This may make you feel a little happier when I say that I've bent every last D-handle jigsaw I've ever owned.... That's two Bosch blue jigsaws, a Metabo jigsaw and a Makita cordless. It's because with a D-handle jigsaw you generally need to apply downwards pressure to keep the baseplate on the material and when the blade is getting blunt or the material is uneven - such as cutting out in floors, etc - the pressure both downwards and forwards increases and the jigsaws take on a gentle slope at the front. I've noticed this on quite a few other tradesmen's jigsaws as well (both metalworkers and woodworkers), so I know I'm not alone. The difference is that this bend is created over a 1 to 3 year period - not a single weekend! I suspect the baseplate design of youre saw simply isn't up to the task at hand However, now that I have experienced what I can only regard as a premature breakdown, I am having to re-assess just how wise it is to invest in tools that have little or no after sales service support. The Parkside has only done about 30 minutes of work, but conked out in the middle of a cut 22/10/12. The original blade is still as sharp as a razor. Phone calls to the Parkside 'service' line were very unfruitful. From the conversation with this service line, it transpired that they only deal with tools less than three years old. In such situation a full replacement is always offered.

With my 'old' but new looking jigsaw in need of some technical attention I would be very interested to know the name of any nearby workshop that would undertake the repair of any Parkside tool.