Often the question of how to cut even circles from plywood with a jigsaw confuses novice craftsmen. After all, doing this is much more difficult than a simple straight cut; no saw will help here.

Most often, a jigsaw helps to cope with the task of figure cutting. Jigsaws can be manual or electric. A manual jigsaw consists of a frame with blade clamps and a handle. Main disadvantages hand jigsaw: low mechanical strength canvases and small size framework. As a result of this, the blade often breaks and it is impossible to cut at a large distance from the edges of the part. These jigsaws are usually used for processing wooden products. There are regular jigsaws, in which the saw is positioned vertically, and for artistic cutting, where the cutting element is a steel blade. Electric jigsaws usually used when working with thick material.

Key rules

To make the sawing process simple and fast, you must follow the basic key operating rules:

To ensure that the edges of the plywood are even, it is better to cut along the blade.

• You can only work with dry material, since humidity increases the resistance of the material, as a result of which the veneer may begin to delaminate;
• it is necessary to change the cutting blade immediately after the first signs of dullness of the teeth appear;
• It is better to work with a jigsaw along the fibers of the material, so the edges will be smoother;
• Use a hand jigsaw to cut across the grain of the veneer.

To ensure safe work, you must adhere to the following recommendations:

• securely fasten the sawing table and the file in the frame;
• the jigsaw must have serviceable and well-fitted handles;
• You should not press the jigsaw too hard, trying to “help” it, this will only lead to an acceleration of dulling of the working blade;
• It is best to make straight and long cuts with a wide blade, so the cutting process will go faster;
• You must always see the markings, so sawdust must be removed from the material being cut by hand, and under no circumstances should you blow it away, as it can get into your eyes.

Compliance with these simple rules will help a beginner learn how to cut circles with a jigsaw and make his work easier.

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Cutting instructions

Before starting work, you need to drill a hole in the plywood for the jigsaw blade.

To cut even circles with a jigsaw quickly and beautifully, you don’t have to be an expert in this field, but for a beginner it can be a very difficult task. In this matter, the main thing is patience and, of course, the presence of the necessary accompanying tools, such as the jigsaw itself, a file, a compass, a simple pencil and devices for polishing the surface.

The first thing to do is draw a circle on the surface of the material you will be working with. It would be best to use a compass or select a suitable circle and trace it. You need to trace with a pencil so that traces of it can be erased in the future.

If you need to cut a circle inside the surface, you should make a through starting hole. Next, you need to insert a jigsaw blade or file into this hole and secure the free end of the file with a clamp. It is recommended to cut while sitting. First of all, you need to secure the file in the jigsaw using a key, keeping in mind that the teeth of the file should be directed downward. You need to cut from top to bottom. The tool should be held straight to avoid nicks and bevels.

The main thing in this process is not to rush and cut smoothly without sudden movements.

It is necessary to take short breaks during the sawing process, as the file may overheat and break. Now the circle is ready. Now it is recommended to use a file to straighten the edges, erase the markings left by the pencil and polish the part. If necessary, it can be varnished.

Of course, it requires certain dexterity and skills, but everything comes with experience. Therefore, following the recommendations described above should help the novice master in mastering this interesting and exciting activity.

How to cut smoothly with a jigsaw? This tool is a saw equipped with an electric drive. It can cut various materials:

• tree;
• metal;
• plastic;
• tiles

Working with a jigsaw is simple if you follow the rules: the table must be stable, the material must be firmly fixed, and the correct saw has been selected.

The tool can cut parts, cut workpieces along a straight or circular line. How to cut with a jigsaw?

Principle of operation

Materials and tools:

• wood;
• jigsaw;
• protective glasses;
• protective gloves;
• machine oil.

First of all, it is necessary to firmly secure the material being cut.

If the jigsaw cuts crookedly, you need to check the stability of the worktable and the strength of the workpiece. Using a jigsaw, it is not advisable to cut wood along the grain, since it will be quite difficult to make an even cut.

If you still need to do just such work, then you need to use rip fence. It is attached to the jigsaw with one side, and the other side should rest against the edge of the wood. This will ensure an even cut.

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The right process

If during work it becomes necessary to cut a circle inside the wood, then you need to drill a small hole in the center of the future circle. Then they put a jigsaw in it and move towards the circle marked on the material.

If you need to cut a hole in the shape of a rectangle, you need to move the saw along the side of the rectangle, then smoothly bending around the corner and cutting out the next side. When required hole When it's ready, you need to finish the corners.

