Desktop jigsaw - equipment for cutting, sawing curly parts from various materials. Its feature is the possibility of cutting while maintaining the integrity of the outer contour of the workpiece. Depending on which file is installed on the structure, the machine can process natural wood, its derivatives, plastic bases or metal.
The device is indispensable for construction and repair work, the production of furniture, souvenirs. Often equipment is purchased for domestic purposes. Sometimes it is irrational to buy a factory unit: you can make a jigsaw yourself. The photo shows the design of the tool.
The stationary factory sample includes a desktop for a jigsaw, a unit with a cutting element is fixed on it, an electric drive installed under the table top and a crank mechanism. The tension unit is installed at the top or bottom of the machine. Many models of units allow you to cut material at different angles. This is necessary for the implementation of an oblique cut. Often, for convenience, markings are applied to the swivel mechanism, stops, guides. The length of the cut depends on the dimensions of the table, in most models it is 30–40 cm.
The power of an electric jigsaw can be small. For domestic purposes, a 150 W unit is sufficient.
An important element is the crank mechanism. He is responsible for the quality of the transmission of the engine torque in the forward-return movement performed by the cutting element in a vertical position.
A standard jigsaw tool is characterized by an oscillation frequency of up to 1000 per minute with an amplitude of 3-5 cm. In some samples, the speed of processing various materials is adjusted. In most cases, a saw up to 35 cm long is installed on such a tool, which allows cutting parts up to 10 cm thick.
In order for the cutting element to serve for a long time without breakages, cracks, it is necessary to provide it with optimal tension along the entire length. For this, helical and spring springs are used. As an additional option on the factory machines, an air pump is provided to remove sawdust from the cutting line. A block with a drilling rig is useful, but you need to pay extra for each additional node.
A jigsaw is made from a refrigerator compressor, an ordinary drill. You can set the cutting blade in motion using the engine from the washing machine. Another option is to use manual electric jigsaws, old sewing machines. The figure shows a design drawing.
First of all, the table is made. For this, a sheet of thick plywood or metal is used. Through holes are cut in it for the cutting blade, fasteners. Through them, the manual unit placed from below is fixed to the supporting structure. Next, the jigsaw table is fixed on any stable wooden table. Guide rails are added.
If necessary, the machine can be quickly disassembled.
The standard device is equipped with springs that provide the file with the required level of tension. You can not do without a rocker, one of its edges is under spring tension, the second provides attachment to the cutting element of the jigsaw. You can also clamp the web between two guide rollers.
Before starting work on a homemade jigsaw, the pendulum stroke must be turned off.
A jigsaw from a sewing machine contains a saw blade travel controller provided with a speed switch on the equipment.
For manufacturing, the weaving mechanism is removed. In most designs, it is placed below. The bolts are unscrewed, the cotter pin is knocked out, the drive shaft leading to the thread weaving unit is removed.
Then the upper protective panel opens, the groove along which the needle moved expands to the file width parameters. Jigsaw saws are slightly modified: they are cut according to the size of the longest needle that could be installed on the machine. In order not to make an adapter for fixing the cutting element to the seat, grind off the upper incisors, make the lower part of the blade sharp. A cutter is installed in the needle holder. After that, they start cutting blanks.
What to do when you need a jigsaw, but there is no need to buy it? You can make a jigsaw with your own hands. There are many ways to make or repair such a tool. Consider the simplest and most accessible of them.
How to make a jigsaw quickly from affordable and inexpensive materials? Here is the easiest way.
List of tools and materials:
The base of the manual jigsaw is a bracket, it should be prepared from a plywood sheet (10 mm). Further, it is recommended to make thickenings for the tool handle from thinner plywood (4 mm). These thickenings must be glued to the handle on both sides, which will provide more convenient in the future. The bracket and handle are well processed with sanding paper and a file. It is necessary to cut out the steel plate with a chisel, and then clean the clamping jaws with a file. After that, drill slots in the jaws with a drill, and then cut out notches inside the clamping jaws with a sharp chisel. In the left clamping jaw, modify the slot for the bolt, for this you need to make a thread. Attach the jaws to the bracket, then screw the bolts into the left clamp, securing them with nuts.
Back to index
A desktop fixture can be made both new and with the help of refinement or repair of improvised means.
Making a new desktop mechanical jigsaw will require the following tools and materials:
First you need to prepare the frame, for this purpose it is better to use an duralumin pipe. In the manufacture of the frame, it is necessary to provide a passage through which a cord will be laid to provide power. The copper sheet should be taken for the manufacture of a U-shaped frame, which subsequently will need to be attached to the frame itself. At the junction of the frame with the handle of the jigsaw, screw the frame with screws. In the plastic base, drill a hole for the file with a drill, as well as slots for fasteners. On the prepared plastic, fix the jigsaw so that the file passes through the hole. Using clamps, attach the finished tool to a flat surface, such as a table.
