DIY crafts from a sewing machine

Vyacheslav Panov January 2, 2019
HandicraftsHomemade products for childrentools

We independently convert an old sewing machine into a jigsaw.
There are many videos on the Internet about using old sewing machines in a new way. To do this, we leave in the body only the crank, the vertical rod for attaching the needle, and the flywheel with a groove for the belt drive. An electric drive for manual sewing machines is used to rotate the flywheel. (A lyrical digression off topic: I purchased the drive about 30 years ago to make an electric spinning wheel according to the drawings from the magazine “Young Technician”. Wool from a white sheep was spun on the spinning wheel and a winter sweater was knitted. The spinning wheel itself was happily played by someone I knew, i.e. e. disappeared). The foot pedal for speed control and the electric motor are pictured below.

A review of net rollers recommends the use of leaf springs with the force application point in the center of the long spring, or a block of coil springs with precise fixation of the bottom edge of the file. A long leaf spring significantly increases the overall dimensions of the device. The coil spring unit is difficult to make at home. The chosen scheme is a short spring fixed at one end.

A piece of an old metal meter was perfect for this. The spring stiffness can be adjusted by setting the number (stack) of springs and moving the clamp along the spring. The use of a short spring complicates the attachment of the file, because the free end of the spring describes a curved line, and accordingly the lower end of the file will also not move strictly vertically.

The existing round hole in the spring is bored out with a file to make a rectangular hole according to the size of the file mounting unit. The result was a unit swinging along the long axis of the spring. Fixing the unit from below with a piece of rod. Fastening the file with a screw. When changing the file, the unit does not fall out because The saw blade clamp screw does not allow it from above and the axis of rotation from below does not allow it to move at a small angle.

Making the attachment point for the upper end of the file is not difficult and is clear from the photo.

The next feature of using sewing machines for making jigsaws is the small stroke of the working rod - approximately 25 mm. For reference: the working part of purchased files is approximately 85 mm with a total length of files of 120 mm. This shortcoming can be eliminated. To do this, the body of the machine is installed through a gasket (I have a thickness of 45 mm - three plates of furniture chipboard) Under the working rod there are three gaskets of 15 mm each. As the working part of the file wears out, one gasket is removed, and so on.

When using homemade files (notching saw teeth on piano wire with a diameter of 1 mm over a length of about 30 mm), it is not necessary to remove the gaskets. Since the machine is quite old and worn out, i.e. It rumbles and to eliminate noise, rubber shock absorbers are attached to the base posts. The first work was made of good quality 3mm plywood.

The works are small in size. Machine length 22 cm. Puzzles approximately 8 cm.

Author of the article “Do-it-yourself jigsaw from a sewing machine” Vyacheslav Panov

Source: samodelka.info

DIY stationary jigsaw from a sewing machine

One of the most convenient stationary machines for figure cutting, it has a very simple design. Craftsmen make such devices from a wide variety of materials and tools. One of the most suitable bases for making a tabletop jigsaw machine is a regular sewing machine. At the same time, the device does not have to be new or have an electric motor. We will tell you in more detail about the principle of operation and the manufacture of a stationary jigsaw later in the article.

Disadvantages of a manual jigsaw

A manual jigsaw is designed to form even cuts. In this case, as the rollers, rod, and pusher wear out, the saw may wobble, deviate from a straight line, and change the angle of attack. Regardless of the quality of the tool components, the following features are always present:

When the saw becomes dull, deviation from a straight line is observed when cutting material of uneven density (for example, low-quality chipboard). The saw is capable of leaving the cutting line when it encounters a knot in the wood.
When trying to make a curved radius cut, you can observe the following picture: the upper cutting line, which the worker follows, follows an exact trajectory, the lower one deviates, goes to the side, the radius becomes larger. The higher the wear of the tool and the lower the sharpness of the saw, the more pronounced this phenomenon is.
Some materials cannot be worked using a pick-up or bottom feed of the saw. The carpenter is required to move the tool forward extremely evenly, which is impossible to do very accurately; as a result, the saw beats along the entry and exit path.

It is even more difficult to work with thin saws designed for curved cuts. Without practice, it is very difficult to achieve a good result, especially on thick slabs or wood materials. Let's look at how you can make a carpenter's job easier and the result better.

The working principle of a jigsaw machine

Before you start studying the manual for assembling your own stationary cutting machine, you should delve into its structure and a little about the history of its origin.

The first electric jigsaw machine was born in 1946, when engineer Albert Kaufmann had the idea to replace the sewing machine needle with a thin file. For its time, the invention was very original and received well-deserved public attention. She was engaged in the production and sale of jigsaw machines until she was purchased in 1954. Today, the patents for the invention have long expired and a wide variety of companies have begun to manufacture jigsaws.

Modern stationary jigsaws are functional devices assembled from precise and reliable parts. At first glance, the models on sale may seem incredibly complicated to manufacture, but they are based on the same old principle of operation, albeit with a more optimized mechanism. By assembling a jigsaw from a sewing machine, we are essentially returning to the origins of this invention, partially complementing it with modern technologies.

