doesn't matter. That's not the point of it.

Anyone who has seen one and wondered if it was worth a shit for their smaller projects should just go buy one. So long as you know what a jigsaw can and can't do, you will probably like it. It's not very expensive for the convenience it provides.

Cheers,

Kennith
 

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
Somebody's got jokes. :D It does look a bit like a scroll saw, though, so I may as well say it.

The difference is how the blade mounts. It's fixed only at the shank, but the tip is guided to keep it straight. A scroll saw uses a thin blade fixed at either end. Scroll saws are nice, but this thing can take much larger material, and you can mount it anywhere.

Cheers,

Kennith
 

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
I just want to update this.

I've been using the thing quite a bit. It's a damned miracle machine. It's like cheating.

Cheers,

Kennith
 

az_max

1
Apr 22, 2005
7,463
2
It's sold by Dean and Miriam, it's *gotta* be good! :rofl:

I can see it being good to mediocre on a wide range of things, but not as good as a dedicated tool. That being said, it'd probably suffice for my sawdust making activities.