Homemade jigsaw machine - design and production at home. How to make a jigsaw from improvised means Jigsaw cutting machine

If you are engaged in carving and make figures or parts from wood, plastic or similar material, you cannot do without a tool whose name is reminiscent of the distant Soviet past: a jigsaw.

Jigsaw is different from jigsaw, now there are also “pioneer” elementary ones on sale manual models, and electrical modern instruments, only vaguely reminiscent of the usual files.

You can make a jigsaw yourself: technical literature and the Internet offer many diagrams and drawings of electric jigsaw machines.

Making such a device is not difficult, and you will get significant benefits from it. You will be able to independently produce the furniture you need and realize the most daring creative ideas for interior.

An example of manufacturing a jigsaw machine.

A homemade jigsaw allows you to professionally make smooth parts of the most bizarre shapes. First, you need to decide on the design that is most suitable for you.

Technical description and components

The schematic diagram of any jigsaw machine is the same for different models.

It must contain the following parts:

file;
drive with a power of about 150 W;
rocker for tensioning the file;
working surface with graduation;
drilling block, etc.

Consumables are fixed on the working surface. In advanced models there are special devices for rotary movements of the part, in which the working surface can change the angle of inclination.

The surface dimensions will depend on your production and creative plans: what large sizes the parts you are going to cut, the larger your production table should be. Traditional sizes are usually around 30 – 40 cm.

There are a wide variety of types of files. They depend primarily on consumables. The dimensions of the parts for cutting also matter. Conventional saws for working with wood have a length of about 35–40 cm. They are able to saw parts made of wood or plastic with a thickness of no more than 100 mm.

WITH different types The materials also change and the files also change, mainly in relation to their width: from 2 to 10 mm. Files can differ in the type of their tails - with or without pins. They are fixed in a special device for tensioning them and smooth sawing. For this purpose, they have springs of a spring type.

Another important one: the crank assembly. Its function is difficult to overestimate: it is it that transmits movement from the drive to the saw, turning rotational motion into translational motion.

Assembly drawing of a jigsaw machine.

Due to this, the file begins to oscillate at a high frequency, the speed of such oscillations is on average about 800 - 1000 revolutions per minute. It is important to remember the amplitude of vertical vibrations; it should not exceed 50 mm.

In advanced modern jigsaw models, the speed varies depending on the type of consumable. Most of desktop models operate in two speed modes. Most often these are 600 and 1000 rpm.

Model range of jigsaw machines

Most often, in the power of an electric drive, the range of values is huge: from 90 to 500 W.

These devices are also divided into varieties based on their fundamental design:

universal;
on suspension;
with graduation;
with the caliper in the lower position;
with double caliper.

Jigsaws with lower support

Diagram of machine design elements.

The most used and popular models are machines with lower support. Their feature is the division of the working bed into upper and lower parts.

If in the upper section there is only one device for sawing and cleaning, then in the lower section there are many working elements: an electric motor, a switch, a transmission unit and a control unit. This design makes it possible to saw sheets of materials of almost any size.

Double slide machines

A homemade jigsaw with a double support differs from the lower support by the presence in the upper section of a special additional bar and a work table with the ability to change the angle of inclination and overall height.

These models are designed to work with parts oversized. This machine is easier to make than the previous model. There are restrictions on the materials that can be worked with: their thickness should not exceed 80 mm.

Hanging machines

The name speaks for itself: the model is movable, it works without a stand. The fundamental point in this design is movement. cutting file, not a consumable. The module itself is attached to the ceiling, the saw is driven manually.

All this provides serious advantages: in this way you can create the most complex patterns, the surface dimensions are not limited in any way.

Devices with graduation

The presence of stops and a degree scale make it possible to work according to technical drawings, without the slightest error.

Universal machines

Such devices are usually called jigsaws. Their feature is the ability to perform several operations such as grinding, polishing, sawing, etc.

How to make a jigsaw machine with your own hands?

We will not dwell on the manufacture of simple machines: you can easily find this kind of manuals with video support on the Internet. Let's talk about homemade jigsaw machines.

Do-it-yourself machine assembly.

