Print PDF
Favorite
Email
Buying a bandsaw or scroll saw can be quite an expensive investment, but if you already own the inexpensive classic jigsaw you can convert is to a vertical saw very cheaply and extremely easy.
1. Using some scrap MDF that I had laying around the garage I build an open box 43cm (Length) x 19cm (width) x 27cm (height).
2. I dismantled the sole of the jigsaw and drilled 3 hole in it. The diameter is 5mm because I had some bolts laying around.
3. Put the sole on the inside of the "table" and mark the three holes. Then drill them and sunk the head on the top so the head of the bolts will not bother us. Also mark and drill the position where the blade will be.
4. Put the sole back on the jigsaw and attach everything to the table.
5. Good luck !
6. If you know you have a tendency to stick your finger in the eye, or you are a complete moron when it comes to using powertool please don't do this modification. You will only manage to hurt yourself very, very badly. The machine has no cage and extreme care must be taken when operating it. Please don't blame me for missing fingers :)
As a possible modification you can make the table wider and longer. Also, bolting the table to you bench might be a very good idea as from the vibrations it tends to be a little "jumpy" adding to the above mentioned risk.
Have fun and stay safe.
1. Using some scrap MDF that I had laying around the garage I build an open box 43cm (Length) x 19cm (width) x 27cm (height).
2. I dismantled the sole of the jigsaw and drilled 3 hole in it. The diameter is 5mm because I had some bolts laying around.
3. Put the sole on the inside of the "table" and mark the three holes. Then drill them and sunk the head on the top so the head of the bolts will not bother us. Also mark and drill the position where the blade will be.
4. Put the sole back on the jigsaw and attach everything to the table.
5. Good luck !
6. If you know you have a tendency to stick your finger in the eye, or you are a complete moron when it comes to using powertool please don't do this modification. You will only manage to hurt yourself very, very badly. The machine has no cage and extreme care must be taken when operating it. Please don't blame me for missing fingers :)
As a possible modification you can make the table wider and longer. Also, bolting the table to you bench might be a very good idea as from the vibrations it tends to be a little "jumpy" adding to the above mentioned risk.
Have fun and stay safe.
How is the performance? Does the blade twist/bend much?
I used it to cut some pieces for the CNC machine I'm building and some of the pieces were 5cm x 5xm and the precision is really good. My advice is for the price of the whole thing and the time it takes to build it (mine was 30 minutes) is give it a go and see.
Also, I must add this is a very very cheap jigsaw (30 new zealand dolars) so if you have a better tool the quality can increase, but again, mine really worked like this and as soon as I got the hang of it (3 pieces) I obtained very good results.
Maybe I'll add a youtube video tonight and put it here as well to see the thing in action and decide for yourselves.