Cutting plywood with a hand jigsaw requires attention and time. The result is beautifully practical products.

A hand saw is used to process the material in order to create decorative elements. As a result of the processing of wood, plywood, plastic, handicrafts are created that have practical application and aesthetic value.

Figure sawing is an exciting hobby that brings practical, moral and material benefits. From plywood and wooden blanks you can make:

• a vase for sweets;
• basket;
• desktop stand for postcards;
• lamp;
• hanger in the hallway, living room;
• photo frame;
• needle bed;
• bread box;
• panel;
• candlestick;
• stand for hot, for eggs;
• casket.

Beginners for carving can choose light drawings, simple diagrams, craft drawings, sketches that have a pleasant appearance. After mastering the sawing technique, you can try your hand at jewelry models with openwork fragments.

Using a jigsaw, you can make platbands for home design. A variety of sketches allows you to create this element, which will provide the decoration of the interior. By curly cutting, you can make crafts from wood.

You can cut out beautiful decor elements from plywood. Using stencils for a jigsaw, it is easy to make photo frames, mirrors and much more from blanks. Handmade will complement the design of the room, emphasize the chosen style.

Operating procedure

To get a quality product and minimize the formation of defects, you need to work slowly, focus on the process. Before starting work, it is recommended to make sure that the thickness of the plywood is equal to the height of the groove on the printed sketch.

Stencil preparation

Schemes for sawing out with a tool can be of various sizes. To create a drawing of an interior item, such as a shelf, you will need to use A1 or A0 paper, and for toys you can use a standard sheet of cardboard.

The contour of the product is applied to the surface in compliance with the exact dimensions. Templates for sawing with a manual jigsaw can be found on special resources. But it’s easier to come up with your own compositions based on the type of workpiece. An individual approach to the development of a product scheme will emphasize the texture of the tree.

Transferring the image to the surface of plywood or boards

To qualitatively apply a contour to the surface of plywood or wood, print the template on thick paper. Transferring a drawing from an A4 drawing can be a lot of trouble if you draw an ornament with a pencil.

In order to apply contours, complex patterns, you can use auxiliary methods. One way involves the use of carbon paper. To do this, a carbon copy is placed on the workpiece. A template is placed on top and lines are drawn.

The drawing can be glued to plywood with 2-sided tape. When using glue, clean the surface with sandpaper. An affordable method involves the use of a stencil made using nail scissors. After preparation, the template is applied to the surface and each fragment is outlined with a pencil.

For convenience, the sheet is fixed with adhesive tape or insulating tape. The pattern can be applied thermally. For this, an inkjet printer is used, with which the diagram is printed. After that, the pattern is applied to the surface with the front side and processed with a heated iron.

Sawing process technology

Sawing out of plywood is carried out after drawing a drawing on the workpiece. Processing begins with the internal elements of the product, and then the outer contour is cut out. This order of work allows you to get a straight line, provides convenient fastening of the workpiece.

Holes for the canvas must be drilled in sharp places of the internal contour. This requires attention, as chips may form on the back. To avoid this, it is recommended not to make holes completely.

You can limit the depth with the help of an insulating tape that is wrapped around the drill. After that, turn the workpiece over and process the hole with an awl. After finishing work, the product is polished with a file or needle file.

Small items require delicate handling, so it is recommended to be smart when handling. To do this, cut off a thin strip of sandpaper and insert it into the jigsaw file instead of the canvas.

Sawing with a hand tool requires the equipment of a special machine with a clamp. This fixture is used as a base. During processing, the workpiece is fixed at chest level, which provides convenience and allows you to carefully monitor the process.

For beginners, it is important to be careful when using a jigsaw in order to work out smooth movements. Cutting blade for jigsaw fragile, so it is recommended to avoid distortions, sudden movements, overheating.

When machining a workpiece, the movements must be reciprocating, and the tool must be positioned vertically. The use of an electric jigsaw requires securing the workpiece to a workbench. With this equipment, workpieces with a thickness of 5 cm can be processed.

Defects in work

If the workpiece processing technology is violated, the tool may be displaced. The jigsaw may cut crookedly if the tool is tilted or mounted incorrectly. If the blade is stuck at the stage of forming curly elements, then you will need to carefully draw a new line parallel to the fragment with the defect.

A little about safety

The jigsaw for figured cutting is an arcuate frame. The tool is equipped with a handle, 2 mounts for the cutting blade, which allow you to cut patterns of varying complexity.

Depending on the type of work, different nozzles are selected. Thick saws are used for cutting contours, and thin canvases are used for openwork work. It is possible to mechanize the processing of workpieces with the help of an electric tool. To speed up the process, individual models are equipped with a pendulum mechanism.

A stationary electric tool that is mounted on a static surface resembles a sewing machine in principle. The use of equipment of this type eliminates the errors of a perpendicular cut.

Sawing with a jigsaw requires compliance with safety rules. The workplace must be properly equipped. When working, it is recommended to use personal protective equipment.

Fretwork, hand saw, has more than 450 years of existence. The first mention of this instrument appeared in 1870 in a book about ornaments. For the past few centuries, with the help of this wonderful jigsaw, all kinds of decorative items have been made: picture frames, various furniture inserts, stylish caskets and boxes.

