It largely determines the accuracy and productivity of cutting material. Discussed in the article specifications files and the key differences between them will help you choose the right blade for different types of work.
File for certain work they are chosen in two ways: firstly, they are guided by the inscriptions, and secondly, they look at the size, teeth and setting.
Reading the markings
There is no single standard for alphanumeric marking of blades for jigsaws, but most manufacturers adhere to the European classification from Bosch or indicate it in addition to their own designations.
Explanation of markings
Files are made from various brands steel, influencing the purpose of the blades and indicated by logos:
- CV (HCS) is an elastic alloy alloy for cutting wood, synthetic and wood-composite products.
- HSS - durable high speed steel for hard materials.
- BM (Bi-Metal) is a compound of the first two grades of steel that can withstand significant loads and is suitable for many operations.
- HM is a carbide for cutting tiles and building blocks.
The purpose of the canvas is also indicated by the following marks:
- Wood - soft lumber, fiber boards.
- Hardwood - solid wood, laminated panels.
- Inox - stainless steel.
- Alu - aluminum.
- Metal - tin, profiles and pipes.
- Plaster, fiber - fiberglass.
- Soft-material - rubber, polystyrene, carpets.
- Acrylic - plexiglass, polycarbonate.
Sometimes there is an inscription on the file that specifies the type of work:
- basic - standard blade for high-quality cuts;
- speed - saw with set teeth for quick cutting;
- clean - blade without markings for a clean cut;
- progressor - saw with different teeth for cutting various materials;
- flexible - flexible blade for cutting metal;
- special - for cutting ceramics, plastic and other special work.
We cut wood materials
Cutting wood and everything made from it is the main purpose of a jigsaw. Therefore, a larger range of saw blades are produced specifically for wood and are divided by type of work.
Fast cut
Certain construction works with wood do not require special care, for example, sawing bars for sheathing or dismantling old window frame. What is more important here is the speed provided by fast cutting blades with characteristic features:
- Large teeth - up to 6 mm.
- A fair amount of separation - about 1 mm.
- Long blade - from 60 mm.
- Width - up to 10 mm.
For thick workpieces, similar blades with large cutters are used, but without routing - they deviate less from the vertical. In principle, the thicker the file, the better it maintains perpendicularity.
Advice. A blade with an oblique tooth is better suited for cutting along the grain, and a blade with a straight tooth is better suited for a cross cut.
Clean cut
An operation such as cutting furniture panels or parquet boards requires a smooth and precise cut. Such tasks are performed with less productivity, but with better quality, using blades for clean cutting that have:
- Teeth less than 3 mm.
- Minor divorce.
Most of the saw blades cut by retraction, so the material is placed with the reverse side. To mark and cut from the face, you need a blade with reverse tooth. It is not very convenient for them to work - in addition to maintaining the direction of the cut, they have to overcome the force of pushing out the tool.
Advice. A specialized saw with two rows of teeth allows you to cut panels laminated on both sides almost without chipping.
Curly cut
It is problematic to cut out small radii with a wide blade. Files for figured cutting have a beveled back side, making it easier to turn, they can be rounded without chipping and differ in appearance:
- Small (up to 2 mm) tooth.
- Narrow working part - up to 4 mm.
- Small length - up to 40 mm.
We cut polymer materials
PVC pipes and window sills are sawn using blades on wood or metal with a large tooth. Fine-toothed saws are also suitable, but you will have to cut at a minimum speed, otherwise the sawdust will soften and clog the blade - it will no longer be sawing, but cutting with heated metal.
For thin plastics and plexiglass, a metal file with small teeth is suitable. For thick ones, you can take a wood blade, turn off pendulum mechanism and cut at low speed. Shaped sawing of polymer sheets is carried out with a narrow file on wood.
We work with metal
For cutting galvanized profiles and sheet metal products, wave saw blades are used, similar in profile to blades for hand hacksaw. They are distinguished by small (up to 1 mm) teeth, deflected not through one, but in groups of 3-5 pieces.
At permanent job take three blades: for steel, aluminum and for non-ferrous alloys. If you have to cut metal infrequently, then one steel file will be enough, which is also suitable for ebonite and textolite.
