Which Jigsaw Blade To Cut The Countertop
Sizes of files
Blade length. The length of the saw blade can vary in a fairly wide range. from 40 to 250 mm. The longer the file, the thicker the workpiece it is able to cut. It should be borne in mind that the actually achievable cutting depth depends not only on the length of the blade, but also on the capabilities of the tool itself.
For cutting thin materials, it is better to use short saws: their use guarantees a neat clean cut, because The process is not interfered with by the deformation of an excessively long blade.
Web width. The width of the blade is selected depending on the type of operations that are supposed to be performed using a jigsaw. Wide saws are ideal for straight cuts: they are easier to guide in a given direction, which means that the line is cut straight.
For curly cuts, on the contrary, you need a canvas with a narrow back, for which it is easier to perform various maneuvers, “drawing” smooth curves.
The thickness of the canvas. And finally, the thicker the file, the less it will deviate from the vertical position during operation, i.e. The saw cut along its entire length will be perpendicular to the surface of the material. However, in pursuit of a neat cut, do not forget that too thick files may not fit the quick-clamping jigsaws.
Varieties of files according to the geometry of the cutting edge
If you look closely at jigsaw blades, you will notice that they all differ in the amount of tooth setting and the geometry of the sawing edge. The more the teeth are set, the wider the cutting line will be, which increases the speed of work, however, at the cost of reducing the quality of the saw cut. Not only the cleanliness of the cut depends on the wiring method, but also what materials this equipment can be used for.
Milled with classic routing.
Features. Saws with a classic set, the teeth are alternately bent in different directions, like ordinary hand saws. This setting helps to reduce the heating of the saw during operation, since the blade experiences almost no friction in a fairly wide kerf. It is almost impossible to get a neat cut with such a file, but the speed of work will be high.
Appointment. Purpose of saw blades with milled teeth and classic setting. fast cutting of hard and soft wood, as well as plastic and non-ferrous metals.
Milled with wavy routing.
Features. For rigs with such a setting, the teeth change direction not alternately, as in the previous case, but in groups of several pieces. over, for each tooth, the deviation from the central axis is not the same as that of its closest neighbors. the working edge of the saw blade forms a wave.
Appointment. The purpose of the wavy files is a clean cut not only on wood, but also on chipboard or plywood, as well as work with non-ferrous metals and plastics.
Sanded with classic layouts.
Features. The teeth of such blades are set apart and undergo a grinding process. the cutting line of such blades is wide enough.
Appointment. Saw blades with ground teeth, set in a classical way, are designed for fast, but relatively clean cutting of wood and its derivatives. chipboard, fiberboard, etc.
Conically ground without set.
Features. The blades of such saws do not have a set of teeth, but their segments are ground, which provides a thin cutting line and an even cut.
Appointment. Allows you to accurately cut wood, laminate, polymer materials.
For polymer materials
For cutting pipes and other PVC products, large-toothed blades designed for cutting wood or metal are suitable.
Fine-toothed files will also cope with the task, but you will have to cut at the minimum speed, otherwise the plastic sawdust softened from the high temperature will clog the teeth of the file. For thin sheets of plastic and plexiglass, fine-toothed metal blades are excellent. To cut thick plastic, you can take a file on wood and cut at low speeds.
For specific tasks
Files for glass and ceramics are made of extra-strong alloys and have diamond or tungsten carbide spraying on their cutting edges. It makes sense to use a jigsaw for cutting ceramic tiles or glass only if you need to cut out curly elements; there are other, more suitable tools for direct cutting of these materials.
Drywall and other building materials containing abrasive particles of gypsum, cement or sand will quickly blunt any files. An exception is the carbide-tipped saw blades specially designed for these materials.
A file designed for cutting cardboard, rubber and other soft materials is more like a knife. It is “toothless” and its cutting edge is made in the form of ground waves.
For metal
I must admit that a jigsaw is not very suitable for cutting metal: the tool can hardly cope with the load, the process is very slow, the files quickly become blunt. However, sometimes this extreme method is justified.
Saws for metal differ from saws for wood: they are made of extra strong steel and have fine (up to 1 mm) teeth, set in a wave-like manner. If you often use a jigsaw and at the same time perform a wide variety of work with it, we recommend keeping at hand three metal blades at once. separately for aluminum, other non-ferrous metals and steel. If you have to cut metal only from time to time, it will be enough to have only a file for steel. it will certainly cope with cutting non-ferrous metal products.
For wood and wood materials
The jigsaw was originally designed to work exclusively with wood. Modern tools have learned to saw both metal and plastic, but their main purpose is still cutting wood and its derivatives. That is why most of the range of saw blades is designed to work with these materials. “Wooden” files are divided into groups according to the type of work for which they are intended.