Here is the sequence of work for their manufacture:

We make a bed from plywood sheet or plastic.
The main thing is that the thickness is at least 12 mm. The function of the bed is a foundation, a working surface and a place for fixing mechanisms and an electric motor.
We place a special rocking chair with an eccentric on the opposite side.
We connect them using a metal strip with bearings. All fastenings in the structure are screw.
We install the intermediate shaft.
To do this, you need to prepare two bearings, place the pulley on the shaft as tightly as possible, then carefully secure it with screws. Similar actions are performed with the eccentric.
On a rocking chair, the range of motion should change.
To do this, you need to change the mounting location of the screw, for which we drill exactly four threaded holes on the eccentric flange. The holes must be located at different distances from the axis. With a change in the mounting location of the screw, the amplitude of the rocker will change.
We make a rocking chair: these are nothing more than wooden rocker arms, into whose rear ends the screws that you made in the previous paragraph are inserted, these are tension screws.
The rocker arms themselves are attached to the rack with hinges. We fix a file to the front ends of the rocker arms. The previous and this steps must be performed with special attention and thoroughness. The fact is that fastening the file is fundamentally important thing. Rocker arms with plates are subject to constant loads during movement due to their rigid connection with screws.
The rocking chair requires a stand.
It will be better if it is made from a whole piece of material. We make a groove for the first rocker arm on the top of the rack. At the lower end we place a special rectangular opening for the second rocker arm.

Yours. We wish you great ideas and their high-quality implementation.

The desktop jigsaw machine is designed for cutting various parts having a complex configuration, made of sheet materials. This tool is capable of working with MDF, chipboard, fiberboard and many others. Jigsaws can also cut out the internal contours of parts if you first make a small hole. This tool has a wide range of applications, since it can provide high performance labor, which cannot be achieved with a regular hacksaw.

Design features

The design diagrams of all jigsaw machines are usually the same. Having carefully examined the drawings where this tool is depicted, you can see the following structural components:

the bed, which is also often called the body. It is designed to accommodate everyone structural elements unit;
drive mechanism;
crank mechanism. It is necessary to convert the rotational energy of the motor shaft into the movements of the saw used during operation;
double rocker arm. Equipped with fasteners for a file and a tension device;
Desktop. In some modern models it has a rotation mechanism that moves at a given angle.

How to make a machine from a jigsaw?

To make a jigsaw from a manual jigsaw, you need to follow these instructions:

First you need to make a table where a homemade jigsaw will be installed in the future. For this purpose use any durable sheet material– thick plywood, metal and others.
They do it in the table through holes, designed for cutting blades and various fasteners.
Received jigsaw table set and securely fasten on a suitable wooden table.
The resulting table is equipped with guide rails.
A manual jigsaw is attached below, which makes it possible to replace the drive mechanism of the machine and many of its other structural elements.

Anyone can make such a jigsaw machine with their own hands. Its advantage is that at any time this unit can be quickly disassembled and used only hand tool.

Homemade jigsaw table-machine from a manual jigsaw

How to make a more professional instrument?

A homemade jigsaw machine can have all the qualities that are present in professional equipment. To make it you need to follow these instructions:

The frame is made from any durable material - 12 mm plywood, plastic, textolite and others. It should consist of a base, a housing to accommodate all structural units and a work table.
On the other side, a rocking chair with an eccentric is placed. They need to be connected to each other using metal plates with sleeve-type bearings. The resulting structure is installed using screws.
The intermediate shaft is formed from several bearings.
The metal pulley is placed very tightly on the shaft and the screw connection is secured.
To change the movement characteristics of the rocker, 4 round holes with threads are made on the eccentric flange. They should be placed at different distances from the center line. The amplitude of movement of the rocking chair is regulated by the location of the screws.
The rocking chair is formed from wooden rocker arms, which are attached on a hinge to the stand.
Small cuts are made at the rear ends of the rocker arms. They are designed to install tension screws.
The front ends of the rocker arm are designed for mounting a saw blade. It moves using special metal hinges. Before attaching the file, it is installed in a groove located on the work table.
The rocking stand is made from a single piece of durable material. At its upper end a groove is made for installing the rocker arm, and near the lower end a small rectangular hole is cut out for mounting the second rocker arm.

How to make a machine from a sewing machine?

From sewing machine The result is an excellent jigsaw machine, which is equipped with a saw blade movement regulator. It is not difficult to do if you follow these instructions:

The thread weaving mechanism is removed from the bottom of the machine. On some models it may be located in a different location.
To dismantle this unit, you need to remove several bolts, then remove the cotter pin and drive shaft.
The top protective panel is unscrewed. After this, the groove along which the sewing needle moves must be expanded to suit the parameters of the file.
The cutting element itself is also slightly modified. It is trimmed according to the length of the sewing needle.
It is not necessary to make an adapter to install the cutting element. Instead, you can grind down the upper incisors a little and process the lower zone of the blade.
The file is inserted into the needle holder and work begins.