When performing work, do not put too much pressure on the tool, as this can cause the device to overheat and fail. You don't want to use the saw for too long, as it will become dull and start to catch on the edges of the wood.

When sawing durable materials You need to lubricate the file with machine oil. This will make cutting easier.

If work is performed at low speed, then you need to take breaks, as this will cause the device to overheat.

When working, you must follow safety precautions and perform cuts wearing safety glasses and gloves.

After finishing work, the jigsaw must be cleaned and lubricated with machine oil.

The device can have a regular or pendulum stroke. In the first case, the jigsaw moves vertically. At the same time, it cuts the wood as it moves upward. The device, which uses a pendulum stroke, additionally feeds the jigsaw forward when moving upward. With this method, the speed of work increases and the tool blade wears less.

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Sawing technique

In progress construction work Sometimes there is a need to saw off the material evenly, with extreme precision.

Materials and tools:

• wood;
• jigsaw;
• guides;
• clamps;
• pencil;
• roulette.

For an even cut with greater accuracy, you need to use a tool with a high frequency of blade movements.

The file should be wide, designed for working with wood.

The work will be done using a guide. To do this, you can use a flat board or batten.

You need to prepare 2 clamps. They should fit the workpiece and guide.

The workpiece must be placed on a raised surface so that the jigsaw does not rest against the saw when cutting.

Then you need to measure on both sides with a tape measure the required width of the area that needs to be sawed off. They make notes. Then they are connected along a ruler, obtaining a cutting line.

Then lay the guide at the required distance from the cutting line and secure it with clamps. After this, the jigsaw is placed with a file to the cutting line. Then press the guide against it and secure it with a clamp. You need to secure it so that it does not move, but not too much.

Then the same actions are performed on the other side. Here you need to clamp firmly, but so that there are no indentations on the wood.

After this, move on to the first clamp. Check its installation and tighten it.

The necessary measures have been taken to ensure an even cut.

Now turn on the jigsaw. Install maximum speed. The pendulum stroke regulator is set to number 1. Set the tool with a file to the cutting line. They press the side of its platform against the guide and begin cutting.

When working, do not press too hard on the device. Slightly move the tool forward, while controlling its platform. It should press against the guide so that it does not move. When a few centimeters remain until the end of the cut, you need to hold the sawn part so that it does not break off.

This is where the work ends. The cutting line turned out perfectly smooth.

All photos from the article

Fans of all kinds of handicrafts should definitely pay attention to this type of decorative and applied art, such as plywood cutting. This method can be used to make all kinds of figures, patterns and other decorative elements.

Moreover, mastering such a technique is quite simple; the only thing is that you first need to familiarize yourself with its main nuances, which we will do below.

What you need for cutting

First of all, let's consider what tool you will need for this. It should be said right away that expensive equipment for cutting out plywood is not required. Therefore, anyone can do this kind of work.

The only thing you need to prepare is the following tool:

• jigsaw;
• electric drill and brace;
• scissors;
• cardboard templates;
• files.

In the photo - a manual jigsaw

In addition, you will need various Consumables, such as:

• sandpaper for sanding cut areas;
• tracing paper;
• pencils;
• glue;
• acrylic paints, etc.

In addition, it is necessary to prepare workplace. Since working with any wood materials implies the presence of sawdust and unnecessary trimmings; it is advisable to set up a workplace not in a living space, but, for example, in a garage.

The workplace itself is a table. It is advisable to attach a jigsaw stand to it, which can be made from a plank. It is also necessary to ensure good local lighting of the workplace.

Cutting Features

Material selection

As you know, plywood is a multilayer material that consists of several layers of veneer. This makes it great for creativity.

The only thing is that you need to choose the right type of plywood. To do this, you need to pay attention to the following parameters:

What to cut

As a rule, people who encounter this kind of work for the first time are interested in what can be cut out of plywood?

There are a lot of options - these could be:

• patterns for decorating furniture or other interior elements;
• panel on the wall;
• decorative inscriptions;
• all kinds of figures, toys for children, etc.

Advice! You can also make functional carved objects from plywood, for example, boxes, candlesticks, napkin stands, lamps and much more.

Of course, you should start by cutting out the simplest products in order to “get your hand.” After gaining experience, you can take on work of any complexity.

Cutting process

After preparing the workplace and materials, we proceed directly to the cutting itself.

Instructions for doing this work look like this:

1. First of all, you need to make an image of the future product. You can make them yourself, or find them on the Internet and print them. It must be said that templates must be prepared even before cutting out words from plywood with simple contours, as this will greatly simplify the work and improve its quality.