Much has changed since that time. The jigsaw has also undergone changes - now it has become electromechanical. And this is not surprising. The need for this tool has not gone away, just like in the old days, people are engaged in creativity, some for the sake of pleasure, and some for the sake of profit.

Tool for making decorative and openwork crafts

Sawing with a jigsaw is a type of creative activity that most people have been familiar with since childhood, from school time. At least it wasn't that long ago. When labor lessons began at school and girls learned to sew and needlework, boys were introduced to such a tool as jigsaw.

It is not difficult to use it, and crafts with a plywood jigsaw carry not only artistic value, but also practical application. Manufactured products can act as souvenirs: various caskets and toys, as well as have practical applications in everyday life. Decorated elements of the porch of the house, windows, stylish benches with carved legs, beautiful kitchen furniture and many other useful wood products can be made using this wonderful tool.

Ideal hobby tool

Manual jigsaw - a tool for figured cutting out of plywood or some other material, for example, plastic. Its manual version is budgetary - its cost does not exceed several hundred rubles, and the scope is very wide. Figured sawing with a manual jigsaw is an interesting activity. This is not only a pleasant pastime, but also practical benefits, not only financial, but also moral.

The design of this tool is very simple:

Electromechanical jigsaws

The electric manual jigsaw has become an indispensable tool in the household. With it, you can cut various materials: plywood, wood, plastic, metal, ceramics, etc.

This tool is powered by a 220 W electrical network and is a plastic case with working elements, equipped with a control knob. Its main component is the saw blade., which is mounted on a rod located in front of the device.

The rod is driven by an electric motor. The movement of the cutting blade is reciprocating. For some samples of this tool, to speed up the sawing process, the principle of a pendulum stroke is implemented, that is, the file goes not only up and down, but also back and forth.

Cutting blades - consumables and need to be changed from time to time. They are functionally different from each other - there are nozzles for wood, metal, ceramics. There are thicker blades, with greater or lesser rigidity, with larger or finer teeth. An important characteristic of saw blades is their shank. The most common at present are files with U-shaped and T-shaped shanks. It is with such files that you need to purchase a jigsaw - then there will be no shortage of consumables.

An electric tool differs in many respects, but in this article we will pay attention to only one important factor - this is saw blade play. This characteristic affects the withdrawal towards the cutting blade during figured sawing. Jigsaws of many brands cannot cope with the task of a perpendicular cut, this is especially sensitive when cutting thick wood - the error can be up to 5 mm.

The experiments carried out on the figured sawing of a tree showed that the best jigsaw was a tool from the company Festool. Popular firm Makita in this competition, it showed itself not from the best side - the error of the perpendicular-shaped cut turned out to be quite large (up to 5 mm), and the jigsaw of this brand also enters the tree with large chips.

- this is a professional equipment for sawing. Its design is more complex than the equipment discussed above. The principle of its operation can be compared with a sewing machine, which has a jigsaw blade instead of a needle. The quality of the products obtained with the help of this unit is incomparably better. The error of a perpendicular cut with a large workpiece thickness is zero.

The only disadvantage of this electromechanical apparatus is its high price. But this is offset by the comfort of working on it and high productivity with the highest quality of the products obtained.

Manufacturing technology of decorative and openwork products

To work you will need the following:

1. Plywood or wood blank.
2. Template, drawing or drawing of a future product.
3. Manual or electric jigsaw.
4. Files and needle files of various configurations.
5. Wooden square and ruler.
6. Skin of various grain sizes.

Cutting drawings

To start work, you need to determine what should happen at the end of the work. To do this, you need a drawing or a template for the future product. You can invent and draw it yourself, or use ready-made solutions. There are many collections containing drawings and craft diagrams. The Internet is also replete with a variety of interesting ideas. And for almost everyone there is a curious scheme or drawing.

Usually, schemes for small crafts are removed on A4 paper. To create drawings of decorative and stylish furniture or other large-sized household items, whatman paper is used in sizes A0 and A1, however, other paper and cardboard media can also serve this purpose, for example, pieces of unnecessary wallpaper glued together.

After the drawing is selected, it must be transferred to the material from which the craft will be made. There are several ways to do this:

Technology

After applying the drawing to the workpiece, from which the future craft will be made, they begin to cut it out. Sawing starts from the internal elements of the workpiece and only then cut out the outer contour. This procedure is more convenient - it is much easier to hold the workpiece.

The holes for the jigsaw blade are drilled in sharp places of the inner contour, which also facilitates the work. You need to drill holes carefully, as chips can form on the back side.

To avoid this, you need to follow a simple rule - do not drill holes completely. For example, if the thickness of the plywood is 3 mm, then the depth of the hole to be drilled must also be set to 3 mm. This is easy to do if you limit the depth of entry of the drill into the plywood with electrical tape - wrap the drill with it, leaving only the tip 3 mm long without tape. After drilling, turn the workpiece over and pierce the holes with an awl.