In general, a jigsaw is not suitable for sawing metal: the tool is heavily loaded, and the process is slow. Rather, this is an extreme method, justified only occasionally, for example, when cutting sandwich panels with bimetallic saws with small cutters at the edges and large ones in the middle.
Blades for specific tasks
Drywall and cement-containing materials quickly set any file, with the exception of specially designed blades with carbide tipped, which also cut thermal insulation well.
The hole in the tile is cut using a ceramic file without teeth coated with carbide. It is also suitable for working with glass fiber reinforced polymers.
Cutting part of blades for cardboard, rubber and others soft materials made not with teeth, but with polished waves or simply looks like a knife.
For sawing combined materials, special files are designed, one half of the blade of which is equipped with small teeth, and the other with large ones.
Advice. The length of the file is chosen based on the thickness of the material. To prevent the blade from tearing out or breaking, its end must extend out of the cutting line in any position of the jigsaw pendulum.
A set of 5-10 files is enough for home needs. for various purposes. Just starting to use a jigsaw, they purchase an inexpensive set, master the intricacies of working with different types of blades, and, based on their own experience, select the necessary files. Still, there are no strict recommendations; often one canvas copes well with tasks that are atypical for it. Here you can experiment, but think first.
Hand and jigsaws have long been adopted by home craftsmen. These are very useful devices that will allow you to accurately and accurately cut almost any material of varying thickness and configuration. But before you begin the work, it is necessary that the correct jigsaw file is selected. However, immediately accept correct solution pretty hard. This is due not only to the large selection, but also to the huge number of types of fabric.
Some general information
If you have a jigsaw and no files, then it is a useless tool. If you have a whole set of files, then you can cut almost any material. There is no need to think that a jigsaw is designed to work only with metal or plastic products. Although we can say that it is quite advisable to have both manual and automatic tools, a little later you will understand exactly why. With proper skill, you can make straight and shaped cuts on chipboard, ceramics, metal, and so on. But you should understand that each type of material has its own jigsaw file. For example, the BOSCH product range includes a wide variety of blades that can work with plywood, plastic, etc. Of course, each material has different thickness, density, hardness, and other parameters, this imposes certain requirements on the quality of the steel sheet.
Hand jigsaw files
It is quite logical that without a file you will not be able to complete the work you need. Today, all blades for hand tools are divided into two large groups:
- for woodworking;
- for metal work.
Each of these groups is divided into subgroups. For example, a wood blade can be used for quick cutting. This is one of the most common and popular files. Its peculiarity is that such a cloth can process a large amount of material with high speed. For example, with such a file it is not a problem to cut a workpiece with a diameter of 20 cm. However, this tool leaves behind significant amount defects, so it is advisable to use it only for auxiliary work or construction of buildings.
But the files for a hand jigsaw allow you to get a clean cut high-quality surface. This is achieved due to a large number of small teeth, as a result of which the cut is smooth and practically free of defects. However, in this case, the maximum diameter of the workpiece should not exceed 7.5 cm. There are also saws for laminate. They have a unique arrangement of teeth that leave no marks behind.
Blade for working with metal
It is one thing to process a material such as wood; it is quite another to process metal. Please note that the wood saw blade is not suitable for cutting metal sheets. But learning to distinguish files from each other is extremely simple. The jigsaw file for metal has a blue shank, which is the main hallmark. The teeth are very fine, allowing you to work with sheets up to 6 mm thick.
Today, combined fabrics are increasingly being sold. According to the manufacturers, they are well suited for working with both wood and metal. But we can say with confidence that this is not the best solution, since the work performed is somewhat more difficult and takes longer. In any case, a jigsaw file for metal must be made of high-quality material.
Electric, benchtop and manual jigsaws
It is worth understanding that, despite the same purpose, files for this tool have fundamental differences. For example, the blade for a manual jigsaw is quite thin and long, and is also attached on both sides. In a jigsaw it is shorter and thicker, and also has a completely different installation method. If the tool is hand-held, then you should always have several spare files. This is due to their fragility. They really break down often and at the most inopportune moments.
