How To Choose An Electric Jigsaw

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How To Choose An Electric Jigsaw
How To Choose An Electric Jigsaw

Video: How To Choose An Electric Jigsaw

Video: How To Choose An Electric Jigsaw
Video: How to Choose and Use a Jig Saw | Ask This Old House 2024, March
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An electric jigsaw is an indispensable working tool for both the home craftsman and the professional. The jigsaw is suitable for working in a domestic environment, as well as in production. He will cope with a variety of tasks: he will cut a circle, a wave and other shapes from any material, be it plastic, wood, steel, stone or ceramic tile.

How to choose an electric jigsaw
How to choose an electric jigsaw

What is a jigsaw

A jigsaw (or jigsaw) is an electrically powered hand tool that is lightweight and lightweight. It is designed for cutting lines, transverse, longitudinal and shape cutting of sheet material.

Using an electric jigsaw, you can perform the following types of work:

- straight cuts;

- curved cut;

- make round holes as well as rectangular holes.

Household and professional jigsaw

Electric jigsaws are:

- household;

- professional.

Household electric jigsaws can cut steel up to 2-4 mm thick, wooden parts up to 70 mm. It is expected that a household tool will be used from time to time. That is why the requirements for it are not as high as for the professional one. Many well-known brands do not produce this instrument in Japan, Sweden or Germany, but in Poland or China. The recommended total operating time for a household jigsaw is approximately 20 hours per month. The cost of such a tool is much lower than that of a professional one. At the same time, for carrying out work on the house or garage, its capabilities are quite enough.

Professional tools are made from more reliable materials and mechanisms. Higher requirements are imposed on it, since it must have high productivity, withstand heavy loads and be as convenient as possible for work. A professional electric jigsaw is able to cut aluminum up to 20 mm, steel up to 10 mm, wood up to 80-135 mm. The cost of such tools depends on their power, brand popularity, and the availability of additional functions.

Criteria for choosing an electric jigsaw

The most important indicator of the jigsaw's performance is its power. It influences the depth of cut of the material to be cut, the quality of the cut and the duration of trouble-free operation. Household electric jigsaws have a power of 350 W, and professional ones - from 580 to 750 W.

It should be borne in mind that the most powerful models of jigsaws are heavy.

The pendulum function significantly extends the service life of the saw blade. When the saw blade moves up, the pendulum mechanism moves the saw blade forward, when it moves down, it moves back. Due to this, the saw blade "bites" better into the tree and better removes sawdust, increasing the cutting speed several times. For rough processing of chipboard, plywood or boards, it is recommended to set the value of pendulum vibrations to maximum. A clean and even cut can be obtained with minimum amplitude or by deactivating the pendulum function.

Almost all electric jigsaws are equipped with the function of adjusting the inclination of the sole. The tilt of the sole allows for a predetermined deviation from the original vertical of the saw blade - the so-called "bevel cut". Some electric jigsaws are equipped with a stepped tilt adjustment of the sole, others are smooth. Stepped adjustment is securely fixed, and smooth adjustment allows you to more accurately adjust the cutting angle of the material.

Stroke frequency adjustment is needed to ensure the best cut quality when working with different materials. The harder and denser the material to be sawn, the lower the stroke frequency is required in order to cut it, while avoiding overheating of the blade. For wood, the maximum speed is set, and for ceramics and metal - the minimum. In addition, the minimum frequency of the saw blade stroke is set when using narrow and thin shape saws.

If you plan to work with different types of materials, the availability of the function of adjusting the stroke rate is a must.

Pay attention to the file replacement system. The latter can be fastened with screws or a clamping device, which allows you to quickly replace a worn cutting blade without the use of special tools. For example, Hitachi models have a Power-lock-System for quick saw blade change.

Equally useful is the function of automatic blowing off of sawdust, which is produced by a ventilation system for cooling the electric motor. This frees the cutting line from dust and sawdust. The function of connecting to a vacuum cleaner allows you to keep the workplace clean, improves the visibility of the cut and removes fine dust that is harmful to health generated during work.

Optional, but very convenient are secondary additional functions: the presence of a cutting line illumination lamp, a laser sight for making curly cuts, the ability to disconnect the power cord. Illumination of the sawing area with a built-in lamp makes it easy to work in conditions of insufficient main lighting.

Which jigsaw is better?

You should choose an electric jigsaw after analyzing all its functions. You need to decide which of them you really need, and which you can neglect. After all, the more functional the tool, the higher its cost.

Traditionally, Bosch jigsaws are in the lead on the power tool market. It is believed that the very idea of creating the world's first jigsaw belongs to this German company. No less popular among professionals and home craftsmen is a jigsaw electric saw produced by the Japanese company "Makita", as well as the Russian "Interskol" (Russia). There are many positive reviews about these brands of jigsaws on the power tool forums.

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