After the workpiece has been sawn, it must be process and polish. If the outer contour is not difficult to process, then grinding the internal elements is sometimes difficult, especially in sharp corners. Such places are difficult to grind with a file or needle file. Therefore, ingenuity can come to the rescue. You need to cut off a thin strip of sandpaper and insert it instead of a jigsaw file and then it will be much easier to process hard-to-reach places.

The principles of sawing with a manual or electromechanical jigsaw are similar, but there are differences.

Work with a manual jigsaw

When working with this tool, an additional device is required - sawing machine. It must be equipped with a clamp for attaching to a workbench or table. This device serves as the base on which the workpiece is sawn. This addition can either be purchased at the store, or you can make yourself from a piece of thick plywood.

When working, the workpiece should be fixed at chest level - this will make the work more comfortable and maintain posture.

When working with a manual jigsaw, accuracy and patience are needed.. The files of this tool are quite fragile, so you need to avoid sudden movements and distortions of the blade, and also during operation, do not let the file overheat, for this you need to stop working every 10 seconds and let the cutting blade cool down.

When sawing, the jigsaw should remain in one place, that is, it does not move forward or backward, the movement of the manual jigsaw is vertical, reciprocating. Only the workpiece is moved, turning it smoothly, without stopping the translational movements of the manual jigsaw.

Sawing with an electromechanical tool

The principle of operation is very similar to a hand tool. The difference lies in the fact that a manual electric jigsaw does not require additional equipment (machines with a clamp). And also when sawing out, the figured movement is carried out not by the workpiece, but directly by the tool itself. The wooden blank is firmly pressed or attached to the workbench, and all curly movements are made directly with a jigsaw.

Electric jigsaw has an advantage over manual- this is the thickness that he can figuratively cut out. A 50 mm thick wooden blank is not available for processing with a conventional, non-electric tool. So, if you need to decorate the elements of the porch or furniture, then you can’t do without a jigsaw.

The choice of a power tool must be approached very carefully, since not all tools allow high-quality figured sawing of great depth.

Safety

Basic safety precautions are required for all types of physical work.

Drawings for cutting out plywood allow you to create products of various subjects and purposes. Sawing decorative panels, toys and household items is provided with an electric jigsaw. Among the additional materials, the use of plastic, ceramics, metal is acceptable.

Attention! By means of a narrow file, direct cutting and intricate patterns are carried out.

Working with a jigsaw

Sawing with a jigsaw will require a little skill. With straight cuts, there will be no questions, and with beautiful curly patterns, the correct selection of files will be required. For a more detailed consideration of the recommendations, you can use the following list:

1. Sawing with an electric jigsaw from plywood according to the drawings requires an even cut. For this, the correct selection of files for equipment is provided.
2. On the front side, the saw cut will not have burrs, provided that a thin saw blade with downward teeth is used.
3. The product presented for processing requires a strong fixation. Otherwise, the cut will be uneven.

Choice of jigsaw

It will be easier to cut toys according to drawings with a jigsaw if you use the basic parameters :

• Saw or side divorce. Alternating right and left flare teeth and large teeth provide fast, straight cuts. The edges are rough, so their finishing is carried out using an abrasive skin. Below you can see how to properly cut plywood with a jigsaw in the photo.
• Undercut. The teeth do not form a divorce. They are adapted for thin and clean cuts. However, the speed of work is reduced. If there is a small divorce, the process will speed up. The main bias is towards the quality of the cut.

• Wavy splits. To work with small and narrow files, providing a wider cut, the cutting edge has a wavy shape. Typically, such tools are used when working with metal elements, but are often used to process plywood. This allows you to get a narrow and clean cut in a short period of time.

Creating patterns

To implement sketches on plywood, it is necessary to provide a number of works:

• The pattern is transferred to a sheet of paper.
• A stencil is cut out using a clerical knife or scalpel.
• A stencil is applied to the coating and outlined with a simple pencil.
• The pattern is cut out.

Implementation of works:

• Cutting along a curve is carried out with a file with a narrow panel.
• You can cut a circle in the panel using a special nozzle - a circle cutter. Its fixation is made in the center of the circle.
• The creation of grooves in the blanks from the array is carried out with a rasp instead of a saw. It also serves to clean uneven cuts.
• Ideally exact and equal cuts are provided by means of a parallel emphasis. Its attachment to the jigsaw is provided using screws.
• A guide ruler is mounted on the "ski" to ensure cutting parallel to straight edges.
• An auxiliary guide is used to create a straight long cut. The jigsaw moves along a longitudinal fixed bar. This tool provides cuts with an inclination up to 45 gr. The slope can be set on a scale.

Drank gaps. When forming ornaments, the master makes gaps in the plywood sheet. There are 2 options for this:

In the first case, a recess is drilled with an electric drill, then a file is inserted into it and a pattern is cut out.

The second case includes the technology of mortise or plunge cuts. The starting gap is not drilled. The installation of equipment is carried out on the front edge of the "ski" without touching the workpiece with the cloth.

The motor is turned on and the fork is slowly lowered, introducing the saw into the array until it forms a vertical arrangement, and the "ski" does not touch the workpiece.