There are also saws for The tool itself is stationary and is great for cutting wood. The canvas in this case is more similar to that used in hand tools. However, it is less fragile, so it breaks less often. Such files are intended for workpieces with a maximum diameter of 4 cm for wood and 0.2 cm for metal products.
Marking of jigsaw files
Special markings on the canvas can say a lot. Firstly, this way you can find out what material the product is made of. By the way, this is very important, especially when performing important work. For example, if HCS is written on the body, this means that the blade is made of and is intended for cutting soft materials, in particular wood, chipboard, plastic, etc. But, for example, the HSS inscription indicates that the saw made of high-speed hardened steel. This is a hard, but at the same time quite brittle material that can be used to work with both aluminum and thin steel.
But the marking of jigsaw files BIM means that the blade is bimetallic. It is essentially a combination of HCS and HSS. This file has improved properties, however, high cost. The HM mark means that such a blade can be used for particularly hard materials, for example, cutting ceramic tiles, etc. In principle, understanding the markings is not so difficult; if you remember this, then choosing the appropriate blade will be extremely simple.
Learn more about making the right choice
When purchasing, you should always pay attention to the shank of the blade. Naturally, it has only one mount, unlike a hand saw. Although today the world famous company Bosch produces with two stops. In any case, it is advisable to first read the instructions, where it will be written what is suitable for your instrument. For example, the Makita company produces jigsaws with a mount that is fundamentally different from other models. At both ends there are specially cut circles of different diameters. Naturally, you can’t put a file with a different type of fastening on a jigsaw.
You need to understand that the canvas can have different lengths. For wood cutting it is usually 51-126 mm, for metal - up to 106 mm. The choice should be based on the thickness of the workpiece being processed. The thicker it is, the longer the canvas should be. For example, to perform figured cuts on wood, thin jigsaw files are used. They are quite fragile, but give more options to the operator.
Cloth for working with laminate
Today many people say that for processing parquet board or laminate, an exceptionally clean cut is required. Someone might recommend using almost a diamond-coated blade. However, the price for such a tool is very high; for a set of 5 files you will have to pay several thousand rubles. In principle, sometimes the jigsaw itself can cost that much.
So, it is not at all necessary to purchase an overly expensive instrument. Usually a blade is enough for a clean cut. Of course, there will be a chip of about 1-2 mm. However, in most cases, the laminate is covered with skirting boards, which are much larger than the chip. For this simple reason, do not overpay again. When buying jigsaw files for laminate, pay attention to the quality of the product. Many modern canvases burn very strongly when working with wood, chipboard and laminate. Therefore, make your purchase with a small margin.
Something about the shape of the teeth
The configuration of the blade teeth determines the capabilities of the tool. A large number of fine teeth improves the quality of the cut, but significantly reduces the speed. If there are few teeth and they are large, then such a cut will be extremely sloppy, but very fast. Conventionally, according to the shape of the teeth, the files can be divided into the following groups:
- Set (milled) - used for cutting soft materials such as wood and plastic, as well as non-ferrous metals. The routing ensures that excess heat does not accumulate, and sawdust is removed from the cut and the blade.
- Wave-shaped (milled) - used for clean cutting of aluminum, soft materials (wood, plastic) and non-ferrous metals. In this case, the setting is performed in groups, that is, several teeth in a row in one direction.
- With conical grinding (ground) - good decision for a clean cut on wood and plastic. The non-working edge is ground. These are typical jigsaw files for laminate flooring.
- Ground, set teeth are one of the best solutions for rough cutting of wood, chipboard, blockboard, etc.
Width and thickness of the canvas
When choosing, it is extremely important to pay attention to the width of the file. Not only the quality, but also the speed of the work performed depends on this parameter. If the canvas is wide, then it will not only be stable, but also more durable, and will practically not deviate from the intended plane. Of course, this is also high-speed cutting, don't forget about that. At the same time, narrow files provide good maneuverability compared to wide ones. The arrangement of the teeth on the jigsaw drive axis allows you to better follow the intended plane with minimal deviations.
Thickness is also not the last parameter that makes sense to pay attention to. Blades that are too thin cannot ensure proper perpendicularity of the cut. In addition, the thicker the file, the higher its stability.