All presented options for manufacturing jigsaw machines are very successful. The resulting units are distinguished by high labor productivity, and making them is not at all difficult. Depending on their skills, each master will be able to choose best model homemade equipment.

Video: Jigsaw from a sewing machine

The idea of creating a homemade jigsaw is most often due to the disadvantages that factory hand tools have. You can make a small one with your own hands table machine, which will include a pusher, a reciprocating motor, and a saw tension system. In this case, you will not need complex drawings– once you understand the essence, it’s easy to achieve results.

The desire to create homemade jigsaw may occur for several reasons:

There is no power supply in the workshop, but it is possible to use low-power internal combustion engines.
There are pneumatic motors, but the compressor power is not enough for a serial tool.
The electric motor is powered by batteries or solar panels, the power of the source is not enough to use the power tool.
It is required to obtain saw motion parameters that are unattainable using a commercial tool.

Designing a jigsaw is not difficult. A typical structure looks like this:

The installation is easy to adapt to any torque source. A pair of pulleys (one is located on the engine shaft, the other drives the crank mechanism) allows you to vary gear ratio, reducing the load on the power unit and allowing you to get required speed(they are also responsible for the number of saw strokes per minute) on the actuator.

A machine built according to the above diagram may have the most different configuration, the material of manufacture is also selected individually. Example ready installation looks like this:

Disadvantages of a manual jigsaw

The manual jigsaw is designed for shaping straight cuts. In this case, as the rollers, rod, and pusher wear out, the saw may wobble, deviate from a straight line, and change the angle of attack. Regardless of the quality of the tool components, the following features are always present:

When the saw becomes dull, deviation from a straight line is observed when cutting material of uneven density (for example, low-quality chipboard). The saw is capable of leaving the cutting line when it encounters a knot in the wood.
When trying to make a curved radius cut, you can observe the following picture: the upper cutting line, which the worker follows, follows an exact trajectory, the lower one deviates, goes to the side, the radius becomes larger. The higher the wear of the tool and the lower the sharpness of the saw, the more pronounced this phenomenon is.
Some materials cannot be worked using a pick-up or bottom feed of the saw. The carpenter is required to move the tool forward extremely evenly, which is impossible to do very accurately; as a result, the saw beats along the entry and exit path.

It is even more difficult to work with thin ones intended for figured cuts saws. If there is no practice, achieve good result quite difficult, especially on thick slabs or wood materials. Let's look at how you can make a carpenter's job easier and the result better.

Standard solutions

The machine is made from a manual jigsaw based simple table . This device is common and mass-produced; samples can be seen in the photographs below.

The mechanics of work are simple:

Jigsaw machine clearly fixes the tool, ensuring that there is no influence of the human factor (the hand can move the jigsaw unevenly).
The presence of a support allows you to move the device without deviations along the trajectory.

With the help of a table, jigsaws begin to cut in a straight line, but the capabilities of such a device are limited. If you remove the side fence and try to guide the workpiece, forming a curved cut, the same problems of saw deflection arise. The problem can be solved by using a simple saw, rigidly fixed with a pair of rollers. Making curved cuts is now convenient and fast. What homemade and industrial products of this type look like is shown in the following photos.

Tension devices for curved cuts

To perform very thin and precise shaped cuts, you can make a machine from a jigsaw with a saw blade tension system. The idea of creating it yourself is as follows:

A very thin saw is used, ideally for hand jigsaw.
A clamp is attached to the rod of the power tool, which will tighten the cutting blade.
The trajectory stabilization system will regulate both one freedom of movement and two (horizontal and vertical).

Used as a tension block hand jigsaw clamp, to which an adapter is made, which in turn is inserted into clamping fixture power tool rod. To ensure adjustment of one freedom of movement, a pair of angles and a bolt are used. The result of the implementation of the idea is presented in the following photo.

The saw provides clearly vertical movement, good tension can be created, but there is a mandatory runout in the horizontal direction. The canvas comes with a pick-up and does not move in a straight line.

The development of this idea is in the next photo. Here the part that fixes the trajectory moves, and the metal clamp provides structural rigidity and mechanical resistance.

