today an introduction to this guy the jigsaw if you haven't already grab your saw grab some
safety glasses and I'll see you in the shop so the jigsaw also known as the saber saw is a fantastic
tool for the carpenter because it's great for cutting irregular shapes and curves it's great for
cutting notches and framing and lumber and decking for making curved cuts in plywood and it works
really well for cutting circles now this jigsaw is similar to a circular saw in the way that it
actually has a blade it has a handle and a trigger and it has an adjustable base plate but the jig
saw has a straight blade and unlike the circular saw blade this blade cannot be adjusted for the
depth of cut now the two most common types of jigsaws in the market for residential construction
are the top grip like mine here with a trigger and the other type has a barrel grip that puts your
hand behind the motor and behind the blade for more control both are a great option in my opinion
it just all depends on unfilled and your personal preference but either way you go be sure that you
buy a jigsaw that accepts t shank blades trust me on that so with that blade selection is really
important first before you buy a blade you need to ask yourself what am i cutting and how do I want
that cut to turnout and I know you've guys have heard me say that before so for instance if you're
cutting framing lumber and you need that cut to be fast and that's so clean then choosing a blade
with a lower TPI is what you're going to need now on the flip side of that if you're choosing
to make a really clean cut more precise cut then choosing a blade with a higher TPI is what you're
going to need what is TPI TPI stands for teeth per inch somewhere on the packaging it'll note
the teeth per inch so this is a three pack and you can see on the bottom that it shows that it came
with a 20 into 14 also at the top it also has a little logo that it fits the T shank which is
very important and sometimes some packaging not only shows the teeth per inch but it also gives
a description of what it's used for and second be sure to choose the right blade length you need to
make sure that the blade is at least an inch or really more than the death of your material and
then third I would buy blades that only cut on the upstroke this represents really the majority that
blades out there but you can buy blades that cut on the downstroke why is this important well to
answer that question you first have to understand the cutting action of the jigsaw is up and down
when the blade is cutting on the upstroke the base plate is being pulled in tight to the material and
then when the blade is cutting on the downstroke it actually wants to lift the base plate off the
workpiece creating a better opportunity for kickback and injury but as long as you use
caution these blades can be very very beneficial the other thing you need to understand is that
when the blade is cutting on the upstroke it creates tear out on the top side of the material
which could actually be your finished surface and that's exactly why some people like to have
blades that cut on the downstroke because really the majority of time when you're laying something
out or drawing something it's on the finished side of the wood let's move on and look at some of the
features of this saw first is a toolless this is super fast very easy and honestly it's kind of
fun next is the adjustable base plate which then can be beveled to a 45 degree angle for making
bevel cuts and then third the trigger is variable meaning that the harder that you depress it the
faster the blade will go this gives you a lot of control when making cuts and lastly the adjustment
for the amount of reciprocation what this means is set to zero reciprocation the blade tracks
perfectly up and down but with different levels of reciprocation added the blade will actually travel
more in an oval shaped pattern sort of lunging forward which produces a more aggressive cut
this is an example with no reciprocation added and this is an example with it turned all the
way out speed and quality really are the two main things that are affected with these adjustments
alright let's talk about three types of cuts to the circular saw first is a is a short straight
cut which is common for this saw because long cuts are not so you can be used in finished
carpentry and installing some cabinets and for me I've used it a ton of finishing off circular saw
framing lumber the regular cuts are very common and maybe one of the biggest uses of this saw
great for cutting curves and with a thin scrolling blade you're able to make some really tight curves
lastly cuts in the middle of the material things like circles squares or any other shape that you
need now to do this you need help from a drill bit you simply drill a hole insert the blade
and make your cut for anything other than circles sometimes multiple holes makes the job much easier
and if you need to the jigsaw is great at nibbling away material I do this all the time now I can't
leave out the plunge cut the plunge cut is a faster way to get the blade into the material
without using a drill bit now it's gonna leave a really rough cut but that's what the plunge
cuts all about it's all about speed and it's all about I don't have a drill bit and I need
to get this cut done now two things of caution first the plunge cut is a little sketchy the
saw will want to kick back on you if you don't come down just right or have the right angle or
if the blade is too short and that's what I found that the longer the blade the better this plunge
cut goes second in regards to using the tool in general always take the time to look under what
you're cutting it's so easy to forget about the rest of the blade that's traveling beneath the
material I've cut extension cords I've cut its own cord I've cut plumbing let's just say I've
cut a lot more than just wood over the years of using this saw but with a little bit of practice
you can get really good at this and it's a great asset to your toolbox well that's gonna do it
for the jigsaw today if you're interested in learning more about other tools and their uses
you can head over to my website and click on my playlist called tools and uses if you have
any questions of course you can leave a comment below you can always email me at any time it's
been an honor being with you today and until we see each other again be well and stay safe
you