Something else
You probably know that the teeth of the blade must be harder than the material being processed. So, to carry out work on cutting glass, ceramics, metal and stone, you will need special files. The main requirement is increased strength. It is best to use bimetallic blades for such purposes, which are 1/3 hardened steel and 2/3 high-carbon steel. The service life of such files is quite long, so they will pay off with interest. In addition, the risk of sudden breakdown here is much lower than in classic versions. But since choosing a file for a jigsaw is not difficult, and you already know how to do it, you will not have any problems selecting the appropriate bimetallic blade.
Conclusion
If we talk about manufacturers that have proven themselves well, these are the companies Bosch, Makita and Praktika. The files of these companies are famous all over the world for their high quality and excellent performance properties. If you are not afraid to spend an extra 200 rubles, then buy canvases from these brands, and you will not regret anything. Do not forget that all files have their own purpose; using them for other purposes is unlikely to lead to the expected results. A jigsaw is a high-speed tool, so securely fasten the blade and try to work with safety glasses and gloves. Basically, we looked at the main types of jigsaw files. Now you know that there are blades for wood, metal, as well as combined blades for other materials. By paying attention to the marking of the product and the method of its fastening, you will definitely make right choice.
All photos from the article
Wood jigsaws come in many varieties. They differ in width, length, tooth, material and even tail. In this article we will look at the subtleties of the right choice, which determines the quality of the cut and the speed of your work.
General provisions
The file for a manual jigsaw for wood is cutting tool, which in the process of work makes forward movements up and down, making straight or curved cuts.
Tip: when purchasing electric jigsaw check for the pendulum function.
Thanks to it, additional movement of the blade forward and backward occurs, which speeds up the process and reduces the load on the engine.
The use of such equipment greatly simplifies the processing of wooden and other products with your own hands. In addition, it makes it easy to create shaped cuts necessary when assembling certain structures or for the purpose of decorating them.
Varieties
The first thing you need to pay attention to when choosing a suitable file for a jigsaw for wood is its marking, which determines the material from which it is made:
Canvas material
| Marking | Description |
| HCS | The presence of such letters on the tail of the blade means that it is made of carbon steel and is intended exclusively for working with wood, as well as with chipboards and fibreboards of a similar structure. Be careful, even the presence of small teeth should not be misleading, only wood materials.
It should also be taken into account that the cutting part may have flaring, which speeds up the process, but worsens the quality of the cut. |
| H.S.S. | In this case, high-speed tool steel is used in the manufacture of the file, which is ideal for cutting soft and hard metals such as steel, aluminum and cast iron, but not wood, and has noticeable brittleness. |
| BIM | Under this designation are blades that are equally suitable for both metal and wood. |
| HM/TC | A hard alloy is used here, which copes well with hard and abrasive materials, which include tiles, aerated concrete, ceramic tile. The price of such paintings is quite high. |
It turns out that if you need a jigsaw for wood, then you should buy products marked HCS, but if the range of work can alternate with metal, then buying a set of BIM blades will be more rational. HSS is definitely not suitable for wood due to the short tooth travel, and HM/TC is too expensive to waste on cutting wood samples.
Canvas size
- Jigsaw files for wood, as a rule, have a length of 7.5-15 cm, which allows you to cut fairly wide boards.
It is designated as follows:
- “1” is the shortest option, 75 mm.
- “2” – medium file 90 mm long.
- “3” is an elongated blade reaching 150 mm.
- “4” – extra-long saw exceeds 150 mm.
- Patterns for cutting wood with a jigsaw are made only with a thin blade, but sawing wood chips and fiberboard- thick.
Tooth profile
The video in this article will introduce you to additional materials. Good luck with your choice!
Now in the world of hand tools and tools, the jigsaw is an example of a truly indispensable mechanism for processing a wide range of materials, equally suitable for working with both straight and any curved cuts. However, such broad opportunities are due to hand jigsaws not only by the features of their design, but also by the richest assortment of consumable tools for it - among jigsaw blades (in common parlance - jigsaw files). They are definitely the leaders in the production of such files. German manufacturers concern "BOSCH", so it will be interesting to get acquainted with his classification of the modern generation of jigsaw blades, to learn the reasoning and details from his significant assessments.