A handheld tool based on a sewing machine is ideal if repairing a sewing machine is not as important as making such a tool. List of tools and materials:
Having unscrewed the bolts at the bottom of the sewing machine, you should remove the entire thread handling system. Next, knock out the metal fastening rod and remove the drive shaft of the thread weaving system. The panel covering the parts of the sewing machine can be easily removed by unscrewing 2 more bolts. Carefully remove the needle. The needle slot needs a little repair - it should be widened so that a file can be placed in it. To do this, it is better to cut the hole with a needle file, focusing on the size of the file itself. After that, adjust its size to the maximum possible size of the needle by cutting off the upper part of the file. After grinding the upper teeth with a file, and the lower part on the tip, you can proceed to the next step. The prepared file must be put in place of the former needle - in the needle holder. After that, turn the wheel and check:
Such a jigsaw is suitable for working with materials from plywood, balsa wood and plastic, and if you use an electric machine, you get an electric jigsaw.
This article will focus on the design of a home-made machine from a household electric jigsaw. Below are step-by-step instructions, photos, videos, as well as drawings and diagrams.
There are a lot of design options - from the simplest, where it just sticks out of the countertop, to rather complex structures with guides, the possibility of sawing at an angle, when it is possible to set not only 90 degrees to the base, but change the angle (well, within reason, of course) . There are devices (machines) for, that is, making a straight and even cut.
Such devices are increasingly being used because of their versatility and functionality. In fact, they are similar in parameters and purpose to stationary machines and have a strictly defined practical application in every workshop.
| Plywood thickness, mm | Layers of plywood, not less than | Sanded plywood | Rough plywood | ||
| Maximum deviation, mm | Different-thickness | Deviation, mm | Different-thickness | ||
| 3 mm | 3 | +0,3/-0,4 | 0,6 | +0,4/-0,3 | 0,6 |
| 4 mm | 3 | +0,3/-0,5 | +0,8/-0,4 | 1,0 | |
| 6 mm | 5 | +0,4/-0,5 | +0,9/-0,4 | ||
| 9 mm | 7 | +0,4/-0,6 | +1,0/-0,5 | ||
| 12 mm | 9 | +0,5/-0,7 | +1,1/-0,6 | ||
| 15 mm | 11 | +0,6/-0,8 | +1,2/-0,7 | 1,5 | |
| 18 mm | 13 | +0,7/-0,9 | +1,3/-0,8 | ||
| 21 mm | 15 | +0,8/-1,0 | +1,4/-0,9 | ||
| 24 mm | 17 | +0,9/-1,1 | +1,5/-1,0 | ||
| 27 mm | 19 | +1,0/-1,2 | 1,0 | +1,6/-1,1 | 2,0 |
| 30 mm | 21 | +1,1/-1,3 | +1,7/-1,2 | ||
There are two ways to make templates - take a tracing paper and draw on it the kennels of the future workpiece. This has been done since ancient times, since nothing is needed for this, except for a ruler and a pencil. However, if you have a computer and a printer, it would be nice, of course, in A3 format, but A4 is also suitable (you just have to print several sheets and then glue them together), then the process of drawing with a pencil and a ruler can be replaced by drawing the outlines of blanks on a computer.
Then cut out with a clerical blade or just a sharp knife.
After that Once the template is ready, it must be glued to the workpiece.
Tip: You don’t need to glue it tightly, since in the future you will have to remove the template, and this will be difficult if you glue it “tightly”. Accordingly, you can stick, for example, on stationery glue, use glue stick or, as in our example, glue in the form of a spray.
At this stage, you need to do:
We install the bracket. It should be noted that the mounting of the bracket must be done without excessive tightening of the nut - there must be free play. To do this, use a self-locking nut and only slightly tighten it.
Installing the spring shouldn't be difficult. You need to do as shown in the photo below.
For the future fastening of the file, you need to make a simple clip in the form of a plate with two holes. It must also be installed on the bracket using a self-locking nut. Moreover, the backlash of the plate in the seat is very important because the bracket moves, and the clamped plate will hamper its movement.
Below is a sketch of the design of the upper attachment of the file.
Then it is necessary to make technological holes for the controls of the jigsaw, so that it is convenient to change the engine speed, you can access the start button and its lock. There is another solution that allows you to make it more convenient to turn on the tool - this is to place an outlet and a switch in an easily accessible place on the machine body, which would turn the power on and off in the outlet. We turn on the plug of the jigsaw cord into the outlet, and it turns out that we will turn it on and off using a switch installed in a place convenient for us. However, this is a matter of taste.
