Safety first is important. If it’s your first time using a jigsaw power tool, be aware of the safety guidelines to protect you from possible cuts or injuries due to improper use. To ensure that the sawing project is a success, here are some important tips.

Before you decide to purchase a jigsaw with a pendulum function, compare the best jigsaws in the market (vergleichen) here.

Jigsaws are practical and versatile pieces of equipment if you know how to use them properly. In the following, we give you valuable safety tips and explain the most important areas of application and functions of an electric jigsaw.

5 important safety tips when using your Jigsaw

• Clamp the workpiece firmly with screw clamps. It must not slip, even when shaken vigorously.
• Wear protective goggles when sawing so that flying chips never hit your eyes.
• Grip your jigsaw with both hands to always have maximum control.
• Start your jigsaw before the saw blade touches the workpiece.
• Also, switch off your jigsaw during short breaks at work.

Read also: Health and Safety Tips to Properly Handle Power Tools

Saw the workpiece straight

For straight cuts with the jigsaw, you need a wide saw blade. When sawing, be careful not to apply much pressure. Not only do you put pressure on the saw blade, you also run the risk of increased tears on the surface of the workpiece. Anyone who has never worked with a jigsaw should use a guide rail as an additional aid to prevent the cut from running out to the side.

Sawing the workpiece round and with curves

Round cuts or curved cuts are made with a narrow saw blade, as it “bends into the curve” more easily than a wider blade. Be sure to hit the desired line of cut with a gradual rotation of the saw rather than by pushing sideways against the saw blade.

If you want to cut tight curves, additional relief cuts are useful. Saw this like a halo from the outer edge of the workpiece to the planned cutting line. If you then reach these points when sawing, parts of the workpiece will continuously fall off to the side and the saw blade will have more room to maneuver.

Saw the workpiece at an incline

If you do not want the cut to run parallel to the edge of the workpiece, but at an angle, you must adjust the angle of inclination on the base plate. Loosen the footplate screws and adjust the desired angle by hand. With high-quality jigsaws, the base plate can be pivoted on both sides and locked at different angles.

Important: Before starting work, check whether the saw blade, even in the inclined position, measures more than the entire depth of the workpiece.

Switch on pendulum stroke

Modern jigsaws are mostly pendulum jigsaws. The pendulum stroke adds a forward and backward movement (oscillation) to the up and down movement of the saw blade (stroke). This double movement of the saw blade has the advantage that chips are more easily detached from the cutting area and fall to the ground. This speeds up the work progress significantly. Switch on the pendulum action when making straight cuts in wood. With some pendulum saws, you can compensate for the higher probability of tearing out with a splinter guard.