Thread: Will a standard jigsaw cut 50mm thick jarrah?

Depends on the equipment. My Makita would it boasts a 135mm cutting capacity. I don't know about bosch green? GMC have a pretty high powered jigsaw that might do it at abotu $100. If you do get ablade with few teeth. It will give a rougher cut (more to clean up) but put considerably less strain on the motor. I have some long Bosch blades which I have used to cut 110mm posts with no issues (not the quickest cut in the world)

Maybe a series of angled cuts with a circular saw and some time with an electric plane to shape?

Good luck!

SN

Yes it will cut... just, grab a blade with the biggest teeth you can find so it clears out the sawdust, a fine blade will just clog and burn the wood.(especially in aussie hardwood)

I have cut ~60 mm thick jarrah with the triton TJS001 jigsaw - slow - but it got there.

You can buy "extra long" blades to fit most jigsaws and so long as the blade still projects through the wood at the shortest part of the stroke and you let it cut at it's own pace (ie. don't try to force it along) you should be right.

Thanks for the replies. I'll post some pictures as I start the creation process.

Probably too late by now ( just noticed the date on your original post) make sure you cut outside the line by quite a bit 'cos the blade will wander in the cut and you'll end up with an angle on the cut edge. this tends to happen on deeper and curved cuts ( like yours )

Hi Tom,

although i don't know jarrah as a species of wood in Europe, it's obvious it must be very tough and hard. And yes, an ordinary jig saw will cut it, but very slowly and with a lot of effort. It's like dragging a caravan across the Alps behind a Citroën 2CV. It can be done, but when you're through, the 2CV is ready for the bin. When it had something like a "lifespan meter" you would see its needle go rather quickly towards the left and to zero.

It is amazing that many brands making jigsaws, dare to advertise saw depths to 100 mms, or something like 60 mms in hardwood. Again, those machines would probably be able to, but barely and with very quick wear. So, the manufacturers and their advertising agencies technically didin't literally lie to you, they just were a bit vague about the circumstances.

The best machine that exposes such hidden fraud in the way of putting others to shame,is perhaps the large Fein industrial jig saw ASte 649-1. For my money, this machine is the standard to measure all other jig saws against. It has a 750 Watts motor, which has the proportions of a medium size angle grinder and even the housing of such a grinder. The machine is double the size of a regular jig saw and weighs 5,5 kilograms. It has a very robust drive mechanism and costst 1200 Euros. Yet Fein states seemingly modest capacities for such a size machine. About 100 mms in soft wood, about 60 mms in hard wood, 4 mms in rustproof steel, 25 mms in mild steel and 12 in brass or aluminium. Fein uses such moderate figures, because it knows the machine can cope with such values in practicallt all cases that are encoubntered in professional practice. Therefore these are figures and capacities that can really be counted upon, they are no theoretical brochure figures that just look good.

Since a regular jig saw has a relatively weak drive system and a green Bosch DIY one will have a system just that bit weaker still, it is up to you to help the machine out and to spare it a little. Either you quickly use up its life and wear it out, or you go about your saw jobs carefully and at a slow pace, to enhance the machine's service life.

You start off with a handful of new sharp blades. The ones with regular ofsett teeth are cheaper than the narrow blades, which are ground smooth at either side. You will find that these blades will wear very quickly, the moreso with high rpm. You will norice a lack in progress after a while, that's when the teethe get blunt. Most people force their jig saws to get some more metres saw length out of worn blades, at the same overloading and severely wearing down the machines themselves. It's like a painter pressing a 100 dollar sander to pulp in order to save on sanding paper worth a few cents. That's a strange way to economize.

Hardwood must not be sawn at top speed, for the teeth will heat up and burn and will lose their hardening. Most jig saws will reach 3000 to 4000 movements per minute, but hardwood is better off at 1000 to 2000. When a speed regulated motor runs at half speed, it is alas less than half as strong. You can only count on far less power at low rpm, so you must work slowly and carefully, the rpm difference between load and no load must not be big. It is also advisable to run the machine at full no load speed now and then, to let a good blast of cooling air run through the motor. The guide roller behind the blade, which absorbs much of the forward pressure, must be kept oiled. Also drip a few drops of oil on the reciprocal saw blade drive rod and blow out sawdust with compressed air every few hours. In this way, it is possible to saw hardwood and to preserve service life of the machine at the same time.

Good luck and greetings from Holland!

Gerhard Schreurs

Hi Gerhard,

Thanks for the comprehensive reply. I have not progressed any further in my search for jigsaws as I sustained a broken collar bone (after falling off my bike). I think the Fein sounds liek a good unit but the price is well out of my league.

Regards,

Tom