Popular Woodworking 2006-10 № 157, страница 25

A pair of pliers can fix most problems with a steel base. Hang the troubled corner off your work surface and grab it with the pliers. Lever it up or down and then check your results.

If I suspect my steel base is warped I'll place it on a known flat surface, such as my table saw, and see if I can detect any problems with my eyes or by rocking the base of the jigsaw at the corners.

If I find a problem, I'll bend the high corners down with pliers.

Another thing to check: Routine use can cause the base to tilt a degree or so. I'll check the blade with a square to ensure the blade is 90° to the base.

Most jigsaws have orbital settings - these control how much the blade moves forward and backward as the blade moves up and down. At "zero" the blade

These two blades (right) are all I need for cutting wood: The Bosch T101B for most cuts and the Bosch T119BO for tight scrollwork

moves only up and down and is not aggressive. At "three" the saw is a monster.

For building furniture, I keep the saw set to "one." This offers a good balance of a fine but aggressive cut. When dealing with thick stock, I might switch to "two." When I'm poking a hole in a roof: "three." I almost never use "zero" because I find that the saw cuts so slow that it heats up the blade too quickly. Sometimes I'll choose zero when working in plywood, however, because it does reduce chipping on the face veneer.

Most jigsaws also have a speed setting that you should be aware

I use the T119BO blade (left) only for tight-radius work, such as the small radius in this bracket foot.

of. Usually there's a dial that limits the jigsaw's top speed. But the trigger allows you to increase and decrease the speed in that speed range with finger pressure. On a jigsaw with six speed settings, I'll generally keep the top speed at "five." I use the slower speeds for metals and plastics.

Choosing the Best Blade

I've tried a fair number of blades in my career, but I keep coming back to two blades, time and again. For 95 percent of my cutting I use a Bosch T101B. This is a 4"-long blade (almost 3" of that is teeth) and it has 10 teeth per inch. The blade is a little more than V4" wide.

The T101B makes smooth and fine cuts at a decent speed. As long as you keep a sharp blade in the tool, you'll require very little sanding. It never seems to mark the wood like some blades do, and it stays sharp for a long time, unless you overheat it.

For tight scrolling cuts I use the Bosch T119BO. It's about 1" shorter than the other Bosch blade, a little thinner and it's quite narrow: about ⁵/32". It has 12 teeth per inch. Because it's thin and narrow, it tends to wobble more and is more prone to deflection. So I only use it when I have to.

Good Body Ergonomics

How you hold the saw and approach the work will make a radical difference in your results.

First: As you grasp the saw, point your index finger forward. If you have a top-handle saw, that position will put your middle finger on the trigger. Pointing with your index finger improves your accuracy in many situations. I use the same technique when I'm firing a rifle or a bow when hunting. Once you get your hand in the right position on the tool, lock your wrist in place.

Your index finger should be extended when you grip a jigsaw. This is one of the cues to your body to cut straighter.

Next: Your elbow is key. I don't steer the saw with my wrist - it's too flexible; I steer with my elbow (and my body) instead.

Whenever I teach someone to use a jigsaw I tell them to tuck their elbow against their torso and to think about their elbow as they make a curve cut. Steer with your elbow and swing your entire body as you make a curve cut.

To do this properly, you need the work positioned up pretty high. I like to have the board up by the middle of my torso.

I also like to peer over the saw whenever I can to see the teeth making the cut. I generally don't watch the cut from the side or from behind - though sometimes that is unavoidable. As I'm making a cut, I am constantly blowing the line clear of sawdust. (Some saws come with a built-in blower.)

I place a finger or two of my free hand on the base. Do not use these fingers to steer your cut or push forward into the cut. Their job is to hold the saw steady and down against the work. They also make the base of the saw larger, in a sense, so the tool is more accurate and stable.

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Popular Woodworking October 2006