# Jig Saw or Dremel?



## Ryn0nTX (Jun 27, 2012)

I am building two custom boxes designed to fit under a small bench that I made. In my design, I have handles cut out of the sides of each box.

See:











I have done very little with my jig saw and have never cut anything with my dremel, but I know that it 'could' do the job. What do you suggest?


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

If you have never done anything with either tool, now is the time to try. Use one tool on each end and come back and tell us which one you liked best.

George


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Drill holes at either end, ideally the diameter of the slots.

Then either use jig saw or coping saw to cut the remainder of the slots.

I cannot imagine attempting this with a Dremel.


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## Ryn0nTX (Jun 27, 2012)

Dave Paine said:


> Drill holes at either end, ideally the diameter of the slots.
> 
> Then either use jig saw or coping saw to cut the remainder of the slots.
> 
> I cannot imagine attempting this with a Dremel.



Well I have seen guys doing small, detailed carvings with a dremel. Just not sure about 3/4" stock....But I might try one on scrap wood to see if it makes it worse or better. I will report back in a few hours.:thumbsup:


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## BigJoe16 (Feb 20, 2012)

Dave Paine said:


> Drill holes at either end, ideally the diameter of the slots.
> 
> Then either use jig saw or coping saw to cut the remainder of the slots.
> 
> I cannot imagine attempting this with a Dremel.


That's what I would do. 
How would you do this with a dremel? What attachment would you use?

You could also use a scroll saw of you have one.


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## Ryn0nTX (Jun 27, 2012)

I have one of these:

http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Accessories/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=561

It says it cuts wood...about to find out!


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## BigJoe16 (Feb 20, 2012)

I don't know if that will work. You might not get a very clean, finished look to it


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

I agree with Dave Paine. 
It's fool proof. After you cut it out with a jig saw you could clean it up with the dremel sander bit.


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## Gilgaron (Mar 16, 2012)

I've used my spiral cutter dremel bit and I would recommend the jig saw for that job. The dremel will be too hard to control for getting a clean cut in wood that thick. You could rough out the hole with the dremel if you're worried about your jig saw binding, but it might not be worth the extra step.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

I rarely have a job which the Dremel, or in my case a B&D equivalent, can perform.

An example where it worked well for me was to cut slots in some screws so I could remove the screws.

The screws had some weird head and I did not have the weird bit.

The most recent job where it is working well, is to rough out a groove in a pepper mill blank to accept the "teeth" of the pepper mill mechanism.

I would not attempt to rout with it. As Gilgaron stated, it is so difficult to control.

I could perhaps see using the sander to smooth the slot after cutting out, as Dominek mentioned.


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## Ryn0nTX (Jun 27, 2012)

Well...the dremel wasn't even close! Thought it was worth the shot though. I will say that even with templates ... the handles aren't the same. The dremel did help after cutting with the jig saw, I used the 120 grit sanding bit to clean the cut ... did great! my only beef is that the dremel sanding bit (or any bit that I have found) is only about 1/2" 'deep'. So it even using it to clean the handles out was a chore considering I had to do each side of the cut an try to make them even...not so fun!  ...and the result?:::


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Thanks for the update.

To get something very consistent, I think you would need to finished with a router bit with a bottom bearing which would ride on the template.

Rough cut with the jigsaw, but leave room to clean up with the router bit.


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## Gilgaron (Mar 16, 2012)

While less perfect that a router template, I've matched holes like that by placing the boards one in front of the other and using a rasp and file to make them the same.


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