Woodcarving with a jig saw

Woodcarving with a jig saw is one of the kinds of applied art. Decorative and artistic sawing makes it possible from simple things to make an original interior detail. Even a simple lining on the door of the cabinet, made with a simple flat pattern, decorates it, makes it unusual.

The realization that the thing is made with your own hands gives inspiration for new ideas. As you know, the belief that you can realize your inner potential is one of the components of happiness.

Jigsaw Device

The cutting part of this tool is a thin steel saw. It is attached from both sides by two clamping screws to an arcuate frame. A handle is mounted on one of its ends. The frame has the property of shrinking. This can be done manually or using a clamp. The saw blade is fixed with screws in the compressed position of the frame. When expanding, it stretches - the jig saw is ready to work.

The saw teeth must always be pointed towards the handle. The cutting occurs when the jig saw moves downward or toward itself (with the horizontal position of the sawing plane).

Work with one hand, making smooth forward movements down and the second pressing the workpiece to a reliable base. Traditionally, the masters use for this purpose a special emphasis - "swallowtail".

This is a rectangular piece of board with an opening in the middle. For the saw mill, a wedge-shaped cutout is used. This stop is clamped to a suitable base (table, workbench) and serves as a removable working table for cutting.

Material and preparatory work

The board from valuable breeds of wood has a characteristic texture. After processing with decorative varnishes carved and openwork products made of such material look especially artistically. However, it is better for individuals who begin their own creative path to first learn the craft of sawing on plywood.

This material is most suitable for this type of treatment. It consists of several layers of fine wood veneer. Plywood, despite its lightness and flexibility, has sufficient strength. It is difficult to work with a chisel or plane, but with a jig saw it is perfectly cut. Pick up the workpiece can be of different thickness, but at first (to work out the technique) it is better to take a more thin.

Decorative processing of modern wood-shaving and modified plates with a decorative laminate coating is also wood carving. Jigsaw patterns, including on such materials, saw out after transferring the contours of the pattern to the surface being treated. This is done with a copy paper.

If there is a ready carved element or template, it can be carefully drawn around the contour. There are times when you need to transfer the pattern or composition to the workpiece in an enlarged or reduced form. To do this, you need to master the technique of copying on a grid or squares.

Saws and accessories

A jig saw without a saw is not a tool. Therefore, it must be protected. Do not allow the part or jig saw to hang in the cut. After work, do not leave the saw blade clamped in tension.

Films come with a large and small tooth for working with thick and thin wood, respectively. When buying canvases, you should pay attention to their quality. The material should not easily bend. The saw must be rigid enough, made of hardened steel, with sharp teeth.

Woodcarving with a jigsaw requires the use of an auxiliary tool. For rough filing of wood billet you will need a hacksaw. Where it is impossible to make a hole with an awl, it will take a whirlpool or a drill with a minimum set of drills.

It is convenient to use files for processing the edges of a cut. Also useful are a hammer, chisel, pliers, a reliable knife.

Techniques of work: woodcarving with a jig saw

The photos of the workflow make it possible to understand how the tool is grabbed and sawed. The position for the stop is chosen to be comfortable for work, usually at the waist level, so that in a sitting position one hand can hold the workpiece and the other perform translational motion with a jigsaw up and down.

If it is necessary to cut a plane bounded by a plane, then, first, closer to the contour of the cut, an aperture is made. A saw is started at the bottom of the workpiece. To do this, each time you have to release the clamp, release the fabric, then pull the jigsaw frame again and tighten the fastener.

In thin plywood, the hole is usually made with an awl to the required thickness. In dense material and in thick workpieces, this operation is produced by a pivot or drill with a drill of the required diameter.

Peel jigsaw smooth movements, without jerks and distortions. In places where the cutting direction changes abruptly, it is better to turn the workpiece. Do this smoothly, without stopping the forward movement of the jig saw. After the selection of the enclosed space is complete, one end of the blade is released from the fastener, the saw is removed and the process is repeated with a new pattern.

Cutting edges usually have uneven or ragged edges, burrs, scuffs. Such places are processed by files, nadfilyami, sanded with sandpaper before final finishing.

Techniques of execution and finished products

Although sawing a pattern of intricate compositions requires certain skills and knowledge, a beginner should not give up trying to learn this craft. Experience is acquired in the work, and therefore do not be afraid to try your hand at simply starting with the cutting of simpler decorative elements.

The sawdust details will serve as an overhead decoration for furniture, door panels, cabinets, bedside tables and cupboards. Over time, with the acquisition of experience, you can proceed to the decorative decoration of caskets, caskets, lamp shades, vases and other interior items.

Cutting wood carving with a jigsaw allows you to cut decorative patterns along marked contours on a flat wooden surface. Often a drawing in this technique is an openwork mesh made up of repeating or alternating through segments. They can have smooth oval edges or strict geometric proportions with straight angles.

A flat through ornament on the strips of the facades of houses is a woodcarving with a jig saw. The casing for windows looks particularly good when decorating wooden buildings. Motifs with the image of animals, birds, vegetative ornament are widespread. The most running pattern is S-shaped, with a twisted ends curl, imitating the tail of a snake. She was from ancient times a symbol of the keeper of the house.

Fret saw with electric drive

Such a tool turns the rotational motion of the motor shaft into a progressive stroke of the rod, on which a relatively short saw is mounted.

It is clamped at one end by the shank. Such a fastening gives a significant advantage in work. Models from leading manufacturers are equipped with speed control of the engine, there are variants of the pendulum stroke of the saw, and the anti-vibration system excludes rattling.

Wood carving with a jigsaw electric differs from traditional techniques. It is convenient to work with such a tool on an inclined plane. The sole of the electric jigsaw slides over the surface, excluding distortions. It remains only to follow the contour, everything else will be done by the engine.

However, one-sided fastening of the saw has disadvantages. It is impossible to process thin and elegant patterns with such a tool. To withstand the loads of saw blades for jigsaws make thicker and wider. Therefore, to make a thin cutting of 1-2 mm with a steep turning radius of the pattern is not possible.

But this tool is good to handle the end parts. A powerful engine and reliable cloths make it possible to saw dense wood with a thickness of up to 40 mm and more.

Safety precautions

Working with the cutting tool provides a responsible and serious approach. Any technological process must be carried out in accordance with the norms and rules of safe operation.

Handles of the working tool should be comfortable. The table must be securely fastened. The stronger the support, the better. The file in the jigsaw is fixed securely. The work is carried out smooth and measured movements without jerks.

It is not recommended to bend too low to the workpiece. The height of the workplace should be optimal. Consideration should be given to the organization of correct and sufficient lighting.

When using electric tools, it is necessary to study the instruction manual, to check the operability of the device, and the presence of grounding. You can start sawing only by clearly representing the whole technological process of the operation from beginning to end.

Woodcarving with a jig saw is not expensive, there is no special additional equipment. You do not need a special workshop for this, you can cut it even in an apartment. After all, only a jigsaw, a small workpiece, the idea of a pattern or composition and the desire to turn a flat piece of plywood or board into an elegant, eye-pleasing thing is required for work.