# Circular Jig not working for Jigsaw



## Murphy5584 (Sep 30, 2017)

So I was recently trying to cut a circle with my jigsaw. I wanted this to very uniform and thought I would do better to make a circle jig rather than to do it free hand. 

I made a jig to put my jigsaw into, drilled a hole in my piece of wood and started my circle. Multiple times my jigsaw blade would begin to bend inward and actually snapped a few blades. I cant figure out why the blade is beginning to curve. I included some pictures below. 

One is of my jig that I made, a couple are from where you can see where the blade bent (when It was in the jig), and then lastly when I did it free hand with the jigsaw (no circle jig) it cut it nice and straight (like I thought it was supposed to do with the circle jig). Any suggestions?? Please help!!


----------



## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

I cannot tell from your pictures if the saw is sitting flat on the workpiece. It must be flat (no space between saw plate) and workpiece surface. 

The top picture and the other pictures do not look like the same workpiece.

George


----------



## Edward Norton (Apr 6, 2014)

Hate to say it but I am betting you are using a cheap brand of saw, either that, or you are pushing too hard & too fast. The jig looks to be fine as long as the saw fits snuggly into it. I only say cheap saw because I had a couple of the lower priced saws and they always drifted.

I thought it was me until I was given a high end priced saw. I never went off the line again, I had no drift or blade problems. I have learned that cheaper is not always better. The one I purchased cost me $35 & the one given to me was (at the time) $225 but believe me, the savings in material and time as well as frustration it is worth it!


----------



## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I have a Bosch jig saw which is suppose to be one of the best and I wouldn't expect that kind of accuracy from it. It's very common for them to wander all over the place or cut vertically on an angle. For that kind of accuracy I would rough cut it with a jig saw about 1/8" outside the line and then use a similar jig with a router with a straight cut bit to make the finished cut.


----------



## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

Which end of the box was the blade in? It should be in the end next to the beam , otherwise the blade is not pointed in the direction of travel.


----------



## sanchez (Feb 18, 2010)

You've got several things going on.

It looks like you're trying to cut 2x material?

You'll need a stronger blade with probably 10 tpi. for that. The ones with too many tpi will make it harder, especially when they are trying to cut with the grain.

Definitely go slower, let the blade do the work.

Even so, jigsaws aren't the best for perfectly plumb cuts. I have a Bosch jigsaw. It won't cut perfectly plumb on material that thick.

The best bet is to get close with a jigsaw, then finish with a router circle jig.


----------



## canarywood1 (Jun 9, 2016)

It's much easier to just cut the circle with a router


----------



## Maylar (Sep 3, 2013)

As mentioned, 2-by material is tough on a jigsaw. Mine will bend off vertical if I try to rip a 2x6 even going slowly. Try a different blade and if your saw has scroll capability then it may help to rotate the scroll a bit in the direction of travel.


----------