Correct jigsaw setting

Important! Plunge sawing starts in the waste area of ​​the plywood.

The tool must enter the panel far from the cut line to prevent damage to the material.

If you are cutting a board of great thickness, you can use a file with pointed ends. Initially, the workpiece is sawn from one part, then it turns and is sawn from the back. For sawing curly elements, equipment is fixed at the bottom of the desktop. With a uniform and smooth feed of the workpiece, you can get a cut that has clean, even edges.

Preparation of equipment and materials

Plywood. The best option would be to use a thin sheet, including multilayer hardwood. Normal or moisture resistant material is used.

Among the tools, you can pick up a regular jigsaw or power tool, if you need to do bulk work.

An awl creates gaps for cuts. The saw starts after inserting the file into the recesses created by the awl or electric drill.

Files are used to properly clean all the edges of the cuts.

The thrust board serves to reinforce materials and equipment.

Transferring the drawing to plywood

For artistic sawing, tracing paper is used. Transferring the pattern to the workpiece is done manually.

What are jigsaws

An alternative is a projector, a projected pattern on a work surface. It is not allowed to move plywood, it is important to provide for the most durable fastening. The use of the projector is carried out with small sketch parameters.

The jigsaw is used when gluing self-adhesive paper onto the coating. Using a printer, an image is printed, followed by a sticker on plywood.

Recently, there has been a revival of interest among the widest sections of the population in sawing wood with a jigsaw. Schoolchildren and academicians, bankers and investigators are engaged in painstaking work that requires complete concentration. To create a "wooden lace" does not require expensive tools and equipment, at the same time, cutting out allows you to temporarily switch your attention and slow down the frantic pace of life, give rest to a tired brain. To acquire the skills of cutting wood with a jigsaw, you need patience and perseverance.

Basic Shape Cutting Skills

The main tool for sawing wood is a manual jigsaw, consisting of an arc-shaped or U-shaped holder, a metal file and a handle stretched between its ends. Most of the files are flat and equipped with teeth on one side, but diamond-coated filiform blades are also used.

Sawing with a jigsaw does not seem to be such a complicated and mysterious business as, for example, welding. So it really is: the basic skills of curly cutting can be acquired in a few hours, ruining a few plywood and files.

But in order to master the nuances of sawing with a jigsaw on wood and start creating, it will take long evenings to hone the skill. Openwork sawing requires from its masters an accurate eye, a steady hand and great patience.

Features of working with a jigsaw

According to the device, the jigsaw is very different from its manual relative. The file is fixed only on one side, so it is several times thicker than a hand file, instead of a thin arch of the holder - a massive body with an electric motor and a gearbox.

An electric jigsaw provides many times more performance than a manual jigsaw for sawing, at the cost of more weight, strong vibration and reduced cutting accuracy when making curved cuts.

The unit allows you to quickly cut in a straight line or along a curved line with large radii.

The best result for artistic sawing with a jigsaw is a combination of a manual and electric document. Particularly fine details of the pattern and rounding of a small radius, of course, must be entrusted to a manual jigsaw.

An ordinary household or professional electric jigsaw is not very suitable for sawing. Its purpose is construction work, and sawing complex patterns with an electric jigsaw will lead to fatigue due to the large weight and damage to the material.

However, there are also tape jigsaws - in them the canvas is clamped on both sides, the material rests on a massive wide desktop and the arc of the holder from a manual jigsaw is visible in the design. With such a semi-professional device, even greater cutting accuracy can be achieved than with a hand tool. But this miracle unit costs accordingly.

Body posing

In every profession, for every typical operation, there is an ergonomically optimal posture or set of postures. The working area is clearly visible in it, you do not have to make unnecessary movements, it is convenient to cut, and fatigue is minimal.

For sawing with a jigsaw, it is recommended to sit at a work table on a chair high enough so that the back does not bend. To unload the working hand, it is often rested with the elbow on the knee. So the hand will not be on weight and get tired less. You just have to be careful not to numb your knee. The workspace should not be cluttered with scraps of material, currently unused tools and equipment. A sketch of a drawing or an assembly drawing should be fixed in a vertical tablet at eye level.

Cutting material - plywood

A beautiful product is difficult to create from garbage. The choice of material must be treated very carefully.

A plywood sheet for artistic sawing with a jigsaw must satisfy a number of conditions:

• The thickness of the sheet must be suitable for the purpose. For artistic creativity, it is better to take a thin sheet (up to five millimeters), and for the production of curly furniture parts, a thickness of 1-2 centimeters is more suitable.
• The color of the plywood veneer is important if you are going to cover the product with a clear varnish. In the case of opaque paint or varnish, and stain treatment, the color is not important.
• Humidity can lead to frequent "bogging" and breakage of files. The material must be dried up to 40-65%.
• General quality. If it is not planned to build a chicken coop, but artistic creativity, then the grade should be the highest or first.
• No knots and spots of a different color.
• No blistering, hollow or resin-filled.
• No veneer splits.

As a test to determine the quality of plywood gluing, a narrow strip 1-2 cm wide is usually sawn off with a hand saw. If it has not delaminated and crumbled, the plywood is suitable for sawing.

