Is a jigsaw OK for cutting plywood?

[Andy Kev.]

Morning All,

the title of the thread says it all.

Am I right in thinking that a jigsaw would be OK for cutting plywood of less than 10 mm thick?

Also, if the cutting were done outdoors, would there be no need for dust extraction? I ask that because I can't for the life of me think how a jigsaw can suck dust into its own innards.

Thanks in advance,

Andy.

 

[AndyP]

What sort of jigsaw are you referring to Andy? the hand held like this

Or the Hegna type desktop machine like this

I have both. The Hegner just blows dust across the table. The bosch can be hooked up to a shop vac. I have never used the Bosch to cut anything as thin as 10mm but I do not see why not. Careful chose of blade is required to reduce tear out .

 

[Lurker]

A hand held should be fine.
You need a firm working surface to reduce vibration as it can effect the cut.
You might like to explore blade types, also some blades cut on the upward stroke and some on the downward.
Do you already have a jigsaw?


Edit: Saxon blades are excellent

 

[Andy Kev.]

Thanks for the replies, lads.

No, I've never owned a jigsaw.I have been thinking about getting a hand held and guiding it by contact with a batten to ensure a degree of accuracy.

The reason I mentioned outdoors is that I think I would always cut ply that way and obviously dust would be less of a problem then.

Funnily enough I don't think I would ever need ply thicker than 10 mm, so it sounds like a hand held would be more than good enough.

 

[Trevanion]

It’s not the most ideal tool, but a jigsaw will cut fine, if you have a good blade fitted it should cut 10mm thick sheets reasonably straight along a straight edge with a reasonable finish.

I personally would prefer a circular saw/plunge saw for straight cuts and leave the jigsaw for curved cuts which is what it excels at, but I understand a jigsaw is quite inexpensive and generally safer than a circular saw.

 

[Mike]

The jigsaw is great when cutting curves, but for straight lines in less than 10mm thick plywood, I prefer other tools in my shop. I'm invested in the Festool product line, and the jigsaw is the one tool that is only marginally good with chip extraction. I am confident that the dust is captured, but chips still fall to the floor.

Unless the jigsaw has the ability to fit a chip breaker, the top edge of the cut plywood can be very rough with tearout. I usually try to cut with the visible side of the sheet on the bottom so the upward pointing teeth cut into the wood. The chipbreaker insert, which is a consumable item with the Festool saw, does a great job of minimizing the tearout.

When it is not possible to flip the sheet over, as when cutting in situ, I use a blade that has downward pointing teeth.

 

[Mike G]

Andy, I view a jigsaw as a building site tool, which does rough work. However, with a bit of practice and the right blade you can get reasonable results. Just reasonable. It's not going to be joinery-grade work straight from the saw, but for roughing out it can be very handy. It will easily cut ply 25mm thick, or more, but, as I say, it's not a clean-cutting tool. Don't expect miracles from it. I doubt there is much difference between a cheap one and an expensive one other than how long they last.

 

[Woodbloke]

Thanks for the replies, lads.

No, I've never owned a jigsaw.I have been thinking about getting a hand held and guiding it by contact with a batten to ensure a degree of accuracy.

The reason I mentioned outdoors is that I think I would always cut ply that way and obviously dust would be less of a problem then.

Funnily enough I don't think I would ever need ply thicker than 10 mm, so it sounds like a hand held would be more than good enough.

Agree with the comments above thus far; it's not for precision work, but it is handy in the 'shop from time to time. I had a respectable quality Bosch jobbie but a couple of years ago I took on a floor fitting weekend to No.1 sons place in Bromley, where it still resides. Tbh, I haven't had a need for it in my 'shop and very rarely used it, so it's a bit of kit that's not missed - Rob

 

[Andy Kev.]

Thanks for the further replies.

I didn't realise that there is a risk of rough edges. So far I've only ever wanted to use ply around 5 mm thick and the edges have always vanished into grooves e.g. where the ply functions as the bottom of a small container. Therefore I suspect that roughish bits would remain hidden.

I certainly didn't realise that they are held to be a moderately rough tool and to know that is useful. I'll clearly have to give this a bit more thought.

 

[PAC1]

It is ok but it is my last option. I agree with all above.
Another issue with thin plywood and a jigsaw is that unless the plywood is very well supported you can get quite a bounce going on as the blade cuts on the up stroke so it is pulling the plywood up and the thinner it is the more it is inclined to bounce around. If you have a sheet of ply on two saw horses by the time you get to the middle, between sag and bounce, it can become very difficult to control.

 

[spb]

The right blade is going to be key - most blades on the market are, as Mike said, building site tools designed to roughly and rapidly cut fairly thick material, and have large aggressive teeth to match. If you try to use one of those on 5mm ply you risk splintering up the entire sheet, not just the surface veneers, well beyond the ability of a groove to hide the edges.

Another thing to be aware of is orbital cutting - where the blade moves forward and back as well as up and down. This cuts a lot faster, but a lot rougher. If you want anything approaching a decent finish then you'll need a fine tooth blade and the orbital motion turned off.

If you're thinking of using a straight piece of wood as a guide, consider clamping a good sturdy piece on both sides of the ply, sandwiching it between two supports. That should help to restrict the bouncing tendency.

 

[Andy Kev.]

Oh dear! This gets worse by the minute!

In the past I've used a track saw with acceptable results. I thought that a jigsaw might be quicker and just as good. I might stick to the track saw.

 

[PAC1]

If the track saw is only acceptable results then maybe you need a fine tooth blade designed for cutting sheet materials for your track saw.

 

[Cabinetman]

And even with a fine blade a jigsaw will damage the top layer on ply, you can mitigate that by using a knife across the grain first.

 

[TomTrees]

Oh dear! This gets worse by the minute!

In the past I've used a track saw with acceptable results. I thought that a jigsaw might be quicker and just as good. I might stick to the track saw

Presuming there are some curves needed to be cut, or some angled cuts too short in length compared to the blade diameter,
w/ reduced depth of cut/from both sides perhaps, not cutting the mustard?

I've used a jig saw for one job that I can recall, (granted a tough job, in which it failed to do)...
That was enough for me to be put off them.


Tom