Experience dictates that when sawing with an electric jigsaw, it will be very important to select the file exactly for its intended purpose. When choosing a jigsaw model, it is best to use those varieties that use files with a u-shaped or t-shaped shank, since such types of shanks are more securely attached to this tool.
Tooth profiles are selected based on the density of the material being cut and the specific requirements for the quality of the cut (will a wide and rough line of a rough quick cut be tolerated, or will it have to be thin and clean, straight or figured...). For example, if a jigsaw blade has set teeth, but it is not further sharpened after the milling stage, then such a blade will cut quickly, but with a rough cutting quality. On the contrary, teeth on a saw that have been sharpened but not set apart will cut very cleanly. When sawing, parameters such as the tooth pitch and the material of the jigsaw file itself will also be decisive. After all, let’s say, in the process of sawing any metal, three or four teeth of the file will have to participate simultaneously in interaction with the workpiece (one or two teeth will be few in this sawing, but five to eight is already a lot). Therefore, for sawing thick workpieces, saw blades with a fairly large pitch are used, for thin ones, on the contrary, with a fine one.
Thus, Bosch specialists believe that their jigsaw blades, which have set-apart milled teeth, are most convenient for cutting sheets with a relatively clean edge and making quick cuts on soft and hard wood, aluminum, plastic and non-ferrous metals. These are, for example, Bosch jigsaw files of article numbers E 127 D and T 345 XF.
Bosch files, which have a wavy line of saw blade with milled teeth, are designed for cutting workpieces in a straight line, where it is necessary to leave neat edges along the cut line: the material of workpieces cut by such files can be plywood, aluminum, non-ferrous metal, and plastic ( Examples of such files are jigsaw files from Bosch articles T 119 V, T 118 A).
Varieties of "Bosch" saws, whose teeth are set apart and ground, are recommended for quick and clean cutting of wood and plastic (for example, saws with the article number "Bosch" T 144 D, T 244 D).
Bosch also produces jigsaw blades in which the teeth are ground at a free angle. For example, jigsaw blades with a tapered back side are effective for making free cuts, for precise, clean cuts on wood and plastic (samples of such blades have BOSCH article numbers T 101B, T 101DP, T 234 X).
BOSCH also has a wide range of materials that are used to make the saw blades themselves. A short list of them is as follows:
H.S.S.- this brand designates blades made of high-speed, perfectly hardened, hard and durable steel. Downside These characteristics of such steel are that it is brittle and difficult to process. HSS steel files are effectively used for working on metal, aluminum and non-ferrous metals.
HCS- brand of files made of high-carbon tool mild steel. These qualities dictate its most successful use for cutting soft workpieces - wood, artificial materials.
HAS- a brand of files made of high-carbon steel, much more durable than HCS. Therefore, saws made from this grade of steel can be successfully used for sawing wood with nails inside its fibers, for sawing aerated concrete and soft non-ferrous metals.
Now BOSCH offers a range of more complex, combined materials for jigsaw blades:
Bimetal (F)- are a highly elastic, inextricable connection between the blade of the file itself, made of HCS steel, and on it - strips of HSS steel, on which the tooth is cut. As a result of this connection, a universal, very flexible, unbreakable file with a hard tooth is obtained, which significantly increases its service life and suitability both for curved narrow lines of any figured cut, and for clean straight cut. For curved cuts, it is better to use a narrow and short Bi-metal combination file.
HM (Piff)- in this combination of saw blade materials, the HCS steel carrier is spray-coated with a layer of special grains hard metal(there are simply no individual teeth on such files). These files are convenient to use for sawing glass, tiles, bricks and abrasive materials. If the HCS steel carrier is still made with teeth that are coated with a layer of hard metal by spraying, then such a saw can successfully saw hard wood, reinforced fiberglass, asbestos cement and even abrasive material.
Progressive files are called saw blades that have different tooth pitches made of HSS steel at the end and beginning of the file. Thus, jigsaw files “nporpeccop” with article number BOSCH T123 are universal in purpose for making cuts on wood and ferrous metals. The “progressor” file, article number T234, made of HCS steel, is produced by the concern “” for clean and fast sawing of wood.