So, below is the manufacture of technological holes on the body.
Here are the controls that are now available.
Now you need to make clips for the file itself. The principle is simple - we take a bolt and make a cut at the base of the cap, but not completely. In the future, the file itself will be inserted into this cut. The principle is shown in the photo below.
This is how the upper assembly of the saw blade is mounted and assembled.
The lower node is almost similar to the upper one, except that it is not a plate that is used, but a standard file is taken (you can use “BU”), almost the entire cutting part is sawn off with a grinder (angle grinder) and the shank is left. In the remaining cutting part, a hole is made with a similar bolt with a slot at the base of the cap, which will also include a file. The principle is shown below.
After the file is fixed, we install the jigsaw itself. We fasten it with the help of bolts with countersunk hats so that they do not stick out on the tabletop of the machine.
Now you need to adjust the perpendicularity of the file, relative to the table of our machine. To do this, you can use a square, or, as in our case, just a bar that is exactly trimmed. We make the adjustment as follows. To adjust the file to the left / right, the adjustment of the upper plate is used - its displacement on the axis - respectively in the desired direction.
And to adjust the file position forward / backward, the displacement of the file attachment itself forward or backward is used.
The machine is almost ready, it remains to make and install a plate that surrounds the jigsaw file. It can be made from textolite or any piece of sheet plastic.
This completes the manufacture of the jigsaw machine.
We hope that the presented material was useful to you.
Here is a table with overall dimensions:
Let's attach a complete assembly scheme, which in a sense can be a 3B drawing for making a do-it-yourself jigsaw machine.
The video on which this material was made.
In the previous article, we talked about how you can make it yourself, that is, the cutting element is a thin, flexible file that is tensioned with a spring. It is very convenient to make a figured cut with such a tool - all kinds of curves, radius saws. However, in a carpentry shop, there is generally a need for sawing in a straight line at various angles. For such tasks, the aforementioned machine will be inconvenient, so we bring to your attention a new design, designed specifically for even and straight cuts.
There are two main constructive approaches to solving such a problem, they are divided according to their location in space:
The first option will be described by us a little later, since at the time of writing this article it is in our development at the prototype and design stage, but the second option will be described in this article.
This design is quite versatile and has a wide range of applications from household (at home) to use for industrial purposes (carpentry workshops, furniture workshops, etc.). Versatility is determined by the fact that the machine is built on the basis, which is a common hand-held power tool and almost every master owns it, as it is compact and multifunctional. With it, you can prepare blanks from various types of materials:
and others.
Compared to the standard method of use, this device allows you to achieve one, but very important parameter - the evenness of the cut. Sawing off quickly and somehow can be quite simple, putting the workpiece on a horizontal surface, hanging the part to be sawn off, and sawing off. But there is no need to talk about the quality of the cut, no matter what the master. Our design allows:
The device is not tricky and consists of several main elements:
All structural parts are made of plywood or solid wood.
Here is a little help on, it may come in handy.
| Nominal plywood thickness, mm | Number of layers of plywood, not less than | Sanded plywood | Rough plywood | ||
| Maximum deviation, mm | Different-thickness | Maximum deviation, mm | Different-thickness | ||
| 3 mm | 3 | +0,3/-0,4 | 0,6 | +0,4/-0,3 | 0,6 |
| 4 mm | 3 | +0,3/-0,5 | +0,8/-0,4 | 1,0 | |
| 6 mm | 5 | +0,4/-0,5 | +0,9/-0,4 | ||
| 9 mm | 7 | +0,4/-0,6 | +1,0/-0,5 | ||
| 12 mm | 9 | +0,5/-0,7 | +1,1/-0,6 | ||
| 15 mm | 11 | +0,6/-0,8 | +1,2/-0,7 | 1,5 | |
| 18 mm | 13 | +0,7/-0,9 | +1,3/-0,8 | ||
| 21 mm | 15 | +0,8/-1,0 | +1,4/-0,9 | ||
| 24 mm | 17 | +0,9/-1,1 | +1,5/-1,0 | ||
| 27 mm | 19 | +1,0/-1,2 | 1,0 | +1,6/-1,1 | 2,0 |
| 30 mm | 21 | +1,1/-1,3 | +1,7/-1,2 | ||
This section will describe step-by-step instructions for manufacturing the product. The whole process is divided into three stages of manufacturing structural elements:
For the manufacture we need the material:
and the following tool will also be used:
To make a guide, you need to take a board of the following sizes:
It must slide along the guide, so the features of the guide plate (in technical slang - “sole”) are very important.