Fast cut.
When carrying out some types of work with wood, it is often not the accuracy that is important, but the speed of the process. Saws for fast cutting of wood are capable of providing high performance. They are easy to recognize by the following characteristic features:
- Long blade (from 60 mm),
- Coarse teeth (up to 6 mm),
- Large divorce rate (about 1 mm).
Clean cut.
Operations such as cutting furniture boards from chipboard or trimming parquet boards require a smooth and accurate cut. When solving such problems, where the quality of work comes to the fore, and not productivity, blades for a clean cut are used, having:
- Average size of teeth (no more than 3 mm),
- Minor divorce.
Most saws have their teeth pointing towards the jigsaw. So that the front side of the material after cutting the chipboard or laminate is as accurate as possible, without chips and scoring, the workpiece is placed with the back side to itself / the tool. To cut from the “face”, you need to use a blade with a reverse tooth. True, working this way is more difficult than usual. you have to overcome the pushing force of the tool.
Figured cut.
Cutting a curve with a small radius with an ordinary wide blade is almost impossible. For a curly cut, specialized files are used, which, due to their size, easily pass rounded sections:
- Narrow blade (no more than 4 mm),
- Fine teeth (up to 2 mm),
- Small length (up to 40 mm),
- Beveled back.
Universal
Universal saws, usually made of high-speed steel, are used to work with various materials. wood, plastic, metal. You should not expect a high cut quality when using them.
Types of jigsaw files, their features and the right choice
The jigsaw is essentially a versatile tool that allows you to make straight and curved cuts in a wide variety of materials. from softwood to steel and glass. However, the tool itself is versatile, but not the tooling: each task requires a certain kind of saw blade. To understand how to choose files for a jigsaw in each particular case, you should figure out what criteria to use when choosing, how some canvases differ from others and how to guess about this by their marking.
Classification of jigsaw files according to the type of material being processed
Universal
Universal saws, usually made of high-speed steel, are used to work with various materials. wood, plastic, metal. You should not expect a high cut quality when using them.
Laminate and chipboard
When choosing a file, it is necessary to focus on such a variety as a reverse cut file. Even with vibration characteristic of this type, the quality level of the result will not be reduced. Using an ordinary saw, it is necessary to carry out the operation on the back of the blade.
The stroke frequency, as in the previous paragraph, should be maximum. To avoid chipping, the pendulum mechanism should be turned off. In the process, the jigsaw should be pressed firmly and gradually led along the canvas (you do not need to press hard on the tool).
Chipping occurs on the side facing the instrument. In this regard, when using a conventional file, it is necessary to determine the front side in advance and cut on the back. In addition, you can purchase a special anti-splinter insert. a small piece with a cut that is inserted into the corresponding rails in the sole. The best option of the liner is the option with exactly the cut corresponding to the saw blade thickness.
Wooden canvas
When choosing a saw blade, remember that the tree must be cut with standard tools (with the teeth up). The size of the teeth is average, and the pitch interval is from two and a half to four millimeters. The length of the file depends on the thickness of the surface to be cut.
The stroke rate must be set to the maximum value. You need to reduce it if the material tends to overheat or you feel inconvenience during work. To increase the cutting speed, you need to use the pendulum function. Cutting quality is reduced, but this option will significantly reduce the working time if you do not have that much.
In the process, it is necessary to carry out all operations on the back of the web in order to avoid damage. The markup must be done in advance. When sawing begins, press the jigsaw against the blade and slowly control its direction of travel. Do not push the tool, as it will independently move along the canvas.
Features and recommendations
Experts and connoisseurs advise doing this kind of work with electric jigsaws, just because an ordinary hand hacksaw is too rough. It doesn’t cut the material straight enough. The correct sequence of steps is as follows:
Preparation of tools (ruler, jigsaw, measuring tape, awl or other sharp device for drawing on chipboard);
Supplementing these tools (if necessary) with a square for laying right angles;
Measurement of the desired part (with a reserve of 0.2 cm so that it can be adjusted);
Drawing a line along the ruler;
Actually, the cut along the laid mowing line;
Refinement of the saw cut with sandpaper;
With a very poor quality of the end. rubbing it with a small, similar in tonality to chipboard.
For specific tasks
Files for glass and ceramics are made of extra-strong alloys and have diamond or tungsten carbide spraying on their cutting edges. It makes sense to use a jigsaw for cutting ceramic tiles or glass only if you need to cut out curly elements; there are other, more suitable tools for direct cutting of these materials.
Drywall and other building materials containing abrasive particles of gypsum, cement or sand will quickly blunt any files. An exception is the carbide-tipped saw blades specially designed for these materials.