You can also prepare templates of simple geometric shapes in advance different sizes to, for example, quickly cut a circle or square from plywood;

1. then the images should be transferred to cardboard, for example, using carbon paper;
2. now you need to cut out templates from cardboard;
3. Next, the prepared templates need to be placed on plywood sheet and circle with a pencil. If the design is large enough, it can be fixed with tape or even glue;
4. Now let's start cutting. If you need to beautifully cut the edge of plywood, giving it smooth shapes, you can use a jigsaw. Thinner and difficult work, for example, small openwork patterns should be cut out with a hand jigsaw.

To make internal cuts, you must first drill a hole. Depending on the fineness of the work, you can use an electric drill or a brace for this;

1. After cutting is completed, it is necessary to treat the cut areas sandpaper. To correct the lines, you can use needle files;
2. then the product needs to be sanded. If it consists of several parts, they must be glued together, for example, with PVA or wood glue.

Advice! Novice craftsmen often ask experts how to cut smooth circle from plywood? In fact, there are no secrets in this operation, the main thing is to correctly apply the circle to the material using a template or compass, and then carefully and slowly cut it out with a jigsaw.

This completes the cutting process. Now the product can be decorated - painted with paints, applied with a burner, or simply varnished.

Advice! Word templates for cutting out of plywood can be prepared in a word processor such as Word. This will allow you to choose the most suitable size and font.

Here, in fact, are all the main nuances of this work.

Conclusion

Sawing out plywood with a jigsaw is a much simpler task than, for example, wood carving. Therefore, in order to achieve good results It won't take years to master the skill. You just need to do the work carefully, adhering to the recommendations outlined above.

The video in this article contains additional information on the topic discussed. If some points are not clear to you, you can leave your questions in the comments, and we will be happy to answer them.

Plywood (and to a lesser extent other sheet materials such as chipboard or oriented strand board) has significant decorative potential. If there is enough simple tool and certain skills, you can cut almost anything out of plywood.
But in order for the parts obtained as a result of such carving to look quite presentable, the master should have a few tricks in stock. We will talk about them in our article.

Getting started with sheet materials, many craftsmen only have an idea of ​​how to cut in a straight line. Therefore, the question of how to cut an even circle from plywood can confuse many. And indeed, ordinary or circular saw can't cope with the task.
Figure cutting is most often done using the following tools:

• The simplest device used for sawing. With the help of a jigsaw, even the most delicate work can be done with your own hands, but for thick material or long cuts it is practically not suitable.
• Jigsaws. There are two types of devices you can use here:
  • regular, with a vertical file;
  • artistic, in which the role of the cutting element is performed by a steel blade.

Regular jigsaws will come in handy when working with thick ones. But if you are looking for a way to cut letters from plywood or make others complex elements(for example details children's construction set), then it is best to use a model with a band saw.

Advice! Naturally, for each type of jigsaw there are several types of files and blades. Right choice cutting element is a necessary condition High Quality products.

• In addition to jigsaws, you can use a furniture router for curved cutting. Despite how difficult it is to operate, it is many times superior to most models of plywood saws in terms of the quality of the holes it makes. Using a router you can.

Also, do not forget about available devices, but we will talk about their use in the appropriate section.

Cutting from plywood has several nuances that the master needs to take into account:

• Firstly, you can only cut on dry material. High humidity leads to an increase in the resistance of plywood, therefore, with excessive force, either the veneer will begin to delaminate or the file will break.
• You need to change the saw or cutting blade immediately after the first signs that the teeth have become dull appear.
• If we are cutting from plywood using a jigsaw, then to obtain cleaner edges, the main cutting lines should be placed along the grain of the veneer. And here hand saws It’s easier to work across the grain: there will be slightly more chips, but there’s less risk of the file getting pinched or moving away from the intended line.

Advice! When transferring designs for cutting from plywood onto the workpiece, try to place the template in such a way that the elements to be removed fall on areas with defects: knots, chips, stains, etc.

Shape cutting technologies

Jigsaw

As we noted above, a jigsaw will come in handy if we are looking for how to cut a word out of plywood or make other parts of complex shapes:

• We transfer pre-printed drawings or templates onto the workpiece using carbon paper.

• If the structure has through sections, we make starting holes with a thin drill.
• Insert a file or jigsaw blade into the hole. Secure the free end of the file with a fastening screw or clamp.
• We make a cut along the intended line, pressing the workpiece to the workbench. The saw moves either automatically (for electric jigsaws) or manually.