The system is stabilized in two degrees of freedom, the cut made with its help is neat and precise. By using a diamond-coated cord for a hand jigsaw, you can cut glass without creating messy chips on the edges.

Accessories for extremely delicate work

If you need to work extremely delicately and slowly, you will need to reduce the force on the cutting blade while maintaining strong tension and precise movement of the file. For this, a homemade jigsaw is equipped with spacer devices with long shoulders.

In this case, the power tool does not operate in the cutting zone, but at some distance. This allows, depending on the wishes of the carpenter, to regulate the force, speed and amplitude of movement of the saw. One of the options for implementing the idea is shown in the following photo.

Depending on the needs of the master, the structure can be made of steel, have additional fixing zones, and the power tool cannot be installed rigidly, but with the ability to move within its support beam.

In practice, such solutions are rarely used. For fine work that are performed constantly, it is much more profitable to purchase specialized band saw which will ensure quality and productivity.

As can be seen from the presented designs, a jigsaw can even be made from a sewing machine with a moving rod.

This article will discuss the design homemade machine from a household jigsaw. Below will be given step-by-step instruction, photos, videos, as well as drawings and diagrams.

Introduction

There are a lot of design options - from the simplest, where it just sticks out from the tabletop, to quite complex structures with guides, the ability to cut at an angle, when it is possible to set not only 90 degrees to the base, but also change the angle (well, within reason, of course). There are devices (machines) for, that is, making straight and even cuts.

Such devices are increasingly used due to their versatility and functionality. In fact, their parameters and purpose are similar to stationary machines and have a strictly defined practical use in every workshop.

Purpose

Plywood thickness, mm	Layers of plywood, no less	Sanded plywood		Unsanded plywood
Plywood thickness, mm	Layers of plywood, no less	Maximum deviation, mm	Different thickness	Deviation, mm	Different thickness
3 mm	3	+0,3/-0,4	0,6	+0,4/-0,3	0,6
4 mm	3	+0,3/-0,5		+0,8/-0,4	1,0
6 mm	5	+0,4/-0,5		+0,9/-0,4
9 mm	7	+0,4/-0,6		+1,0/-0,5
12 mm	9	+0,5/-0,7		+1,1/-0,6
15 mm	11	+0,6/-0,8		+1,2/-0,7	1,5
18 mm	13	+0,7/-0,9		+1,3/-0,8
21 mm	15	+0,8/-1,0		+1,4/-0,9
24 mm	17	+0,9/-1,1		+1,5/-1,0
27 mm	19	+1,0/-1,2	1,0	+1,6/-1,1	2,0
30 mm	21	+1,1/-1,3	1,0	+1,7/-1,2	2,0

Preparatory stage

draw up sketches and make a drawing of the future product,
make paper patterns for future elements and details
stick templates onto blanks for future parts.

There are two ways to make templates - take tracing paper and draw the kennels of the future workpiece on it. This has been done since ancient times, since nothing is needed for this except a ruler and a pencil. However, if you have a computer and a printer, of course A3 would be nice, but A4 is also suitable (you just have to print several sheets and then glue them together), then the process of drawing with a pencil and ruler can be replaced by drawing the contours of the blanks on the computer.

Then we cut it out with a stationery blade or just a sharp knife.

After that Once the template is ready, it needs to be glued to the workpiece.

Tip: There is no need to glue it tightly, since in the future you will have to remove the template, and this will be difficult if you glue it tightly. Accordingly, you can glue it, for example, with stationery glue, use a glue stick or, as in our example, spray glue.

Creating blanks

On at this stage need to do:

Cut the blanks exactly according to the template,
Process the workpieces - align the ends, remove burrs
Drill the necessary holes;
Make grooves with a file;
Drill out seats for bearings;
Select grooves with a router for the cover and a seat;

We install the bracket. It should be noted that the bracket must be fastened without over-tightening the nut - there must be free movement. To do this, use a self-locking nut and only tighten it slightly.

Installing the spring should not be difficult. You need to do it as shown in the photo below.

For future fastening of the file, you need to make a simple clamp in the form of a plate with two holes. It must also be installed on the bracket using a self-locking nut. Moreover, the backlash of the plate in the seat is very important because the bracket moves, and a clamped plate will restrict its movement.

Below is a sketch of the design of the upper attachment point for the file.

