DEWALT DCS334

Buying a battery-powered tool can seem like a simple enough decision, but beware: you will find that you’re actually buying in to a whole and often growing ecosystem of power tools. When I bought my DeWalt 20V portable compressor—to reinflate tires after deflating them for extended rough-road trips—it was the first and, I felt sure, only DeWalt cordless tool I needed. I now have ten DeWalt cordless tools. The DeWalt 20V system has proven to be a good choice, and I’m pleased with each of those ten tools. But the DCS334 jigsaw is a stand-out.

While jigsaws are handy around the house, they are nearly indispensable for boat work, in the shop, and any time clean, precise cuts are needed in plywood, solid lumber, composites, and sheet metal. With the proper blade, the DeWalt does all these jobs well. In addition to my boat work, I also build out custom camper vans where the most daunting tasks are cutting openings in a van’s sheet metal for vents, windows, and fittings—the tolerances are extremely tight and there is no recourse if a cut goes wrong. The DeWalt cuts with unrivaled precision and on my last three van builds I’ve used it exclusively, despite having three high-end corded jigsaws in the shop.

Photographs by the author

The DeWalt 20v-system power tools use interchangeable batteries across the range from smaller 2AH versions up to 10AH options. Here, my jigsaw has a 5AH battery and a 2AH is on standby in the background. Blades are standard T-shanked blades available at any hardware store.

The heart of any cordless tool is, of course, the battery. DeWalt offers numerous battery options in its 20V lithium-ion series. These run from smaller 2AH batteries all the way up to huge 10AH options. I’ve found that the 5AH 20V Max or the 5AH 20V PowerStack batteries offer the best balance between power, battery life, and weight. Furthermore, any of the DeWalt chargers is fast enough that, with two batteries—one in use and the other on the charger—workflow is seldom interrupted by waiting for a battery to charge.

The saw is powered by a brushless motor with a no-load speed of 3,200 strokes per minute at its fastest setting. It weighs 4 lbs 8 oz without a battery and 6 lbs 1 oz with a 5AH battery. It is available with two handle configurations: the DCS334 has a “D” handle while the DCS335 has a “barrel” handle. Both are well built with hard-composite bodies and soft-rubber overmolding for comfort and grip. I have the D-handled version and find it well-balanced and easy to hold. Operation is nearly vibration free. Had I known about the barrel-handled option, I might have chosen that: in general, a barrel handle positions your hand lower on the tool, which affords greater control. However, in this instance there are compromises with the switch operation.

The roller that guides the blade is low and close to the shoe, giving excellent control and accuracy in the cutting.

On the D-handled model, speed is controlled by a variable-speed trigger and a speed dial, which is located on the top of the handle and acts as a limiter for the trigger. On the barrel-handled model, there is no trigger but a dedicated on/off switch on the side of the handle and a speed control on the bottom of the handle. I would miss the variable-speed trigger; I generally keep the dial set at its fastest speed and control the blade speed with the trigger. There is a lockout on the trigger to keep the tool from accidentally turning on in a tool bag—for safety, it’s still best practice to remove the battery during blade changes rather than relying on the switch lockout.

Changing the blade on the jigsaw could not be simpler: open the blade release latch on the front and remove or insert a standard T-shanked blade. The blade housing and all the critical parts are metal. The roller that guides the blade is located low and close to the shoe; having the blade supported this close to the material being cut reduces the blade’s deflection while cutting tight curves. With the correct wood-cutting blade, the Dewalt cuts hard- and softwoods up to 1 1⁄2″ thick cleanly and with little effort. With a long blade, the saw can cut up to 2″-thick stock, but it does struggle just a bit in hardwood of that thickness. Metal presents its own inherent challenges when being cut and, given the shorter length of the cutting blade needed, material thickness is limited to 3⁄8″. The thickest metal I’ve cut is 1⁄4″ aluminum, and the saw performed well. I’ve also cut thinner pieces of steel, and the cuts have been clean and accurate.

LED lights and a blower keep the cut well illuminated and clear of dust. The jigsaw is available with a barrel handle, which can afford greater control, but the D-handle option includes a variable-speed trigger that the barrel-handle version does not have.

There are four settings for the blade’s cutting action—three orbital and one straight—and these are controlled with a switch on the side of the tool. In an orbital setting the blade moves through a forward arc as well as an up-and-down stroke. Such settings are useful for quick cuts in softwood. For metal and hardwoods, a straight cutting action is necessary. For most of my work I tend to use the straight pattern or the lowest orbital setting and make sure to change blades as soon as I feel the resistance of a dull blade.

The tool has a blower that clears the dust away from the cut to improve visibility. On a few of my older jigsaws that have this feature, the blower can be disabled if you are cutting metal lubed with cutting oil. This is not the case on the DeWalt and is something to be aware of if this is your primary use. The blower is efficient, and two well-positioned and bright LED lights also illuminate the blade’s path.

The sole of the saw is metal with a replaceable hard-plastic cover and an optional anti-splinter insert. The base can be tilted in either direction to 45° simply by moving the shoe bevel lever to the side and pulling the base forward to release it from its locked 90° position. There are accurate stops at 90° and 45° and detents at 15° and 30°. However, the shoe can be set and locked at any angle between 90° and 45°.

When I find hand or power tools that work for me, I tend to hang onto them. I still use tools I bought in the 1970s every day. Many of the distinctive yellow DeWalt tools on the shelf behind my bench fall into this category, though the DeWalt jigsaw is seldom among them—more often than not, it’s out in the shop being used.

Bill Thomas has been a custom woodworker, designer, boatbuilder, and teacher for more than 40 years. He lives and works in South Berwick, Maine.

The Dewalt DCS334 Variable Speed Jig Saw can be purchased with or without the battery and is available from most hardware stores and many online stores; prices vary. To find a local store and to compare prices, visit the DeWalt website.

For Bill’s review of the Jorgensen 60-1⁄2 block plane, see our November 2024 issue.

Is there a product that might be useful for boatbuilding, cruising, or shore-side camping that you’d like us to review? Please email your suggestions.