Tool for the job

You will need the following tools and supplies:

• Manual jigsaw. This is the main tool of the artist.
• Awl or drill with a 2-3 mm drill - for making initial holes when executing closed contours.
• A set of files and needle files from bastard to velvet and sandpaper for smoothing edges.
• Electric jigsaw for preliminary cutting of material and making long cuts with small curvature.
• Hand tools - pliers, hammer, mallet.
• Working table with vise, clamps. The table must be equipped with a cutting platform 20×30 cm, rectangular in shape with a cutout converging at an acute angle to a hole with a diameter of 3-5 cm.
• Pencil and a thin awl to transfer the sketch to the material.
• A set of replacement blades for electric jigsaw, for straight, curved and high-speed cuts.
• Many, many replacement blades for a manual jigsaw.

Perhaps, files for a manual jigsaw will need twice as much - at the initial stage of training, this will be the most consumable material.

Sawing technology

The sawing technology itself is simple, but in each operation you will need to acquire sufficient skill.

The process is divided into preparatory operations, main operations and final ones.

Training

Careful preparation largely determines the convenience of work and the quality of the final result.

So, at this stage, you should:

• Carefully inspect the selected piece of plywood and make sure that there are no spots, knots, swellings and delaminated veneer.
• Check the dryness of the material by making a test cut 1 cm from the edge
• Attach a sketch of the drawing to the plywood with tape or buttons.
• At the key points of the drawing, the beginnings and ends of lines, their intersections, etc. make punctures with a thin sharp awl.
• If the ornament is complex, then it will be possible to get confused in a hodgepodge of dots. In this case, copy paper is placed under the sketch and the outline of the drawing is drawn with a hard or medium pencil, transferring its lines to plywood.
• The zones to be removed after sawing out should be immediately shaded with a pencil on plywood so as not to get confused later.

Important! Orient the pattern on the plywood sheet so that most of the cuts are perpendicular to the direction of the fibers of the front veneer sheet - this will facilitate sawing.

Basic operations

Upon completion of the preparatory operations, you can proceed to the actual sawing.

If you don’t have enough experience yet, then it’s better to start with simple drawings and contours - cut out, for example, a house with a window and a pipe from a child’s drawing. The battle of Chinese dragons is unlikely to succeed the first time.

First you need to cut out the contour of the future product, then you need to drill the starting holes for the internal contours.

Important! It is better to drill all holes in advance, because as you cut out part by part, the workpiece will lose strength and may break during drilling.

It is better to start mastering the skill with a simple operation - a straight cut. For this you should:

• Insert a jigsaw file into the drilled starting hole. The teeth must be directed away from the arc of the holder and towards the handle.
• Fasten the blade with a screw from the side of the handle, tighten it so that it does not rattle when cutting, and tighten the second screw. The degree of tension of the full is determined by bending the arc of the holder.
• Put the plywood on the platform, press it against it with your left hand and, moving the jigsaw by the handle up and down, start cutting. As you move along the cut line, feed the workpiece under the saw so that the jigsaw remains in place.
• In order not to stray from a straight line, you can put a guide bar on the workbench.

Saw out a few squares and rectangles to reinforce the skill of a straight cut.

The next operation that you need to master is a curvilinear cut, or actually curly sawing:

• Fix the blade in the same way as in the case of a straight cut.
• Lay plywood with a clearly drawn outline on the work site.
• Start sawing with slow movements, feeding and turning the workpiece with your left hand so that the blade does not go beyond the boundaries of the contour line.
• If the cut deviates from the line, stop turning and side feed and return the blade to the line with a short straight cut.

The first circle will most likely resemble a gear. Do not despair, only the genius of the Renaissance, the Florentine Giotto, could draw a perfect circle with one movement of his hand, and even Leonardo Da Vinci himself used a compass for this. On the fifth or sixth circle, your hand will become harder, and the teeth of your gear will become completely invisible.

All elements of the pattern, including obtuse corners, are performed in a similar way. Sharp corners are cut out with two cuts converging to the top, otherwise, most likely, the tip of the plywood at the top of the corner will break off and everything will have to start over.

Final operations

After all the elements of the pattern have been sawn out, all edges should be processed first with a file, then with a needle file and, finally, with fine sandpaper. Even the most experienced craftsman cannot make the edges of all cuts perfectly even. During training, you will most likely have to wave a file and rustle with a sandpaper.

Further, in accordance with the type of finish you have chosen, the plywood is stained, painted or varnished. Varnishing is also a rather laborious process, it makes sense to resort to it when your works come out of a series of student crafts and begin to acquire aesthetic value.

Safety

• Use only correct tool. Before starting work, it is imperative to inspect it for the absence of mechanical damage and insulation failure.
• Do not attempt to cut with a broken blade, especially on a jigsaw. A penny blade is not worth your injury and healing.
• Personal protective equipment should be used: goggles or a transparent face shield, gloves, respirator.
• When working with a jigsaw, secure the workpiece with a clamp and hold the jigsaw firmly with both hands. If you can’t fix it, call an assistant, also providing him with personal protective equipment.
• When working with flammable liquids, the use of open fire and open-type electric heaters closer than 5 meters from the place of work is excluded.
• The workplace should be well ventilated and dust and fumes from stains and paints must be removed.