Then it is necessary to make technological holes for the jigsaw controls so that it is convenient to change the engine speed, you can gain access to the start button and its lock. There is another solution that makes it more convenient to turn on the tool - this is to place in an easily accessible place on the machine body an socket and a switch that would turn the voltage on and off in the socket. We plug the jigsaw cord into a socket, and it turns out that we will turn it on and off using a switch installed in a place convenient for us. However, this is a matter of taste.

So, below is the manufacture of technological holes on the body.

This is what the controls look like when they are now available.

Now you need to make clamps for the file itself. The principle is simple - take a bolt and make a cut at the base of the head, but not all the way. In the future, the file itself will be inserted into this cut. The principle is shown in the photo below.

This is how the upper saw attachment unit is installed and assembled.

The lower assembly is almost similar to the upper one, except that it is not a plate that is used, but a standard file (you can use a “BU” one), almost the entire cutting part is sawed off with an angle grinder and the shank is left. A hole is made in the remaining cutting part with a similar bolt with a slot at the base of the head, into which the file will also fit. The principle is shown below.

After the file is secured, we install the jigsaw itself. We fasten it with bolts with countersunk heads so that they do not stick out on the tabletop of the machine.

Now we need to adjust the perpendicularity of the file relative to the table of our machine. To do this, you can use a square, or, as in our case, just a block that is precisely trimmed. We make the adjustment as follows. To adjust the file left/right, the top plate is adjusted - its displacement on the axis - respectively, in the desired direction.

And to adjust the saw blade position forward/backwards, the saw blade mounting unit itself is shifted forward or backward.

The machine is almost ready, all that remains is to make and install the plate that surrounds the jigsaw file. It can be made from PCB or any piece of sheet plastic.

This completes the manufacturing of the jigsaw machine.
We hope that the material presented was useful to you.

Conclusion

dimensions

Here is a table with overall dimensions:

General assembly diagram

Let's attach a complete assembly diagram, which in a sense can be a 3B drawing for making a machine from a jigsaw with your own hands.

Video

Videos on which this material was made.

The article will primarily be useful to those people who often work with wood as a hobby, without making money from it. The author presents a fairly budget project table jigsaw, which can be collected in one day, with minimum costs for materials.

To create the machine you will need the following materials:
- Working manual jigsaw;
- Plywood;
- Self-tapping screws and bolts with nuts;
- Guides for furniture drawers;
- Two bearings;
- Compression spring;
- Spray paint;
- Self-adhesive paper.

Materials and tools are standard, available in every workshop.

Step 1. Body.
The first step is to create a body for a manual jigsaw from plywood. Here you need to think in advance where the holes for the switch and speed controller will be located.
It should look something like this:

Step 2. Tabletop.
It is better to take a thick piece of chipboard with good coverage, since the workpieces being processed will rub against it during operation of the machine.

A hole for a saw blade is drilled in the chipboard. The jigsaw itself will be attached to the back of the tabletop.
A stem for attaching the boom is also made from furniture guides:

Here's what it looks like assembled:

And the tabletop is attached to the body:

Step 3. Arrow.
The boom itself will be made of two furniture guides. They are bolted together to increase rigidity.

The boom supports are made of chipboard. Before painting and installing them, the point at which the boom is attached to the support is measured. Before doing this, they need to be installed in their place:

After this, it is necessary to drill holes in the support for the bearing seats.

Step 4. Painting.
The prepared supports are spray painted.

While they dry, the machine itself is covered with self-adhesive tape.

Step 5. Assembly.
Bearings are inserted into the supports and screwed into place.

The boom mounting axis will be made of two bolts screwed into the guides as shown in the photo. The diameter of the bolts is selected in accordance with the diameter of the inner race of the bearing.

The bolts are tightened securely, after which the two halves are screwed to each other.

This clearly shows how the boom will be secured in the supports:

The boom is installed in its place and secured with nuts.

Next you need to install the garter spring. It is necessary in order to return the arrow to its original position after the jigsaw pulls it down. This is how the saw will move back and forth. It must be adjusted so that it is not too soft (this will complicate the operation of the machine) and too hard (this can lead to overheating of the jigsaw motor).

How to secure it is shown in the photo:

Then, from a thin strip of metal (1 mm), it is necessary to make fastenings for the file to the arrow. They must rotate freely on the axis, since during operation the boom changes its angle of inclination to the jigsaw, and if they are static, this can lead to breakage of the saw.

This is what the mounts should look like: