Cutting out plywood with a jigsaw according to drawings is an exciting activity for lovers of handmade. Openwork products can decorate furniture, interior, make wall panels, jewelry boxes, etc.
The work is done both manually and electric jigsaw. You need to prepare a free place at the table or workbench, purchase necessary materials and, most importantly, prepare a template, draw a picture or make a drawing.
Let us consider in more detail in the article how they make cutting out of plywood with a jigsaw according to the drawings, how to correctly transfer the template to plywood, how to select a high-quality workpiece.
Work materials
- Plywood without knots good quality thickness from 3 to 5 mm.
- Sandpaper of two types of grain size - fine and large. In order for the layers to be cleaned evenly, it is necessary to place a rectangular board during grinding.
- Jigsaw manual or electric. If, when cutting plywood with a jigsaw according to the drawings, the drawing turns out to be thin, with turns, with a radius of less than 2.5 cm, then it is better to use hand tool so as not to spoil the template.
- Stain (optional).
- Varnish. It is best to use acrylic, it is odorless and dries quickly.
- Drill. It will be needed in order to make a hole for a jigsaw file.
How to make a template?
If you do not know how to draw, but there is a desire to cut plywood with a jigsaw, drawings can be taken from numerous Internet sites. You need to find the necessary ornament or pattern and print it in full size.
The template is transferred to plywood only after it has been carefully processed; ballpoint pen or a simple pencil of medium hardness. Some people use carbon paper.
Then a drawing is carefully drawn on plywood, all irregularities are corrected.
Plywood preparation
Before starting work on cutting plywood with a manual jigsaw according to the drawings, you must first prepare the base. First, for convenience, they cut out the required size by attaching a template to a sheet of plywood.
After being prepared right size sand the surfaces. First, a sheet of plywood needs to be processed with a large sandpaper, fit number 120. Then wipe the surface with a dry cloth. Further, the material is polished with fine sandpaper, for example, No. 80. Wood dust is shaken off only with a dry cloth.
Beginning of work
After the surface of the plywood acquires an even structure, transfer the pattern according to the template. To start sawing with a jigsaw, you need to make a hole for the saw with a drill. After inserting the file, fasten it well on both sides of the manual jigsaw. If the tool is used electric, then the jigsaw must be fixed on a special stand so that it does not vibrate and does not spoil the straight lines.
The work is done slowly, carefully, observing safety precautions.
When the entire design is cut out, sand the inside side cuts.
Final stage
In order for a picture or piece of furniture to take on a finished look and last longer, you need to varnish it. If you want to give some other shade to the product, then first apply the stain, and after drying - varnish. After applying the first coat of varnish, you need to let it dry thoroughly, then sand the surface again with fine sandpaper, as the varnish can raise the pile on the plywood. The last final coat of varnish is applied after wiping the product with a dry cloth.
Figured cutting of plywood(cutting out figures from a sheet of plywoodusing a machine) is popular among decorators and furniture makers. With the help of a sheet of plywood and special equipment, you can create not just a craft decorating a house, but a whole work of art.
Cutting methods (basic techniques)
- machine for curly cutting plywood - laser equipment;
- ordinary jigsaw (it will also need a set of nail files);
- CNC - milling equipment.
Before you start sawing, using one technology or another, you should know some nuances to consider when working with glued veneer:
- You should be aware that cutting a figure from plywood made from pine / spruce will be much more difficult than from others. tree species. This is explained by coniferous varieties due to resins they have a viscous structure.
- It is necessary to cut the glued veneer in the direction of the fiber. If it is necessary to make a transverse cut, then first small cuts are made with a knife, and then they proceed to sawing with the main tool.
- Before hammering a nail, it is necessary to make holes for it.
Sawing with a jigsaw
Rules:
- You only need to drink in one vertical plane. The movement of the saw must be carried out "up and down".
- If you need to make a turn according to the drawing, then turn the workpiece, and not the base.
- Sawing begins in the inner contour. Then they move on to the outer contour.
- Periodically, you should cool the nail file (suspend work for 10-15 minutes). Otherwise, it will fall into disrepair.
Note!!! From ancient times to the present, sawing with a jigsaw has been considered an interesting and creative activity.
Laser cutting of plywood sheet
Principle of operation: beam burning along the contour. The main advantages of this technique include:
- it is not necessary to process / file the edges of the figure after cutting;
- high-quality cut;
- the size of all parts that have undergone laser processing is the same;
- You can burn a pattern of any complexity.
To the disadvantages and to the possible risk when working with laser equipment can be attributed:
- with excess power, plywood can char (despite the fact that the technology provides for a special air supply, there is a risk of fire / charring, albeit a small one);
- the master at the sight of plywood should be able to determine what species the veneer consists of and what glue it is glued with (the type of wood and the type of glue depends on the mode of burning);
- if a novice works with such equipment, and in the process of burning out the beam “randomly” (due to the inexperience of the operator) hits a knot, then the product will deteriorate.
Before you start cutting plywood with a laser, you need to learn how to work with this type of equipment. How the figure will look depends on experience.
Cutting with a milling machine
The main advantages of this cutting method include:
- fast sawing;
- in the process of cutting out a figure from plywood, charring and other unpleasant consequences will not arise (this technique is best for beginners);
- cutting accuracy is the same as when using laser equipment;
- no need to sand the edges.
Price
Listed below are prices for popular brands of domestic plywood cutting machines.
Firm "MULTICUT"
Since childhood, we have been familiar with the technology of sawing with a jigsaw. The principle is simple - a fixed part is placed on a stand with a technological cutout, the cut is made by moving the file. The quality of work depends on the firmness of the hands and the skill of the worker.
In this way, you can literally cut lace from thin wooden or plastic blanks. However, the process is laborious and slow. Therefore, many masters thought about small-scale mechanization.
A simple design from the last century
Even in the magazine "Young Technician" drawings were offered on how to make jigsaw machine with your own hands. Moreover, the design does not imply an electric drive, the drive works from muscular strength, like knife grinders.
The machine consists of the main parts:
- bed (A)
- desktop (B) with a slot for the canvas
- lever system (B) for holding the saw blade
- flywheel (D), which is the primary drive pulley
- crank mechanism (D), combined with the secondary drive pulley, and driving the levers (B)
- pedal assembly (E) with a crank mechanism that drives the flywheel (D)
- saw blade tensioner (W)
With the foot of the foot, the master sets the flywheel (D) in motion. With the help of a belt drive, the crank mechanism (D), connected to the lower lever (B), rotates. A file is stretched between the levers, the degree of tension is regulated by a lanyard (G).
With a well-balanced flywheel, a sufficient smoothness of the saw blade is ensured, and such a home-made jigsaw machine allows you to massively cut out the same type of workpiece, saving time and effort. In those days, jigsaw saw blades were produced in the form of a flat tape with unidirectional action.
Therefore, to obtain patterns of complex shape, it was necessary to rotate the workpiece around the canvas. The dimensions of the workpiece are limited by the length of the levers (B).
From mechanical jigsaw to electric one step
The foot drive cannot give real freedom of action and uniformity of the sawing stroke. It is more reasonable to adapt an electric motor for a crank mechanism. However, if you use a desktop jigsaw from time to time, there is no point in making stationary structure with own motor.
All sorts of crafts made of plywood and wood, made by craftsmen, are highly valued all over the world, causing universal admiration. Undoubtedly, carving is creativity and art, but you will certainly be able to master it by making an effort and constantly honing your skills. This is an optimal wood and plywood hobby that does not require you to have too much free time and equipment that is not very expensive. Of course, we mean plywood carving with jigsaws!
openwork carving
It is rapidly gaining its popularity: who doesn’t want to make an excellent decoration item for themselves, decorating their home, furniture, creating an artistic entourage! Cut products of various thicknesses are optimally integrated into many existing decor styles, and we get, for example, ornamented photocard frames, words, individual letters, curly shelves carved with a jigsaw on plywood. In addition, such creativity is an action that is available to everyone who is interested in the process, even a beginner. You just need to get an idea of \u200b\u200b"how it works." And you can start creating!
It is quite easy to work with a manual jigsaw
Video to get started:
Choose given material from wood for the following reasons:
- moisture resistant;
- temperature fluctuations do not have a negative impact;
- fairly low cost;
- ease of learning to cut with a jigsaw;
- low weight products.
It is also necessary for crafts to choose plywood of the 1st and 2nd grades. The rest are not suitable for creativity: there are cracks with knots and chips on the surfaces (unless they can be used for internal substrates). Birch plywood (3-10 mm thick) is most suitable for cutting.
At the present time, this material is divided into quite a large number of subspecies - each for specific purposes.
- Experts and craftsmen advise using a sheet produced using a urea-formaldehyde composition. Such material is marked "FC". This kind of plywood can be bought “clean” or coated, for example, with varnish. It is most convenient to transfer a drawing for sawing with a jigsaw onto raw plywood sheets.
- Plywood labeled "FOF" is intended for the production of furniture, and is more often produced in excess of 12 millimeters in thickness.
- The FB brand was originally developed as a boat material, and therefore its cost is high (but if it is possible to use it, then it is suitable for sawing with a jigsaw).
- But "FSF" masters do not recommend purchasing. Having an attractive appearance purely outwardly, it has toxicity, since it is made with the participation of a composition of phenolic resins.
Produced grades of working material
Types of plywood carving
It is subdivided into:
- openwork,
- Patterned, on a painted plywood sheet,
- edging,
- combined method.
What additional materials and tools will be needed
- Stencils and drawings with drawings for work. You can invent them yourself or copy them on the web.
- Carbon paper to translate patterns and lines according to the drawing;
- Glass paper and sandpaper, a set of files - for grinding parts;
- Carpentry (as an option, casein) composition for gluing parts;
- Transparent varnish - for coating;
- To make holes inside the material for threading the blade - a drill and also an awl.
- Before starting work on sawing with a jigsaw, carefully sand the material with glass paper, and only then translate the patterns according to the drawing.
- Transfer the elongated forms of drawings with narrow elements onto plywood so that they are located along the fibers of the “face” of the material.
Artistic sawing with a jigsaw: drawing, stencil and work
Get to know the devices
A jigsaw is a toolkit that is designed to work on different contours. The device includes a blade equipped with teeth, small enough to cut the working material, practically without forming burrs and chips.
Manual
The "founder" of the genus, of course, is a manual jigsaw. Everything ingenious is simple: a metal U-shaped arc, and a working blade is stretched between the ends, which is fixed with clamps. They hold the files during operation, with the help of them its tension is also regulated. handle for convenient operation located on one side of the frame. The clamps of the tool can be rotated, thus creating a different plane for the implementation of work, providing opportunities for carving plywood with a jigsaw of increased complexity.
- When creating with handheld device maximum care must be taken: the design is quite fragile, and with intense pressure, the blade sometimes breaks, and it needs to be replaced. Each novice master should stock up on additional working files.
- When working with a jigsaw, it is convenient to use an auxiliary board: it protects the table and solves problems with the convenient location of the plywood blank.
Electric jigsaws
This device works with electricity. It is a case where the mechanism is located, the control knob is also located there. The sawing element is located in the lower part of the device in front. The blade is protected, and this allows you to cut along the contour very smoothly, without deviation. Professional equipment models have many nozzles that greatly facilitate the work process, for example, by leveling the edge of the material. Jigsaw blades can also have teeth that differ in shape and size. They should be selected in accordance with the material for sawing, so as not to damage the plywood sheets during operation.
- Household electric jigsaws for non-industrial purposes, as a rule, of low power (from 350 to 500 W). For beginners, this is the most common option when you are just learning to cut crafts and figures from plywood (usually of small thickness). It is quite safe to work with such a device, especially when it is equipped with protection.
- The professional jigsaw is intended for industrial purposes, has a power of more than 700 W, high speed and cutting accuracy. It can cut sheets over 10 cm thick, aluminum, thin steel.
Video: simple jigsaw:
Frazier
Sometimes used for carving this device. It is a type of special hand tool, with the assistance of which living conditions can be performed different type wood and plywood work. However, to work with it requires a certain skill; on the other hand, craftsmen who deftly manage this equipment can create the most real highly artistic masterpieces of folk art.
Cooking a stencil
Drawings for creative works there are different sizes depending on the scale of the manufactured products. For example, for schemes of a shelf or a fragment of furniture, for a voluminous toy, you should take a sheet of drawing paper in A1 format, a roll of wallpaper remaining after repair may also be suitable, and for small figures (such as souvenirs) we take office paper(format A4 or A3).
We draw the contours of the future object on the surface of the paper with a marker or pencil, adhering to the indicated dimensions. Templates are presented in the public domain in a wide range, choose the one that suits you (for beginners, as a rule, not too complicated). Or you can come up with your own options for cutting with a jigsaw and then transfer it to a paper base.
Then we carry out the transfer of images to the surface of the working material (plywood, boards). To do this, we cut out a figure from paper, apply it to plywood and carefully trace it around the contour with a pencil. The lines must be precise and even. If necessary, correct by erasing with an eraser.
The contours are applied "from the rear" of the material, so that there are no visible remnants of the drawing on the finished form. The internal areas can also be shaded so as not to cut off an extra piece, thereby denoting an inviolable fragment.
Drawing examples
Snowflake
How to carve plywood
Working with the device will not be difficult if you properly prepare for the creative process.
- The place to work should have good lighting;
- The working plane must be protected from damage. It is possible, for example, to lay plywood sheet or cover it with a film;
- All the right tools as well as spare blades should be prepared in advance. And you can start.
The first step should begin with drawing the inner outline of the drawing or drawing. To do this, make slots into which the blades of the device will be inserted. Usually, when cutting large contours, there is no problem, but in small remnants, working with a jigsaw from the inside can cause chips, burrs, or cuts. You should act very carefully.
Work with a jigsaw
How to cut with a hand jigsaw
- Fix a piece of plywood with one hand, with the other hand, hold the cutting attachment by the handle.
- Start moving along the applied contours, wielding the jigsaw up / down. This should be done around the perimeter of the picture.