We make the markup of the guide blank.
Then you need to select a groove with a router, which will be the guide along which the sole of the jigsaw will move during the sawing process.
We manufacture end stops. Then they need to be glued to limit the movement of the jigsaw along the guide, as shown in the photo.
We check the smoothness of the jigsaw along the guide and in case of defects or burrs that impede the course, remove them.
Next, you need to make cylindrical bushings to prevent jamming of wood when clamped with fixing screws. Bushings can be made from aluminum tube with a diameter of 10mm. We drill holes and press bushings into them. This completes the production of the guide.
The base, by and large, is just a box, which is the basis for attaching the guide and the rotary stop, and most importantly, it raises the entire structure above the level () so that it does not get damaged.
The assembly of the box is simple and unpretentious - the upper base is made of and the sides are made of the same or solid wood. So, we cut out the sides.
And we attach them to the base to make a box, as shown in the photo.
Further, into the drilled holes in the base, we screw in the M6 or M8 furniture fittings.
We screw the studs into them and install the guide.
We make a cut of the working groove, as shown in the photo.
We cut out an expanded groove for the possibility of sawing at an angle. It should be noted that when sawing at an angle, you need a rather long
We fix the direct stop with screws, make a hole and install an M6 or M8 furniture fitting for fixing the rotary stop. See photo below.
On this, we consider the manufacture of the base to be completed.
The design of the stop is simple and unpretentious, it is a guide with a semicircular element glued to it for fixing on the base.
We install the stop using a bolt of the appropriate diameter. The head of the bolt can be "planted" in a convenient handle so as not to use a wrench every time. We also fix the guide with homemade nuts made from mortise wing nuts.
At this point, we consider the sawing machine ready.
We hope that the presented material was useful to you.
We have made a universal device for a straight cut based on a household electric jigsaw, which should rightfully take its rightful place in your workshop among the tools.
In the life of a home craftsman, periodically there is a need to make curly and simply decorative cuts, including inside the workpiece. Gasoline, circular and ordinary hand saws cannot cope with this task, due to their design features. To solve this problem, use a manual jigsaw, specially designed to perform such operations. This tool undoubtedly copes with its task, but when working with large volumes or dimensional materials, it definitely loses to its more professional counterpart - a jigsaw.
Buying a brand new, shiny and functional desktop jigsaw is absolutely no problem. Store shelves are filled with products from various manufacturers, aimed at professional and amateur work. At first glance, the stationary jigsaws for sale seem to be very complex in terms of design, whose assembly is carried out only by selected expert technicians. In fact, these are quite simple devices that you can make yourself, with a desire and step-by-step instructions. And if the first point depends only on you, we will definitely help with the second and provide a detailed guide for self-assembly of a homemade jigsaw machine.
One of the main features for which the woodworking jigsaw is so valued is the ability to carry out internal cuts of the workpiece without damaging its contour. Not the last role in the usefulness of this device is the convenience of its use, when both hands of the operator are free and can best control the position of the product on the work surface. To everything else, it is worth adding the accuracy of the resulting cutting line, as well as the ability to work with plastic and metal. All of the above advantages make the desktop jigsaw the best tool for cutting decorative elements.
The whole process originates from the motor, which transmits rotation to the crank mechanism, which converts the circular motion into reciprocating. On the connecting rod, which is part of the mechanism, the movement passes to the lower arm, causing it to move up and down. All of the above construction is located under the desktop. The upper lever is located above the table surface and is connected to the lower spring, which serves as a saw blade tensioner. At the ends of both levers opposite from the spring, there is a clamp where a saw is installed that cuts the workpiece.
For greater clarity of the entire process described above, we present the following drawing of a jigsaw machine with the function of a saw blade tension regulator. Although this possibility is one of the main ones, we did not give it in the description of the design of the elementary device, since it is possible to work without it.
Required tools:
1. The first step is to assemble the basis of the future machine. To do this, we take 3 prepared sheets of chipboard or other sufficiently thick wood material and make a structure out of them that looks like the letter “p”. We fix along the edges with self-tapping screws. For greater reliability and stability, you can make a back wall.
6. When the file is clamped in both fasteners, it remains only to tension it and get to work. The implementation of such a function is simple. We fasten the spring to the back of the movable lever with a bolt and nut, and fix the opposite part to the countertop to the required length. Determining the tension is very easy. To do this, it is enough to run your finger along the file, like on a guitar string. High sounding will mean that the device is suitable for work.
Required tools:
Save this page to your social media. network and return to it at a convenient time.
