Articulating jig saw

An articulating drive assembly for a power tool, comprising:

• a gear housing configured to be removably attached to a motor housing of the power tool, the gear housing including a gear support portion and a gear cover portion, the gear cover portion being non-movably attached to the gear support portion, the gear support portion and the gear cover portion cooperating to substantially enclose a gear compartment and defining a slot therebetween;
• a pinion gear rotatably supported by the gear housing, the pinion gear being coupled to an output shaft extending from the motor housing of the power tool for rotation about the drive axis;
• a bevel gear rotatably supported by the gear support portion of the gear housing in the gear compartment for rotation about a bevel axis that is perpendicular to the drive axis, the bevel gear including a geared portion that is meshingly engaged with the pinion gear;
• a crank pin arranged on a same side of the bevel gear as the geared portion at a position offset from the bevel axis, the crank pin defining a circular path centered on the bevel axis when the bevel gear is rotated;
• an articulating housing including a first housing shell and a second housing shell attached to each other to form a shroud portion and a nose portion, the shroud portion enclosing the gear housing and being pivotably supported by the gear housing for pivotal movement about the bevel axis, the nose portion being pivoted about the bevel axis along with the shroud portion;
• and
• a plunger member supported by the nose portion of the articulating housing for reciprocating movement along a reciprocating axis, the plunger member extending from the nose portion through the slot defined in the gear housing and into the gear compartment, the plunger member including i) a yoke end portion located in the gear compartment and coupled to the crank pin in the gear compartment and ii) a blade holder end portion located exterior to the articulating housing,
• wherein the reciprocating axis and the drive axis reside in the same plane throughout the pivotal movement of the articulating housing with respect to the gear housing, and
• wherein the articulating housing supports the plunger member so that the plunger pivots with respect to the gear housing along with the articulating housing.