Safety glasses are a must even when sawing with a hand jigsaw, despite the low cutting speed and the absence of an electric drive. When a taut file breaks—as even the skilled craftsman inevitably does—pieces of it can fly far enough to hit the eye.

Which jigsaw to choose

In order for the hobby to bring joy and not to have to correct and twist something every five minutes, you should approach the choice of instrument with all the attention and responsibility.

Despite the apparent simplicity of design, a manual jigsaw has many nuances that must be considered when buying.

• frame material. It is better to put aside the jigsaws made of strip metal. They are prone to twisting and distort the blade during the cut. The frame made of a metal tube is devoid of this drawback, it holds its shape perfectly and is also noticeably lighter.
• Lever. Be sure to check how firmly the handle is attached to the frame. If she constantly jumps off, the process will turn from pleasure into torment. Over time, sawing masters change the cylindrical handle, turned on a lathe, to an individual one, carved from soft wood, taking into account the anatomical features of their hand.
• Clamps. Reliable retention of the file during the sawing process is not only a matter of convenience, but also of safety. Good clamping sites are provided with notch systems perpendicular to each other to ensure that the web shanks are held.
• The lambs of the clips should have wide, high and comfortable lugs. Avoid sheet metal stamped wing nuts or replace them immediately with tall wing nuts with the same thread.

How to properly prepare the tool for work

The file in the frame should be clamped without distortions, strictly perpendicular to its ends, resting its back against the screws of the clamps. The saw teeth must point away from the frame. The canvas must be tightly stretched, so as to exclude vibration during operation. Masters with sufficiently long and strong fingers squeeze the frame with their hands for this. If this does not work, you can rest one end of the frame on the table, after which the lambs are tightened. For reliable fixation, you can turn the lambs a little with pliers. At this point, be careful not to damage the thread

The straightened frame ensures proper web tension. It is also unacceptable to overtighten the file. High voltage leads to rapid wear and failure. The ends of the web should not protrude from the clamps by more than a couple of millimeters.

To perform small parts, complex curvilinear elements and sharp turns, thin files with small teeth and a small step are used. They go through turns better, leave a neat cut, do not chip plywood. For long straight cuts, take a wider blade with larger teeth. The accuracy and quality of the saw cut surface will be worse, but the speed will increase several times.

What to do if the saw sticks

File jamming sometimes happens even with an experienced craftsman. For beginners, unfortunately, this is a common occurrence.

We list the main causes of jamming and how to eliminate them:

• Fabric overheating. It occurs during prolonged intensive work due to the friction of metal on wood (sometimes it can even smoke). It is necessary to let the blade cool down, reduce the sawing intensity or choose a saw blade more suitable for the given type and length of cut. You can also wipe the file often with a damp cloth.
• Workpiece defects - foreign inclusion, knot, glue clot. Reduce speed or replace workpiece.
• Frame shift. Occurs in beginners. Straighten the frame and carefully monitor its position.
• Clamping with almost split plywood strips for long cuts. The ends can be fastened with a clamp or just a clothespin.

How to deal with chips

The frequency of occurrence and size of chips are determined by:

• the quality of the material;
• saw blade quality;
• compliance of the blade parameters with the material and type of cut;
• individual sawing technique.

There are several techniques to reduce the number and size of chips:

• If the plywood is of poor quality, you should take a file with smaller teeth and cut faster.
• Use a file with a reverse, or reverse arrangement of teeth.
• Glue the cut line with masking tape or tape.
• Wet the back of the plywood.

Transferring the scheme to a wooden blank

There are various ways to transfer a sketch of drawings for cutting with a jigsaw onto plywood:

• Prick the key points of the pattern with an awl and connect the holes on the plywood with a pencil. Suitable for the simplest drawings.

Scheme for sawing out a motorcycle toy

Blade selection

From the whole variety of options, at the stage of training and the beginning of independent work, it is worth choosing files No. 3, No. 5 and No. 7, with a fine tooth and, accordingly, with a large number of teeth per inch (TPI marking parameter). They will cut more slowly, but it will be much easier to keep control over the blade. As you gain experience, you can switch to faster and more “toothy” files.

Also at the initial stage it is better to avoid files with a reverse arrangement of teeth. Without sufficient skill, such a blade will pull the workpiece up, and the sawing process will be slow and tedious.

We wish you success in mastering a fascinating and interesting hobby - sawing with a manual jigsaw.

Today, many people tend to decorate the interior with pleasant little things, for example, carved elements. Wood products with beautiful ornaments and patterns are very popular. The tree always decorates the house, creates comfort, and most importantly, is a natural material. Wood carving is a very pleasant and interesting activity that everyone can master if they carefully study the process and prepare for work.