A file designed for cutting cardboard, rubber and other soft materials is more like a knife. It is “toothless” and its cutting edge is made in the form of ground waves.
Varieties of files according to the geometry of the cutting edge
If you look closely at jigsaw blades, you will notice that they all differ in the amount of tooth setting and the geometry of the sawing edge. The more the teeth are set, the wider the cutting line will be, which increases the speed of work, however, at the cost of reducing the quality of the saw cut. Not only the cleanliness of the cut depends on the wiring method, but also what materials this equipment can be used for.
Milled with classic routing.
Features. Saws with a classic set, the teeth are alternately bent in different directions, like ordinary hand saws. This setting helps to reduce the heating of the saw during operation, since the blade experiences almost no friction in a fairly wide kerf. It is almost impossible to get a neat cut with such a file, but the speed of work will be high.
Appointment. Purpose of saw blades with milled teeth and classic setting. fast cutting of hard and soft wood, as well as plastic and non-ferrous metals.
Milled with wavy routing.
Features. For rigs with such a setting, the teeth change direction not alternately, as in the previous case, but in groups of several pieces. over, for each tooth, the deviation from the central axis is not the same as that of its closest neighbors. the working edge of the saw blade forms a wave.
Appointment. The purpose of the wavy files is a clean cut not only on wood, but also on chipboard or plywood, as well as work with non-ferrous metals and plastics.
Sanded with classic layouts.
Features. The teeth of such blades are set apart and undergo a grinding process. the cutting line of such blades is wide enough.
Appointment. Saw blades with ground teeth, set in a classical way, are designed for fast, but relatively clean cutting of wood and its derivatives. chipboard, fiberboard, etc.
Conically ground without set.
Features. The blades of such saws do not have a set of teeth, but their segments are ground, which provides a thin cutting line and an even cut.
Appointment. Allows you to accurately cut wood, laminate, polymer materials.
For wood and wood materials
The jigsaw was originally designed to work exclusively with wood. Modern tools have learned to saw both metal and plastic, but their main purpose is still cutting wood and its derivatives. That is why most of the range of saw blades is designed to work with these materials. “Wooden” files are divided into groups according to the type of work for which they are intended.
Fast cut.
When carrying out some types of work with wood, it is often not the accuracy that is important, but the speed of the process. Saws for fast cutting of wood are capable of providing high performance. They are easy to recognize by the following characteristic features:
- Long blade (from 60 mm),
- Coarse teeth (up to 6 mm),
- Large divorce rate (about 1 mm).
Clean cut.
Operations such as cutting furniture boards from chipboard or trimming parquet boards require a smooth and accurate cut. When solving such problems, where the quality of work comes to the fore, and not productivity, blades for a clean cut are used, having:
- Average size of teeth (no more than 3 mm),
- Minor divorce.
Most saws have their teeth pointing towards the jigsaw. So that the front side of the material after cutting the chipboard or laminate is as accurate as possible, without chips and scoring, the workpiece is placed with the back side to itself / the tool. To cut from the “face”, you need to use a blade with a reverse tooth. True, working this way is more difficult than usual. you have to overcome the pushing force of the tool.
Figured cut.
Cutting a curve with a small radius with an ordinary wide blade is almost impossible. For a curly cut, specialized files are used, which, due to their size, easily pass rounded sections:
- Narrow blade (no more than 4 mm),
- Fine teeth (up to 2 mm),
- Small length (up to 40 mm),
- Beveled back.
Metal
When choosing a file for metal, you should give preference to options with small teeth, the step of which should be in the range from one to two millimeters. The stroke rate indicator should be set at the lowest possible mark. “Pendulum” must be disabled.
When using, do not press on the tool, but move it smoothly. The blade itself should be secured, while placing its cutting line as close to the support as possible. Make sure to take short breaks and use a cooling system to prevent overheating of the tool.
If it is necessary to make a curved cut on a thin sheet of metal and place the mowing line cut tightly to the support, place the metal between two sheets of fiberboard. In this case, it is necessary to mark exactly the upper fiberboard layer, since this will prevent the formation of a burr.
Application of adhesive tapes
Adhesive tape (for example, ordinary tape) is to protect the back of the material. It is necessary to glue a tape to the cut line, which keeps the processed canvas from tearing off large elements. Masking tape cannot be called a very effective option for preserving material when cutting with a jigsaw, since its strength indicator is extremely low.
A wide enough (each side of the material cut should be covered by at least fifteen centimeters) aluminum or fiberglass reinforced tape is best. In addition, the adhesive tape must be pressed down with a dry cloth to eliminate the risk of wrinkling.