Home remodeling is a popular thing to do. For a while homeowners were holding off on making changes to their homes because of the economy. That has changed and at least 53% of people who own their own home think that now is a good time to do some renovations. In a survey, 48% of homeowners reported that they were planning to put on an addition, remodel or build themselves a custom home. Wood projects are often a part of any remodeling project. The most popular rooms to remodel remain the kitchen and bathrooms. Carpenters and amateurs alike use wood cutting tools in these projects.

One of the more popular wood cutting tools is the jigsaw. This versatile saw can be used for curved and straight cuts. It is great for a wide array of materials such as wood, plastic, metal and ceramic tile. It works well on all kinds of wood such as particleboard, plywood and solid wood. Some experts say that despite its versatility, the jigsaw is one of the very much underused and under-appreciated woodworking cutting tools out there.

Make sure you use the right blade when cutting wood.

There are a lot of blades you can use when using a jigsaw. Of the wood cutting tools you have available to you, the first thing you need to do is pick the right blade to use. Because you have so many options available to you, it is easy to pick the wrong one and this is one of the biggest mistakes do it yourself (DIY) people make when using this saw.

If you are making long and straight cuts, you should go with a wider blade. Curved cuts are best made with a thinner blade. In terms of the teeth, when you have large teeth, you have fewer of them. Blades that have fewer and larger teeth will make the cut very fast but it will be rough. If you need a smoother cut, you should opt for a blade with more small teeth. The cut will take more time but will be a lot smoother.

Blades should have packaging that has information about the thickness of the blade and the type of material it is best suited to cut. It is always worth it to check the packaging information.

If you are cutting metal, you also need to get the right blade.

It can be easier to pick a blade for metal than for wood. That is at least partially because there are not as many blades that can cut the metal as can cut wood. The blades that cut metal have small, sharp and hard teeth. They can go through most kinds of metal. What you need to know is the thickness of the metal that you need to cut.

You can make straight cuts.

It is possible but more challenging to make straight cuts with woodcutting tools like the jigsaw. You will have a tendency to have your jigsaw head off course. What you need to do is steer your jigsaw along a straightedge guide that has been clamped down. There are a number of things you can use to be the guide for this. YOU can use a long level, a piece of plywood, a totally straight wood board or even a steel square. Make sure you advance your jigsaw slowly and carefully. Put one hand on the jigsaw’s base plate. Press inwards towards your guide. If you need it, you can use two straightedge guides. The two guides need to have a space of the jigsaw’s base plate with an additional 1/16th of an inch.

If you need to cut a vertical surface, like a wall, you should use a flush cut blade. That way you can place the saw right up against the wall, cabinet side, backsplash or whatever vertical surface you are looking to cut. These may be called offset blades. They are readily available at most hardware stores for between $5 and $10.

When you are remodeling a home or renovating a room, you have a lot of options when it comes to your wood cutting tools. The beauty of the jigsaw lies in its versatility. You can do some amazing things with this metal and wood cutting tool.

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