Features of work

A jigsaw is a tool that allows you to cut various elements out of plywood and create ornaments. A thin blade with teeth makes various cuts, lines and allows you to create jewelry from wood. The jigsaw is also used in construction, but in this article we will focus on cutting out decorative elements. Cutting with a jigsaw has a number of features. There are many variations of this tool. The two main varieties are manual and electric jigsaws. Initially, a manual jigsaw was invented. This design consists of an arc and a blade. The blade is secured with clips that allow you to change the tension. The frame includes a handle.

The clamps can be positioned to rotate. This allows you to change the plane and create complex threads. The blade of a manual jigsaw and its entire structure are subject to wear, so the blade has to be changed frequently. Craftsmen who work with hand tools have many spare files to replace. A jigsaw is a tool that runs on a network. There are mechanisms in the body, there is a handle on the body, the sawing element is located in the front part at the bottom of the body. Sometimes there is a foot that helps to cut more evenly. There are models with nozzles used to facilitate sawing, leveling the edge.

When working with an electric jigsaw, you should familiarize yourself with the parameters that are prescribed in the instructions in order to know exactly how to use the tool for cutting out patterns. Such a tool differs from a manual jigsaw in the attachment of the file, its thickness and weight. The jigsaw has more weight and less accuracy, but much higher performance.

You can use a jigsaw for construction work. It is difficult to work with such a tool for a long time. For decorative elements, it is heavy and not very accurate. The material may suffer, and the accuracy of the pattern may be distorted.

Choosing the Right Material

To work with a jigsaw for sawing, plywood is used. Birch thin plywood 2-8 mm thick is best; for very openwork and dense patterns, sheets up to 3 mm thick are used. And also use specially prepared wooden blanks. It is more difficult to work with wooden blanks, but very beautiful edges remain. Plywood is easier to use and more affordable. Before starting work, it is worth preparing high-quality plywood. It is important to pay attention to some features of the material.

• For artistic cutting, sheets less than 5 mm thick are used, for furniture elements, 1-2 cm sheets are used.
• If you are going to cover the product with a colorless varnish, then the color of the plywood must be chosen carefully. If the finished product is covered with paint, colored varnish or stain, then plywood can be any.
• Plywood should be dried well up to 40-65%. Raw material will cause the tool to jam.
• The quality of plywood for art work must be high, plywood of the first or highest grade.
• Carefully check the material for knots and foreign spots.
• Check that the material is free from bulges, voids and resin stains.
• Check the sheet for material delamination.

You can check the quality of factory gluing of plywood like this: saw off a piece 1-2 cm wide, if the plywood is of high quality, then the strip will not delaminate and will not crumble.

Required Tools

When sawing with a jigsaw, a certain set of tools is used. So, for work you will need:

• electric jigsaw and manual jigsaw;
• plywood or special processed board (thickness depends on the product);
• an awl, a drill with a drill, in order to make a hole into which the blade will then be lowered;
• several different files and sandpaper to smooth the edges;
• drawings, patterns, stencils for applying to wood;
• mallet, hammer, pliers;
• desktop - a surface of 20 by 30 cm with a hole converging to a cutout 3-5 cm in diameter at an acute angle;
• a thin awl and a pencil for transferring the image to the board;
• spare files for electric jigsaw for various types of cuts;
• spare files for hand tools.

Beginner files for a manual jigsaw will need a lot. They are consumed in large quantities by trained carvers. To create patterns, it is worth using a manual jigsaw; longer and straighter cuts are made with an electric tool. The accuracy of the manual is higher, but the performance is less.

Jigsaw sawing technology

Like any hobby and craft, sawing will take time to learn, but if you master this not the most difficult stage, you can create extraordinary gifts and jewelry. You will be able to realize many ideas without spending much on materials. Start by preparing a workplace that has all the necessary tools, drawings and materials. It is recommended to sit on a chair of sufficient height so that the back does not slouch. Place your right (or left, if you are left-handed) hand on your knee with your elbow to relieve some of the load. At the same time, make sure that your knee or arm does not become numb. The desktop must be in order, remove all unnecessary tools and materials that you are not currently using. Fix sketches and drawings vertically in front of you at the same level with your eyes. Observe safety precautions.

In order to cut chipboard evenly, a number of requirements must be observed.

• Make only the correct vertical movements with a hand with a jigsaw. Do not try to speed up the process by pushing the jigsaw to the side.
• Work with the maximum possible amplitude of the tool up and down, without jerking and choppy turns, to make a cut, use the entire surface of the blade. It will be more efficient.
• Gently rotate and move the workpiece with the other hand. Do it slowly and calmly.
• Do not press on the canvas from the side with a file.
• The sawing process takes place when moving from top to bottom; when moving backwards, you should also not press on the tool.

When working with a hand tool, cut along the inner border of the pattern contour, because any material leaves a cut, and this should be taken into account when working. At the end of sawing, loosen the jigsaw clamp so that the arc is longer elastic. Do not store the jigsaw with the file taut. This is detrimental to the performance of the instrument and its frame. To master carving with a jigsaw, you should start with the simplest elements. For example, with a straight cut. A straight line is the basis of the simplest drawings. Sometimes it takes a lot of skill to cut a simple countertop, any elements require a straight cut - as part of the pattern, as a docking point.