This is the minimum knowledge about saw blades for electric and cordless hand jigsaws. However, to consider in detail the true variety of these blades, depending on the different combinations of materials from which they are made, and the tooth shapes that are cut into them, we can give a convenient pivot table, which will help you make an accurate and successful choice for your job.
So, the areas of application of various jigsaw blades from the BOSCH concern are as follows:
| For straight cuts | For curved and curved cuts | In thick material | IN thin material | For high precision cuts | In rough cuts | File flat, semicircular, three-sided | Creation of highly accurate parallel cuts | |
| Options wood |
||||||||
| solid, soft wood, plywood, fiber wood | T 132 | T 101 DP | ||||||
| Fibrous wood | T 132 | T 101 DP | ||||||
| Wood fiber polymer coating | T 101 JSC | T 101 JSC | T 101 D | T 101 DP | ||||
| glued wood | T 101 DP | |||||||
| Varieties metal |
||||||||
| Metal, mild steel | ||||||||
| Stainless steel | T 11I8 BOF | T 318 EHM | T 118 AHM | T 118 ENM | ||||
| Non-ferrous metals | T 318 A | |||||||
| Laminated materials |
T 318 A/BF T 318 B/BF |
T 318 A | ||||||
| Polymers | ||||||||
| PVC, polymers | T 101 V | T 101 BR | ||||||
| Plexiglass | TI01 A | T 119 VO | T 101 A | T 118 BF | T 101 A | T 119 V | ||
| Asbestos cement, glass fiber polymers | T 341 NM | T 101 BF | ||||||
| Miscellaneous | ||||||||
| Brick, glass, ceramics | T 130 RIFF | T 130 RIFF | T 15O RIFF | T 15O RIFF | T 130 RIFF | |||
| Leather, cardboard, rubber, insulating materials, carpet | T 101 JSC | T 113 A | T 119 B | |||||
Let's also touch on the area of application of hacksaw saw blades from the BOSCH concern.
| Materials | ||||||||||||||||||
| material - metal | material - wood | |||||||||||||||||
| S 234 XF | S 617 K | S 1111 K | S 1617 K | S 644 D | S 744 D | S 1344 D | S 1531 L | S 1542 K | S 123 XF | S 418 BF | S 427 D | S 518 A | S 522 AF | S 518 V | S 522 BF | |||
| Wood materials | 1 | Solid wood | + | + | + | + | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Freshly cut wood | + | + | + | - | + | + | |||||||||||
| 3 | Chipboard | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||
| 4 | + | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Wood with nails | - | ||||||||||||||||
| Plastics | 6 | PVC, polymers in general | - | + | + | + | - | + | ||||||||||
| 7 8 | Plastics, fiberglass reinforced INOX/ stainless steel | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||
| 9 | Metals | + | - | + | + | + | + | |||||||||||
| Metals | 10 | Metal sheets | - | - | + | - | ||||||||||||
| 11 | Non-ferrous metals | + | + | - | ||||||||||||||
| 12 | Aluminum | - | + | + | - | - | ||||||||||||
| 13 | Metal pipes | - | - | + | ||||||||||||||
| 14 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Various materials | 15 | Sandwich/Cement-bonded particleboard | - | |||||||||||||||
| 16 | Aerated concrete Gypsum boards | |||||||||||||||||
| 17 | Brick | |||||||||||||||||
| 18 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Materials | Main application categories | |||||||||||||||||
| metal | universal purpose | |||||||||||||||||
| S 518G | S 522 EF | S 918 A | S 922 AF | S 918B | S 922 BF | S 918 E | S 922 EF | S 1122 AF | S 1122 BF | S 1122 EF | S 3456 XF | S 611 VF | S 811 N | S 1211 N | S 1211 E | |||
| Wood materials | 1 | Solid wood | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Freshly cut wood | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Chipboard | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Plywood, composite wood materials | - | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Wood with nails | + | - | + | + | - | ||||||||||||
| Plastics | 6 | PVC, polymers in general | - | + | - | |||||||||||||
| 7 | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||
| 8 | INOX/ stainless steel | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Metals | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | |||||
| Metals | 10 | Metal sheets | + | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | + | - | + | |||||
