Jigsaw

Overview

A jigsaw cuts curves and intricate shapes in wood, metal, and plastic with a narrow blade that moves up and down. Unlike a circular blade, the thin reciprocating blade can turn inside a cut, follow a drawn line, and start a plunge cut in the middle of a panel. This is a 20 V cordless orbital model: a brushless motor draws from a slide-on Battery Pack, and a Control Board meters power so the trigger gives smooth variable speed from a crawl up to 3,000 strokes per minute.

The body is a clamshell Housing Assembly with an overmolded grip and a dust port for a shop vacuum. At the front, a stamped steel Base Plate / Shoe rides on the workpiece and tilts to 45° for bevel cuts. The cutting blade is a T-Shank Blade, swapped without tools through a quick-release clamp.

How it works

The Brushless Motor spins a small pinion that feeds the Drive Mechanism. There a gear reduction drives an eccentric crank; the crank pin runs in a scotch-yoke slider that turns rotary motion into a straight vertical stroke, pushing the plunger rod up and down. A counterweight moves opposite the plunger to cancel vibration, so the tool stays steady in the hand.

The plunger carries the blade through the Tool-Free Blade Clamp, a twist-collar gripper that locks onto the T-shank. Behind the blade, a backing Roller Blade Guide roller takes the side load so the blade does not wander or twist during curved cuts.

Orbital action is what makes the saw fast. The Orbital Action Mechanism mechanism rocks the blade forward on the upstroke and back on the downstroke, so the teeth bite into the wood as they rise and lift clear as they fall. A four-position selector sets how aggressive that orbit is: position 0 gives a straight up-and-down stroke for clean cuts and metal, while position III throws the blade forward hard for fast, rough cuts in thick softwood.

Operator controls sit under the thumb and trigger finger. The Variable-Speed Trigger sets speed, a Speed Dial caps the maximum, and a lock button holds the trigger for long runs. As the blade works, a shaft-driven Dust Blower pushes air across the cut line to clear sawdust, and an LED keeps the line lit. Internal power and signal runs are carried by the Internal Wiring harness between the pack, board, and motor.