Cheapo jigsaws: OK for kitchen worktops?

[The Natural Philosopher]

They all do that. don't worry. Cut undersized. A jigsaw is not a precsision instrument.

Sure, if yiu have one and can stand the mess and the noise.

[The Natural Philosopher]

you owe me a new keyboard..

Actualy you forgot te realy ciorrect tow

Decorators caulk and silicone sealer.

If the tiles are a decent thickness you will find up to 10mm gaop is acceprtable.,

I had a nasty curved wall to deal with. Then I had a brainwave. I mounted up the cupboards, screwed some battens to the wall above the worktop and infilled with MDF sheet. Made it very easy to put in some power sockets too..and those cupboards are fully supported too.

[Chris Hodges]

A cheapo jigsaw will do, but if you're cutting worktop, get one WITHOUT a bevel capability - you'll never get a 90 degree cut with an adjustable sole plate.

[Lurch]

On Wed, 23 May 2007 18:31:00 +0100, Chris Hodges mused:

You'll never get a 90 degree cut on a 40mm worktop with a jigsaw anyway, bevelling capability or not.

[Piers James]

I disagree. I cut my kitchen worktop with my Bosch GST 100 BCE with a "clean cut" blade in it, and the end result was perfect. Smooth, and no tearing of the laminate.

[Lurch]

On Wed, 23 May 2007 22:22:48 GMT, "Piers James" mused:

Perfect for a hob or sink to drop in maybe. Defnitely less than perfect for ends of runs\edges on show etc...

[Frank Erskine]

I really can't see the point of using a jigsaw for a straight cut. The whole idea of a jigsaw is to enable you to cut around curves. For a straight cut it's much better to use as large a blade as possible to help keep the sawing on course.

I'd rather use a panel (or even a tenon) saw for such a cut.

(Apart from the advantage of using a manual saw to reduce my carbon footprint. Why does everybody seem to insist on power tools for everything?)

JMO!

[John Rumm]

For sink or hob holes, it will cope just. The edges of the cut may not be vertical but that does not matter here.

If you want to cut the length of the worktop to scribe it to the wall, then you will need a decent jigsaw.

For precisely machined joints at corners etc then a router and jig is the only way to do it.

[John Rumm]

You would be surprised just how well a decent one does this sort of thing compared to the average ones.

That is why you have vacuum extraction and ear defenders.

[Lurch]

On Thu, 24 May 2007 01:07:25 +0100, Frank Erskine mused:

Well, I earn money by working. Power tools are quicker, ergo I do more work per day so can either earn more money or spend more time at home. I'm also quite lazy and like tools. ;) For a one off cut maybe I'll grab a hand saw but for for doing loads, definitely not.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Because the price differential between a power tool and a high quality hand one often isn't that great these days, and the power tool often requires less skill to get a decent result. Also, many man made materials don't work very well with traditional hand tools.

[The Natural Philosopher]

No, I have a hand saw.

Less complicated :)

I had an old bit of oak worktop..and She wanted a shelf in the kitchen to put the telly on..bevelled off like the rest of the worktop.

I thought about the time to set up the router, get a beveling bit, support the workpiece, and the chances of it slipping and taking out

1/4" of oak in a second..

and ran a hand saw along the edge and spent half a leisurely hour with a Permagrit block, to get a perfect rounded edge.

Now I used to work in a factory making electric guitars once, and I love wood working machinery..when its proper stuff. bolted to the floor, fitted with all the dust killing stuff..yes, its fabulous. I'd love tpo have a spindle moulder planer thicknesser, belt sander and table router all in a workshop. Sadly I haven't the cash or the space.

Its also a world away from working in a tight corner with a hand held piece of kit and no dust extraction, and no ear muffs trying to hand carve a lump of wood into the correct shape..there hand tools often are far and away better things to use. Its amazing what a razor sharp chisel and a bit of sandpaper can do.

[John Rumm]

Well said that man! ;-) (there is quite an art to being lazy in style)

[Chris Hodges]

That may be true, but I know the bevelling plate on my B+D is part of the problem (having cut from front and back to avoid splintering the veneer on exit, then found that the perfect join at the top was well off at the bottom).

[Lurch]

On Thu, 24 May 2007 19:24:14 +0100, Chris Hodges mused:

Cheap jigsaws don't help.

If you cut with a jigsaw with a bevelling capability the base may be 1 or 2 degrees out, the cut will be waaay more than 2 degrees out whatever jigsaw you use.

[Andy Hall]

Buying cheap tools is a false economy. It is especially true in the case of jigsaws because there is a substantial difference in usability such as control of the cutting path of the blade with the better quality ones.

[Peter Ashby]

I think the way to look at it is how much the finish matters. For cutting a sink hole in a worktop that will not be visible you use whatever is easiest because the finish does not matter (unless your power tool gets out of hand of course). A really sharp router bit will give a pretty good finish to a moulded edge, but a sharp, well set plane or scratch stock can give a better one. It therefore depends on how much you care about that difference. I am not a pro and in doing stuff for myself I can decide to take the time and effort to get the best result I can.

Peter

[Stuart Noble]

For some reason power at low revs is still expensive. Not such an issue with drills and routers.

[Piers James]

Nope, it was for an exposed end. You wouldn't know it had been cut with a jigsaw, it's that good.