| 11 | Non-ferrous metals | - | - | - | + | - | + | |||||||||||
| 12 | Aluminum | - | - | - | - | + | - | - | ||||||||||
| 13 | Metal pipes | - | - | + | - | - | - | + | - | + | - | |||||||
| 14 | Steel pipes, cast iron pipes | - | - | |||||||||||||||
| Various materials | 15 | - | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Aerated concrete Drywall | + | + | |||||||||||||||
| 17 | Brick | |||||||||||||||||
| 18 | Leather Insulation materials Carpet/styrofoam | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Materials | Main application categories | |||||||||||||||||
| special appointment | universal purpose | |||||||||||||||||
| S 918 H | S 1018 N | S 920 CF | S 1020 CF | S 922 HF | S 1122 HF | S 922 VF | S 1122 VF | S 1222 VF | S 1411 D | S 1411 DF | S 828 D | S 518 EHM | S 641 NM | S 1141 NM | S 1241 NM | |||
| Wood materials | 1 | Solid wood | - | + | - | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Freshly cut wood | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Chipboard | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Plywood, composite wood materials | - | - | |||||||||||||||
| 5 | Wood with nails | - | - | - | - | + | + | - | - | - | - | |||||||
| Plastics | 6 | PV C, polymers in general | - | - | - | + | + | |||||||||||
| 7 | Glass fiber reinforced plastics | - | - | - | + | + | + | + | ||||||||||
| 8 | INOX/ stainless steel | + | ||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Metals | + | + | - | - | - | + | + | + | + | - | |||||||
| Metals | 10 | Metal sheets | - | - | - | + | ||||||||||||
| 11 | Non-ferrous metals | - | - | + | - | + | - | |||||||||||
| 12 | Aluminum | - | - | - | + | + | - | |||||||||||
| 13 | Metal pipes | - | - | + | + | - | - | - | - | |||||||||
| 14 | Steel pipes, cast iron pipes | + | + | - | - | - | ||||||||||||
| Various materials | 15 | Multilayer material Cement-bonded particle boards | + | + | + | + | ||||||||||||
| 16 | Aerated concrete Drywall | + | + | + | + | |||||||||||||
| 17 | Brick | |||||||||||||||||
| 18 | Leather Insulating materials Carpet/styrofoam | 2 | + | |||||||||||||||
| Materials | Main application categories | |||||||||||||||||
| special appointment | ||||||||||||||||||
| S 2041 NM | S 1130 Riff | S 1121 SB | S 1122 UB | S 1123 GB | S 1505 | S 1508 | S 713 A | S 713 AW | ||||||||||
| Wood materials | 1 | Solid wood | + | + | F | - F | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Freshly cut wood | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Chipboard | - F | - F | |||||||||||||||
| 4 | Plywood, composite wood materials | + | - | |||||||||||||||
| 5 | Wood with nails | |||||||||||||||||
| Plastics | 6 | PVC, polymers in general | - F | - F | ||||||||||||||
| 7 | Glass fiber reinforced plastics | + | + | |||||||||||||||
| 8 | INOX/ stainless steel | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Metals | + | + | + | +F | |||||||||||||
| Metals | 10 | Metal sheets | - | - | ||||||||||||||
| II | Non-ferrous metals | - | - | +F | ||||||||||||||
| 12 | Aluminum | - F | ||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Metal pipes | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Steel pipes, cast iron pipes | + | ||||||||||||||||
| Various materials | 15 | Myolayer material/Cement-bonded particle boards | ||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Aerated concrete Drywall | |||||||||||||||||
| 17 | Brick | |||||||||||||||||
| 18 | Leather Insulation materials Carpet/styronor | |||||||||||||||||
Jigsaw files photo
Jigsaw files: markings
The marking of jigsaw files can tell you a lot, including its purpose - you just need to look closely at it, meet and decipher familiar symbols, and everything immediately becomes clear. This is, of course, if you know how it is read. That is why, when studying replacement jigsaw blades, you need to start with their markings. As a rule, it is a set of Latin letters and Arabic numerals. The first is a letter and it indicates the type of shank. Typically, these are the letters "T", "X" or "U" - the latter is very rare, but the former is widespread and indicates that the shank is T-shaped.
