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A compact and relatively mobile sawing tool, it has earned a reputation as a practical device used all over the world. Universal jigsaw, capable of performing straight and curly cuts, including at an angle. With impressive capabilities, this device could become a leader in multi-purpose applications. Unfortunately, certain design features made it more of a narrowly focused tool, but with good potential.
Of the minuses of working with an electric jigsaw, one can distinguish a rather inconvenient conduct of an accurate, straight cut. The main reason for this disadvantage is the thin saw blade, which easily changes its direction during sawing. The second reason lies in the design itself, which loosens over time and significantly reduces the evenness of the cut. Fortunately, these flaws can be ignored if you have special tools for a jigsaw that you can do yourself. Next, we will tell you how to make a special table and stop for maximum precision sawing with your tool.
Jigsaw table
To make work with a jigsaw more comfortable, and the cutting line come out smoother, numerous craftsmen combine it with a small stand, turning this symbiosis into a convenient mini-workbench. The jigsaw is installed in the table from the bottom side, so that the file is directed upwards, passing through a specially prepared hole. The start button of the tool is fixed, and the operator calmly cuts the workpiece, controlling it with both hands. This attachment allows you to cut more accurately and is great for comfortable work with large volumes of material.
Making an elementary table for a jigsaw with your own hands is quite simple, both for an experienced craftsman and for a beginner. For assembly, any more or less suitable materials with which you can work will do. If only a saw and a screwdriver are available, make it from chipboard or thick plywood. Owners of grinders and welding machines can afford to make a mini-workbench from metal sheets and tubes. Such a device can even be made of plastic, if there is a way to securely fix this material. As an illustrative example, we will give a guide to assembling a small table from thick plywood.
To assemble a simple table for a jigsaw with your own hands, drawings are basically not required, since everyone chooses the dimensions of such a product for themselves individually. As an illustrative example, we will give a photo of a fairly miniature box indicating the dimensions of all its sides. Based on this data, you can estimate and choose the optimal aspect ratio for your future product.
The parts are connected using ordinary self-tapping screws screwed into the edges of the walls of the tabletop. If the material used does not have a lacquered coating, PVA glue can be used to enhance fixation. This design will be stronger, but it will not be possible to disassemble it.
Advice. Before screwing the finished surface to the base, you should mark and drill a hole in it for the file in advance. Next, on the opposite side, attach the sole of the jigsaw, make marks in its grooves for fixation, and then drill. It is more convenient to perform such manipulations on a clean surface, which will only have to be screwed to the walls.
As a basis, you can use a workbench or another, more or less suitable piece of furniture. The author of the following video made a table for working with an electric jigsaw from an old bedside table, installing a switch and a dust extractor in it.
Jigsaw attachment
Installing a jigsaw in a table makes it much easier to cut thin materials, but the accuracy of the cut drops when it comes to thick bars. Due to the flexible structure of the saw blade, when it turns in a large piece of wood, the end of the saw blade bends and lags behind the central part. Getting an exact 90-degree angle in this case will not work. At least, without a special device for a jigsaw that holds the file strictly perpendicular to the surface.
To cut material with a thickness of more than 3 cm, without fear for beveled edges, it is enough to adapt a simple device to your mini-machine. The essence of the element is to fix the end of the file between two freely rotating rollers. To make such a device for a jigsaw with your own hands, you will need the following materials:
- Bracket for fastening metal structures (as in the photo)
- Pair of bearings: 11mm radius
- Bar: 600x40x40
- Square of thick plywood or chipboard: 100x100
- Mounting bracket: 2 pcs
- Bolts with washers and nuts for fastening to the table and mounting the bracket: 5 pcs.
- Screws with washers and nuts for fixing bearings: 2 pcs
- wood glue
- Drill with a set of drill bits for wood and metal
We measure and drill 2 holes for the bearing screws. Their location should be equidistant from each other, at a distance equal to the thickness of the jigsaw saw blade.
Having finished with the design of the stop, we proceed to the assembly and installation of the lever. To do this, we make 2 pieces of timber of the required length, and connect them at an angle of 90 ° using PVA glue and metal corners. We combine the resulting structure with a bearing guide and press it against the side wall of the table with a plate with 4 screws. This fastening technique allows you to change the height of the lever to work with massive materials.
On this, the assembly guide for the jigsaw table with the holder for the file is considered complete. The assembled fixture is a neat and very compact mini-workbench for convenient cutting of materials of various thicknesses. We hope that the product of the author will become a good example for you, or at least give you a couple of ideas for assembling your own table.
Table for sawing with a jigsaw
Such a multifaceted tool as a forehead has several varieties, the simplest of which is the manual type of device. This elementary tool, not burdened with an electric drive and complex components, is intended for accurate figured cutting of workpieces of small thickness. The speed of work depends on physical indicators and the convenience of the workplace. To facilitate the sawing process, it is recommended to build a special sawing table for a jigsaw, the drawing of which is located below. This simple device will save energy and significantly increase work efficiency.
You can assemble a table for a jigsaw from a variety of materials: plywood, chipboard, wood, laminate, metal and even plastic. If there is absolutely nothing suitable available, and the desired segment must be purchased, then in this case, plywood will be the most easily accessible and convenient to process. To make a complete product, you will need the following components:
- Plywood (or something similar): 260x200x10
- Clamp
- Self-tapping screws with a countersunk head: 4 pcs
- Saw (hacksaw or jigsaw)
- Drill or screwdriver with a set of drill bits
- Ruler
- Sandpaper or file
The era of the electric tool did not come with the first electric drills, but when the electric motor became an attribute of a tool of a narrower focus: scissors, hacksaws, a wrench and, of course, a jigsaw.
Moreover, the jigsaw was one of the first in this series. Today it is one of the most popular tools in the home (and not only) workshop. And first of all, we are talking about a hand tool.
But in this article we are considering jigsaws, and these are almost stationary devices, which often have their own specific place in the workshop, because for comfortable work they require a base with the given parameters: height so that the arm placed on the desktop has a bend at the elbow of 90º and stability to dampen the vibrations of the machine itself.
What are jigsaws for?
Jigsaw machines are primarily designed for sawing parts or elements of complex configuration in sheet material: wood, plywood, MDF, fiberboard, chipboard, plastic, aluminum. Also, with their help, the internal contours of products are cut out with preliminary drilling of the material being cut.
Such a tool, unlike manual or electric jigsaws, leaves both hands free for those working on it, which greatly facilitates the work and allows you to perform it with the greatest accuracy. Most jigsaws, subject to the correct selection and installation of files, allow cutting even in fairly thick workpieces, with strict observance of an angle of 90º with respect to the plane of the workpiece.
Also, many models have an inclined table, which makes it possible to perform complex patterns at strictly specified angles other than straight, which is almost impossible when using manual or electric jigsaws.
In addition to home use, they are widely used in furniture production and musical instrument manufacturing enterprises. True, quite often they are replaced by laser machines, but the burnt edges left by the latter do not make their use widespread.
General drawing, structural features of desktop jigsaws
The most common layout for jigsaw machines is as follows:
It includes:
- a frame (or body) on which all components and mechanisms are attached;
- drive, often from the electric motor with a V-belt to the crank;
- a crank mechanism that converts the rotational movement of the motor shaft into the reciprocating movement of the file;
- double rocker with a tensioner and attachments for sawing;
- desktop, sometimes with a mechanism for turning in a horizontal plane at a given angle.
Previously, miniature jigsaws with a somewhat simplified design were on sale, but it was precisely because of it, which led to the rapid failure of the saw blades due to their short stroke, that their production was discontinued.
Most of the currently produced desktop jigsaws work with files 200 - 350 mm long and have a working stroke of 30 to 50 mm.
The differences between the machines mainly consist in the power of the electric drive (from 90 to 500 W - for most models), as well as the type and methods of attaching saw blades. Optimal, in our opinion, is a power of 150 watts.
And files, in addition to length, can vary in width (from 2 to 10 mm), type of shank (with or without pins) and thickness (from 0.6 to 1.25 mm).
In some models, you can install the simplest, often called "Soviet", files for manual jigsaws, which is a big advantage. To implement just such an opportunity, owners of jigsaws that do not have it often improve the fastening of their devices by installing clamps from a manual jigsaw on them.
Most desktop jigsaws have 2 speed modes: more often - 600 and 1000 rpm, which is very useful when working with materials of different thickness, hardness and viscosity. The presence of the already mentioned turntable for 99% of the work performed on the machine is a useless function.
Also, most jigsaws are equipped with additional devices, such as:
- compressor for blowing chips from the cutting line;
- sawing area illumination;
- drilling block, etc.
It’s impossible to call these devices useless, but it’s still not worth focusing on their presence when choosing a desktop jigsaw machine, since the same functions can be successfully performed:
- a compressor for an aquarium, with a blowing power chosen by you, is often more efficient than a regular one;
- a table lamp or a carrier with a luminous flux that is comfortable for your eyes;
- electric drill or screwdriver.
Even more complex devices, such as engraving drills that your machine can be equipped with, generally cause some bewilderment, but let's say right away that it is better to have such tools not tied to a jigsaw (or any other) machine. Their mobility is often more expensive than the extended functionality of this very machine. Plus, it's not all free.
We make a choice of a manufacturer of a jigsaw machine
Most often, the Russian consumer has a choice of jigsaws Proxxon, Dewalt, Hegner, Xendoll, Bison, JET, Encore Corvette and Kroton. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. We would, in terms of reliability and compliance with the characteristics declared by the manufacturer, single out the machines of the German company Hegner. Yes, and their line of this equipment is more authentic than many, but be sure to insist on sea trials when buying, regardless of which company's machine you are going to buy.
And even if it is possible to choose from 2 identical machines, demand to turn on both. Buy one that has less noise and vibration.
Do-it-yourself jigsaw machine
Finding a drawing of such equipment on the Internet is a rather trivial task, but we do not consider it appropriate to single out any specific one from them, due to completely different approaches to implementation, both the very idea of \u200b\u200bbuilding such a machine, and the selection of materials, type of drive and other things. We will offer several concepts for a homemade jigsaw and briefly analyze the advantages and disadvantages of each so that you can figure out what is best for you.
- First: the easiest to implement, suitable for most tasks for the manufacture of parts with a rather complex contour at home.
There are many options for attaching a manual electric jigsaw to a tabletop that serves as the desktop of the machine. Choose any, or offer your own and share with the readers of our site, for which we will be grateful.
The video also shows how to make a complex contour using not the thinnest file. And the main drawback of this design is the impossibility of using thin files, which makes it difficult to manufacture openwork parts.
- Second: wooden. Interesting due to the fact that the material is available, easy to process and repair.
In our opinion, it is interesting to use the same manual electric jigsaw, which is rational for two reasons:
- if necessary, it can also be used as an independent tool, which was how it was made;
- the drive has a built-in speed control, oscillation amplitude, eliminates additional mechanisms that reduce the reliability of the design.
However, for those who like to craft, there are alternative options for making a wooden jigsaw.
When using a drill or a screwdriver with an adjustable output shaft speed as a drive, it will also be possible to smoothly adjust the frequency of the saw blade.
Moreover, the control of this process can be transferred to the pedal with the help of a simple device, which will make the work even more comfortable, and the cut more accurate. Such jigsaws must be well reinforced with braces and stringers and securely fastened to the floor so that they do not move during operation.
- Third: metal. There is no doubt that this concept is the most reliable and durable (provided that serious manufacturing errors are excluded), but also the most expensive. It makes sense to implement it if there will be a large number of works and you will be able to save a sufficient amount by using the materials you already have. Otherwise, there is not so much sense in making such structures with your own hands, given that inexpensive factory-made jigsaw machines can be purchased for less than 4 thousand rubles.
Of course, the latter does not matter if you are interested in the process of technical creativity itself.
Dear readers, if you still have questions, ask them using the form below. We will be glad to communicate with you;)
A jigsaw is used to perform a curved cut, and in order to achieve the convenience of production processes and increase work productivity, it is equipped with an electric drive.
All kinds of accessories are supplied with the power tool that simplify the cutting procedure and improve the quality of the cut. Such devices can be either obtained along with a jigsaw, bought separately at a power tool store, or made independently.
Jigsaw sole
After the cutting tool, the main place in the jigsaw is occupied by the base. This structural element of the device is called the sole. It serves as a stop for the entire tool, which ensures convenient cutting.
The soles are stamped and cast. Cheap models of electric jigsaws are usually completed first, the base made of aluminum casting is much stronger, more reliable and more convenient to use. The sole can be with an anti-splinter insert and without it.
Such a device can be made by hand. To do this, it is enough to cut a Plexiglas plate according to the size of the sole, drill holes in it for fastening and exiting the cutting tool, then install it on the base. This will prevent chipping on the surface of the material and provide a smoother cut by reducing saw blade deflection.
On some models of electric jigsaws, a sole tilt mechanism is installed. With it, you can make bevel cuts at an angle of 15, 30 and 45 °.
Electric jigsaw guide
A guide ruler for a jigsaw can be purchased at the store. It is a special aluminum profile with a T-slot on the underside for unobstructed movement of the clamps.
On the upper side, the guide has two T-slots, into which devices are inserted for fixing the power tool and its free movement along the ruler. Clamps are supplied with the guide, fixtures are sold separately.
The ruler is attached to the workpiece with clamps, the cut is carried out with an electric jigsaw. If there is no device for fixing the tool, then during the cutting process, the jigsaw is pressed against the guide with the side of the sole.
You can make a guide line at home. For this you need:
- Take a bar without knots, 1.9 meters long. This is a more acceptable size, because cutting sheets of chipboard, chipboard in width is 1830 mm.
- All surfaces of the beam are processed in compliance with strict perpendicularity relative to each other.
- After that, a groove is made from the bottom side and a T-shaped profile is inserted. Clamps will be placed in it for attaching the ruler to the workpiece.
- Graduation is attached from the outside. To do this, you can use metal rulers, attaching them with self-tapping screws with a round head.
Cutting is carried out by moving the jigsaw with the edge of the sole resting against the side surface of the guide line.
Nozzles for electric jigsaw
Jigsaw attachments are nothing more than a regular saw blade. The jigsaw cutting tool can be classified according to the following criteria:
- physical properties of the processed material;
- the shape of the teeth;
- file geometry;
- tooth pitch;
- saw blade width;
- saw blade thickness.
Each material has its own hardness and resists the cutting process differently. Wood and plastic are soft, while metal and its alloys, as well as some polymers, are hard. Therefore, there are several types of saw blades for electric jigsaw, corresponding to the hardness of the material being processed.
The quality of the cut depends on the shape of the saw blade tooth. If the teeth are small, then cutting is recommended to be done slowly. As a result, the cut is accurate and accurate. The presence of most large teeth makes it rough, one might say, rough. But such an operation is carried out quickly.
The geometry of the tooth directly depends on the technological process of saw blade production. They can be milled and polished. The use of one or another technology for the manufacture of blades depends on the material and the required quality of the cut.
The thickness, width and pitch of the saw blade teeth have a great influence on the quality and speed of the cut.
Universal miter box from Bosch for power tools
Another great accessory for a jigsaw is the Bosch Saw Station PLS 300 portable device. This is nothing more than a universal miter box.
It is convenient to cut laminate, parquet or ordinary boards up to 30 cm wide and 2.5 cm thick on it. In addition, narrow slats and skirting boards can be cut. The design of the device allows cutting at an angle from 0 to 90°. In addition to wood, the machine can cut aluminum profiles and ceramic tiles.
Rip fence for electric jigsaws
A mandatory fixture on a power tool is a parallel stop. This device allows you to perform a parallel cut relative to the edge of the workpiece. The fixture is a rectangular bar with a perpendicular stop at its end.
The use of the device consists in setting the stop at a distance corresponding to the size of the future cut and fixing the rod on the sole of the tool with a screw. In inexpensive models of electric jigsaws, a parallel stop is included with the tool; in expensive models, this accessory is usually not available, and it has to be purchased separately. The cost of such a device is rather big, so many craftsmen prefer to make the device with their own hands.
Do-it-yourself parallel stop for a jigsaw: instructions
- For manufacturing, a metal strip 2 mm thick and 350 mm long is required. The width of the strip is selected according to the size of the bracket on the sole of the jigsaw. If there is none, you will need to make it yourself.
- To do this, it is necessary to drill 2 holes with a diameter of 4-5 mm in the sole of the power tool. Then they cut threads into them. Then, from a strip 2 mm thick, 2 brackets are bent along the rod profile, having previously drilled holes in them for fasteners and a fixing screw. A thread is cut in the screw hole. The brackets are installed on the sole of the jigsaw and fixed.
- After that, a corner 80–100 mm long is welded perpendicular to the bar. The bar is bent in the opposite direction through the upper shelf of the corner. In this case, the distance between the surface of the corner shelf and the underside of the rod should be equal to the thickness of the sole of the jigsaw. The free end of the device is inserted into the brackets on the sole and fixed with wing screws.
DIY jigsaw compass
Another device that will not be superfluous in a carpentry workshop is a compass for a jigsaw. Not very often, but sometimes you have to cut round parts. It is quite difficult to make a circle even in marking. But a hand-made device will help with this.
- You need to take a sheet of thick plywood and cut off a strip from it with a width equal to the sole of the jigsaw. The length of the workpiece is arbitrary. Depends on the size of the radius of the future circle.
- Then you need to install a jigsaw on the edge of the strip. To do this, you need to make a propyl.
- After installation, the sole of the power tool is framed with slats and attached to the strip in the places of technological holes.
- A line is drawn on the plywood from the middle of the canvas, the required radius of the circle is measured on it and a self-tapping screw is screwed in.
- After that, install the fixture on the workpiece with a self-tapping screw in the center of the circle. If necessary, drill a hole for the saw blade.
By moving the jigsaw around the axis of the self-tapping screw, a circle is cut out.
Electric jigsaw: LED cutting line lighting
When operating a jigsaw in poorly lit places, illumination of the cut line is desirable. Such a device can be made by hand.
The lighting scheme is very simple and will require a few inexpensive parts:
- LED (you can use two).
- Capacitor 0.22 uF, 400 volts.
- Diode.
- Discharging resistor 500–1000 kΩ.
- Resistor 1 kOhm.
The circuit is connected to the button for turning on the power tool instead of the interference capacitor 0.22 uF 250 volts. The capacitance could be left, but in our circuit there is already a 0.22 uF 400 volt capacitor, so it is better to remove it in the fight for free space.
A discharge resistor from 500 kΩ to 1 mΩ is connected in parallel to the capacitor. At the next stage of work, a diode is included in the circuit with the cathode to the capacitor and in parallel to it the LED with the anode to the capacitor. A 1 kΩ resistor is installed behind them.
The peculiarity of this resistor is that during operation it can heat up, so it is better not to use low-resistance devices. Heating occurs within 10 minutes of continuous operation of the tool, so install the resistor so that it does not touch anything. It only takes a few seconds to cool down.
Since the circuit is connected to the start button, the backlight starts working even a little faster than the engine turns on. You can use two LEDs in this circuit, then the light will be much brighter. In this case, the LEDs are connected in series.
After reviewing the information provided in the article, the master will be able to improve the quality of the cut and facilitate the performance of operations using a jigsaw as a whole through the purchase or manufacture of various devices.
Of course, an electric tool works very quickly. But the trouble is that this speed sometimes adversely affects the quality of work. In particular, it is sometimes difficult to make straight cuts with a jigsaw. When the cut needs to be perfectly straight, guides should be used. A simple guide for an electric jigsaw is a device that is very simple to manufacture and is within the power of any novice craftsman. I tell you how to make it yourself.
And I will say right away. If you need a guide for a circular saw, then you can make it in the same way. It will just be longer (from 70 cm to 150 cm) and wider.
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What you need to work
A jigsaw guide can be made with the following tools and materials:
- jigsaw;
- bar 30 cm long;
- thin wooden board 30 cm long;
- nails or screws;
- roulette.
What material can a jigsaw guide be made of?
The layout here is pretty simple. This device, except for you, will not be seen by anyone. Therefore, there should not be any complexes when using even waste. The length of the guide will depend on your needs, and the principle of its manufacture will remain unchanged in any case. For me personally, a length of 30 cm is optimal.
Guide manufacturing procedure
Essentially, the guide consists of two parts:
- support, which is a plank 30 cm long and 7 cm wide with a thickness of 3-5 mm (too much thickness is not needed for the support);
- stop, which can be a segment of an ideally straight bar 2 cm thick and 30 cm long.
The manufacture of a guide for an electric jigsaw is carried out in the following order:
From the above description, of course, you understand that the jigsaw guide is very easy to manufacture. Moreover, this device is rather primitive, but the sense from it is very great.