When carving, chips may form. It ruins the look a lot. A straight cut will allow you to create even elements and sharp corners. The main thing is to avoid chips and bumps.

To reduce chips, you need to properly thread:

• with low quality materials, use tools with small teeth, and cut faster;
• try a file with reverse or reverse teeth;
• using masking tape or tape, reinforce the cut line;
• Moisten the reverse side of the plywood with water.

• fix the material, as with a straight cut;
• put plywood with a contour on the work surface;
• cut slowly, moving the workpiece so that it does not exceed the contour boundary, with your left hand;
• when deviating from the line, stop the feed, and with a short straight motion move the blade back to the line;
• the first circles that are made will most likely not be perfect, but after a few attempts you will be able to show off an even circle.

Similarly, it is worth cutting any elements, including obtuse corners. An acute angle, in order to avoid a chip, is made by two lines connecting at the top. At the finished product, all edges should be processed with a file, and then with sandpaper. After processing, the product is varnished, colored paint, stain.

On the Internet today you can find a huge number of diagrams, drawings and sketches for cutting. For beginners, it would be better to use simple elements, for example, cartoon images without small details. With the help of different sawing out of figures, toys, parts for the artistic decoration of furniture, shelves, countertops, doors, decorative boxes and candy boxes are created. Large and very small items, such as brooches.

With a simple jigsaw, you can make wooden decorative tiles. Such elements are used to decorate walls. They also use sawing with a jigsaw to work with laminate, its edges and individual parts. When cutting according to a drawing, it is not necessary to complete the model with accuracy. When making a detail, you can change the proportions, add additional elements: beads, buttons, decorative elements, ribbons.

Here are some simple and more interesting patterns and patterns for cutting out. You can change their sizes and parts.

How to cut patterns?

The most difficult, but beautiful, is the artistic cutting out of patterns. To create an ornament, you need to transfer the stencil to plywood. In order to make a stencil, use whatman paper, paper or wallpaper remnants. Large pieces of furniture can be placed on whatman paper or a piece of wallpaper, for small items a simple A4 sheet is suitable. On a sheet with a pencil, you need to create a drawing or take a ready-made one, then you need to duplicate it with a brighter pencil or felt-tip pen to make it easier to transfer the drawing to a wooden blank. In order to make a pattern or ornament using a manual and electric jigsaw, you must:

• draw or find a drawing on the Internet that you will translate and cut out;
• transfer this pattern to the workpiece;
• cut out a drawing - large elements can be made with an electric jigsaw, small elements only with a manual jigsaw;
• remove the remnants of paper if you glued the stencil to plywood;
• process the edges;
• clean the product from dust and chips;
• cover with varnish, stain or paint.

There are the following options for transferring a pattern to a workpiece:

• simple drawings can be transferred with an awl, and then connect the lines with a pencil;
• you can use carbon paper;
• stick the drawing on the plywood with glue or double-sided tape, and after work remove the rest of the paper.

Artistic jigsaw carving involves preparation and skills that require patience and hard work to learn. Start with simple patterns, gradually complicating the schemes. Openwork products are very elegant and beautiful, and they are also an inexhaustible space for creativity and imagination. Figured cutting will require more work with a manual jigsaw than an electric one, as mentioned above. A manual jigsaw allows you to make small elements in a drawing. Particular attention should be paid to the corners, which can provoke cracks or splitting of the corner.

A large number of elements and parts makes the workpiece more fragile, so do not make sharp turns, cut slowly, carefully move the workpiece, work smoothly.

fixtures

To work with a jigsaw, it is worth using a number of tools that have been described earlier. But there are also a large number of devices for cutting out elements. At the first stage, most likely, you will get by with the necessary minimum set, then you can use special tools to equip the workplace. Their choice will depend on the initial set. You will understand in the process of work what you need. To make complex elements, different types of files are used. But also special attention should be paid to the countertop. All figures are cut out according to the same principle, but the smaller the details, the more difficult their execution.

Safety

When working with a jigsaw, it is worth comply with safety regulations.

• To protect yourself from fine dust and chips, use goggles, gloves, and a bathrobe.
• When working, keep a distance between your hand and the blade. Carve carefully and calmly.
• Carefully read the instructions for the tools, study the parameters of the jigsaw. Use the tool as directed to avoid injury and tool failure due to misuse.
• If you are a beginner, please read the instructions carefully to understand how to use.
• Use only fully functional and serviceable tools. Before each use, check the jigsaw and other equipment for damage and integrity of the insulation.

• Do not use damaged blades.
• When working with an electric tool, attach the workpiece with a clamp, hold the jigsaw with both hands. If it is not possible to secure the workpiece tightly, work with an assistant who must also observe safety precautions by wearing protective equipment.
• Observe fire safety when working with flammable substances: open fire and electric heating elements and appliances cannot be located closer than 5 meters from the workplace used.
• Ensure proper ventilation to remove thread dust and paint fumes from work area.

Woodcarving with a jigsaw should be neat, done with special care. Both your health and the beauty of the finished product depend on it. Use glasses even with the manual method, as the file can easily break and its fragments will scatter around. This is an important condition for working with sawing tools.