Jigsaw blade: photo shank
Following the first letter there is a series of numbers - as a rule, there are three of them, but it is the first of them that is important. It indicates the length of the canvas:
- 1 – standard short file 75mm long
- 2 – Standard file of medium length (90mm)
- 3 – Extended file, the size of which is 150mm
- 7 – Very long. Size over 150mm
After the numbers, there are letters again, but this time, they do not indicate the type of shank, but the size of the teeth - as a rule, this letters A,B,C and D. “A” is the smallest tooth, and “D” is the largest. "B" and "C" should be understood as intermediate options.
Quite often, in the marking of jigsaws, there may be not one letter at the end, but two - the last of them indicates unique qualities consumables. Let's look at them in a little more detail - we won't write long lists. As they say, only the most necessary and common:
What else can you read when studying the inscriptions that are applied to the jigsaw blade? In principle, you can additionally learn about the material that was used to make it. By and large, this is not important, but if you want to buy a really high-quality canvas that can work for a long time, you need to have this information. Between the T-shaped protrusions of the shank and the saw blade you can find three Latin letters, which tell about the material from which the file is made. There are not many options here - only four:
- HCS – high carbon steel. Just what you need for soft materials.
- HSS – high-speed tool steel. This option is ideal for black and non-ferrous iron.
- BiM – bimetallic files. Flexible and durable, and most importantly universal.
- HM/TC – carbide files. Quite specific blades - they are used mainly when working with very hard materials (steel, tiles, fiberglass and even abrasive materials).
Saws for woodworking
I would like to note right away that the main purpose of an electric jigsaw is to work with wood and materials made on its basis (chipboard, plywood, ...) - everything else, as they say, side use. For this reason, jigsaw files for wood have a lot of varieties - they can differ both in the size of the tooth and the angle of its sharpening, and in the shape of the file itself. In general, without delving into the study of these instruments, we can distinguish two main types:
Well, as for the subspecies of these wood blades for a jigsaw, you shouldn’t bother with them - as a rule, this is more of a specialized tool, and it’s not a fact that it will prove itself in the best possible way. Let me give you a simple example - blade T101BR, with a reverse tooth direction. One of the recommended uses for this file is on a laminated surface. Practice shows that an ordinary wood blade with fine teeth can do a good job - a reverse blade cuts worse and also creates vibrations and a lot of inconvenience in work.
Blades for metal work
Any jigsaw file for metal has a fine tooth and its marking, last or penultimate, always contains the Latin letter “A” - this is due to the strength of the material. The harder the material, the finer the tooth needed to cut it. There are no special varieties of blades for metal - the only thing that can be mentioned here is the shape of the cutting edge.
In many ways, the purpose of metal files for a jigsaw is determined by other factors - you need to understand that every different type metal has its own characteristics. For example, aluminum is a soft and tough metal - if you use a standard blade with a fine tooth to saw it, then most likely it will be ineffective and will clog. For of this material files are produced separately - for example, blade T224D, with Alu written on it.
And finally, a few words about the so-called special jigsaw blades - most of them have a narrow specialization, and you can only work with them according to specific material. In particular, there are separate saws for plastic, aluminum, profiled metal, pipes, ceramics, cement, sandwich panels and even for boards with nails. The most remarkable of them, so to speak unique in their kind, can be called diamond file for a jigsaw, which is used for very hard materials and ferrous metals and the so-called file for. The latter cannot be used in mass production - it cuts confidently, but slowly.
Various jigsaw blades photos
In principle, all that can be highlighted in the entire variety of replacement blades for jigsaws is that there is not much left to say. For household, you don’t need to buy absolutely all types of files - there is a so-called “gentleman’s set” that includes five files that can cope with all household needs. These are T101D (for rough cutting of wood), T101B (for fine sawing of wood), T101BR (for finishing work with a reverse tooth), T119BO (for figured sawing of wood) and a standard metal file T118A. These jigsaw files will fully satisfy any home craftsman.
Author of the article Alexander Kulikov