Work with a manual jigsaw
As you can see, there is nothing super complicated in this work. And you will acquire a real creative hobby by learning how to manage these devices.
How to cut plywood with a jigsaw
Cutting plywood with an electric or manual jigsaw is undoubtedly a creative process. And you will be able to create various decorative items with your own hands: from fairy-tale characters from cartoons for children to decorations for furniture and home.
Photo gallery of examples of work
Characteristics of the main types of carving tools
As a rule, no woodwork today can be imagined without a jigsaw - a special device with which you can plan desired shape from wood, as well as high-quality sanding wooden surface. That is why such tools are very popular.
There are two main types of such tools for sawing - manual and electric. It is impossible to say unequivocally which option is better. Indeed, depending on the complexity and jewelry of the work, it is advisable to use a jigsaw of a certain type.
The handheld device is best suited for small parts that need to be given complex shapes. It is with the help of a hand-held device that one can achieve high level sawing the most complex patterns on plastic and wood, which cannot be done with a tool that runs on electricity.
How to work with a jigsaw? The ability to work with it is a very useful thing, especially when it comes to the functional sawing of large parts and wood blanks. Working with an electrical appliance saves a lot of time, which is spent, for example, on sawing boards for house frames and windows.
10 secrets when working with a manual jigsaw
In working with a hand tool, there are 10 basic secrets that will help you get the job done quickly and with high quality.
Secret 1. When working with any part, this part must be very securely fixed so that it does not move anywhere when cutting. For these purposes, use a vise that can be adjusted to the desired size.
Secret 2. When sawing, try to apply pressure on the part so that the wood or plastic is peeled off in a very thin layer. If you overdo it with force, the material may burst and the file break. Applying too much pressure will degrade the quality of the workpiece. Therefore, when sawing, try to gradually build up strength from one edge to the other, constantly turning the part so that the sawing goes evenly.
Secret 3. Choose for yourself one direction of the file. At first, do not turn it, as this can damage both the part and the file itself. And after the hand gets used, you can slightly twist the handle. But only the angle of rotation should not exceed 15 degrees.
Secret 4. If you want to cut the part up and down, then the best option will do this while standing, directing the movements from top to bottom. If you start sawing horizontally, you can’t avoid distortions of the part.
Secret 5. If your workpiece has such a shape that the file from time to time tends to rest against the edge of the part and get stuck there, then you need to turn the pin clamps located on the side and reduce the pressure on the file.
Secret 6. When making a cutout of a certain shape inside the workpiece without damaging the edges, it is necessary to use an electric drill to make a hole in the intended place so that the file fits there. Then it is removed from the device, inserted into the hole, after which the tool is fixed on it again. Now you can safely cut out the part from the middle.
Secret 7. To prevent the saw from jumping out of the clamps, fix it from time to time by turning the handle. Just don't overdo it so it doesn't break. It will be enough when, when pulled, you will feel that the file is firmly held, and the handle is difficult to turn.
Secret 8. If you just need to cut wood in one direction, then choose the maximum file tension on the tool handle. And for planing the part, you can choose a smaller tension.
Secret 9. Always work in the same direction, whether you are making decorative carvings or just sawing a part. This will not only facilitate the work, but also help to avoid the formation of notches on the workpiece.
Secret 10. If you are cutting complex patterns, it is preferable to work according to a sketch previously drawn on the workpiece. So you will not make mistakes and make the detail as beautiful as possible.
10 secrets for working with an electric carving tool
So that you do not have problems when working with a jigsaw, check out the basic secrets.
Secret 1. When working with a tool that is powered by the mains, you do not need to press hard on the material. This can lead to deformation of the web.
Secret 2. If you are working with very tight wood or with more strong materials, such as metal or glass, be sure to coat the workpiece in the places of the intended cutting with machine oil or at least water before work. This will make cutting easier and prevent the mechanism from spoiling quickly.
Secret 3. Always secure the workpiece as tightly as possible in a vise so that you can hold the jigsaw with both hands when working. So the part will not rotate, and the cut will be much smoother.
Secret 4. When working with a power tool, it is very important to have a constant sawing speed and pressure. If you increase all this at least a little, as when working with a hand-held device, you risk damaging the mechanism and cutting the canvas crookedly.
Secret 5. Always try to lay the workpiece face down. This will help you make the cut smoother and more even.
Secret 6. It is advisable to place a sheet of non-slip plywood under the materials being cut. So you not only protect the surface on which the sawing takes place, but also can reduce the vibration of the workpiece during operation.
Secret 7. Always mark the places of cuts with a pencil and a ruler before work. A process without preliminary markup can lead to significant distortions in the future. The result is damage to the material.
Secret 8. Always try to cut not strictly along the intended line, but 3 mm away from it. Surprisingly, the incision with this approach is almost perfectly even.