After all the arc elements have been sawn, remove unnecessary areas and process the finished part with a file or sandpaper.

Fraser

A furniture router is great for cutting out thick plywood. Of course, you can’t make a complex shape with it, but cutting an arc or circle is easy:

• We fix the standard ruler included in the router in the center of the circle using a self-tapping screw.
• If the length of the ruler is not enough, you can assemble a simple bracket from metal profile or wooden planks.
• By rotating the cutter along a fixed radius, we select a groove along the circumference, resulting in an almost ideal hole.

Note! When calculating the diameter of the circle, you should take into account the dimensions of the working cutter. The instructions for the device will tell you the exact numbers.

In this way, you can cut not only circles, but also individual arcs - for example, in order to make grooves for furniture brackets.

Using improvised means

For curly elements it is advisable to have special devices, but any craftsman may need to make a round hole in a slab of laminated veneer. Below we will tell you how to cut a circle from plywood when you have nothing at hand.
Well, almost nothing:

• To cut plywood, use a wooden strip with two nails.
• One nail is driven through the strip into the workpiece, exactly in the center of the hole being made.
• We drive the second nail into the bar so that the point protrudes on the wrong side by at least 5-10 mm. The distance from the first nail should be equal to the radius of the hole being made.
• Rotating the bar, use the tip to draw a groove on the plywood, deepening it with each turn.
• Instead of a stick, you can use a strong cord. The operating principle remains unchanged.

The sharper the nail used, the faster the hole will be made.
It should be noted that although the price of such a device is low, it is worth using it only when other methods are not available: the edges still turn out to be far from ideal.

Similar materials

When working with various types wood you always need to know the detailed variations in its processing. Before you cut a circle in plywood, you need to know all the options, because you often have to adapt to the situation. There are many options for carrying out such an undertaking, and they differ radically.

In order to cut a circle from plywood, you can use both professional tools and improvised means.

Power tools or hand tools?

Tools and materials:

• drill;
• jigsaw;
• hand jigsaw;
• milling machine;
• nails;
• rope;
• chisel;
• hammer;
• stationery knife;
• sandpaper;
• compass.

When determining the diameter of the future circle, it is necessary to take into account the dimensions of the working cutter.

The most popular option among all is a jigsaw. This tool allows you to cut not only circles, but also any other geometric figures. Its only disadvantage is the need to form additional grooves at turning points (corners), but this is not noticeable when creating a circle. It is very important to choose the right nail file, because... they come in 3 types: vomiting on the left, vomiting on the right, vomiting on both sides. After the canvas is selected, cut out a circle of any size.

An ordinary hand jigsaw. Before cutting a circle from plywood using this tool, you need to make sure that the workflow is accessible. The main difficulty is the limitation (usually up to 30 cm) due to the physical structure, i.e. It will not work in deep places. When starting work, not from the edge, but directly from the center, the nail file is threaded last.

Milling machine. Very convenient option, but requiring rigid adhesion to the surface, for which a self-tapping screw is screwed into the center of the circle. A circle can be made of any diameter, and very quickly. Sometimes there is not enough working handle, which is why you have to make all sorts of improvised brackets, which can be a channel, a profile, a block, a board or even a rope, but with a rigid hitch it is much more convenient. This tool makes a fairly wide hole, so before starting work you need to carefully measure the future structure.

It is necessary to select only sharp nails, and sand the edges of the resulting workpiece with coarse sandpaper.

Nails. A very popular method in cases where the work must be done “yesterday”, but the tools will not be available soon. It is worth noting right away that the work ends up being quite rough, so it is used as a last resort. All you need is a hammer, 2 nails and a rope. One nail is driven into the center of the hole, and the other is pulled on a rope to the required length (radius), after which a circle is drawn with a firm movement. Such circles with pressure continue until the circle is finally cut out. At the very end, the nail is removed from the hole, turned over and carefully beaten with a hammer to achieve a more accurate seam.

Chisel and stationery knife. Here everything is much simpler, because first you need to draw a circle with a compass (pencil), after which this circle is circled several times with a stationery knife under pressure. The peculiarity of the stroke is the movement not of a knife, but of a sheet of plywood, so as not to break the metal, and this action is repeated on 2 sides. Then a chisel is applied to the prepared seam and with gentle blows it is brought to the opposite seam (2-3 blows are usually enough). At the very end, a circle is knocked out with a hammer, as in the version with nails.