The design itself, which tensions and drives the saw blade, is quite simple and consists of a special frame and a crank mechanism. The movable frame consists of upper and lower arms of equal length, attached to the rack. A file is installed on the front side of the frame, and on the opposite side there is a spring that performs tension. The crank mechanism connected to the motor causes the saw to move up and down. A more visual and detailed embodiment of the above process can be seen in the following drawing.

How does an electric jigsaw work?

Although the device of a jigsaw is not particularly complicated, its mechanism has certain features that require familiarization. To understand how to make a jigsaw, you first need to understand what causes the saw blade to make reciprocating movements. For the clearest understanding of the principle of operation of the device, we will present the main components that make up the mechanism of the instrument and describe their interaction with each other.

The basis of any electric jigsaw is the following components: an electric motor, a gearbox and a rod with a saw blade clamp. Secondary, but no less important elements include the start button, support roller, cooling fan and sole. As additional functionality, many models have a pendulum stroke, a dust collector, lighting and a laser guide. We will not touch upon the operating principle of the latter, and will move on to a description of the interaction of the main elements of the mechanism. The high-frequency movements of the jigsaw saw blade originate from an electric motor, started by pressing a button or directly from the network. Rotation is transmitted along the shaft to a special “gearbox” mechanism with an eccentric, which interacts with the rod, forming a reciprocating movement. The mount installed at the end of the rod holds the saw that makes the cut. To minimize the load on the rod with the gearbox, the rear edge of the saw blade rests against the support roller. In this way, all components of the device are involved to perform the main task of sawing all kinds of materials.

Jigsaw from a sewing machine

The beauty of making a stationary jigsaw from a sewing machine is to minimize precision work. A reliable crank assembly is already connected to a needle mount, which can be easily converted into a file. In fact, in order to requalify the device, it is necessary to install a tension mechanism on the opposite side of the saw blade being installed. We will tell and show you in detail about how to make a jigsaw from a sewing machine.

The above components are not intended to be completely accurate and are provided as a guide only. The dimensions of the required parts should be selected based on your capabilities, based on the examples in the video below.

By instruments:

Drill (with a set of metal drills)
Grinder (with metal disc)
Pliers
Screwdriver

At the first stage of assembly, it is recommended to remove all unnecessary elements from the sewing machine, leaving only the crank mechanism and the needle holder connected to it. To set the tension of the file, it is necessary to remove the shuttle device located under the needle. If a motor is built into the housing, it should be left in case it will be used as the main drive. If the power of the standard one is not enough for you, you can remove it and connect a third-party electric drive.

If you use thin files for sawing, up to #2, a standard hole in the top mount will be enough. For wider canvases, it will be necessary to drill a hole of a larger diameter.

The lower mount can be made from a regular bolt. To do this, you will need a drill, a 3-4 mm metal drill, and a tap for cutting threads for this diameter. The resulting design should look like this:

There are 2 types of installation of a sewing machine: above the table and under the table. In the version we are considering, the apparatus is located on top, when the tension mechanism comes from below. The author of the product abandoned the spring tension method in favor of a metal plate cut from a hacksaw blade. A hole drilled in the center of the plate serves as the attachment point for the saw blade. The strip of steel itself is installed in improvised grooves made from corners.

At this stage, the assembly of a homemade jigsaw from a sewing machine is considered complete. The device is capable of easily cutting wooden workpieces up to 20 mm thick. With a more advanced tension system, a good spring, and the presence of a powerful motor, it can easily take higher values. The detailed assembly process, with comments from the author, is presented in the video below.

Basic steps

The first thing to do is remove the flywheel to which the belt is attached.

After this, on the other side you will need to remove the front cover covering the needle bar. Next, the presser foot rod is removed, after which all parts under the needle plate are removed. Including shuttle travel.

If the car is old and you intend to paint it, you need to immediately remove all the old paint. Afterwards you will need to sand the surface.

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It is advisable to treat the entire body in this way.

The next step is to remove the needle bar. In its place you will need to install a longer rod from the presser foot. The bottom bracket will need to be cut, otherwise it will not be possible to secure the saw blade.

As a result, there will be one hole left at the end of the rod, which will be used to secure the blade with a screw.

Since there is no hole in the presser bar to connect to the crank mechanism, it will need to be drilled. The screw will be screwed in there.

After completing the described steps, you will need to make a guide for the file. It will support the canvas in the desired position.

The guide is installed on the sole of the machine. To make it, 3 bearings will be enough. Two of them are needed to hold the file from the sides. The third blocks the movement of the canvas towards the edge.

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The base of the guide must be bent from the strip on which the rods machined to the inner diameter of the bearings are fixed.

Under the sole of the machine there are eyelets that were previously used to attach mechanisms. The strip must be shaped so that it can be secured in these eyes.

Remaking the place where the needle is attached to the file

Not everyone and not always has the need to carry out only figured cuts. Much more often, a jigsaw is used to produce controlled cuts in straight and round shapes. In such cases, a thin file will be too slow, but a standard jigsaw blade will cope with the task quite quickly. And everything would be fine, but such a saw will not fit into a standard needle holder. This means that you need to reactivate the logical hemisphere and “pump up” your homemade jigsaw from a sewing machine. By the way, this is quite simple to do.

As an example, let's take a product from the following author, although this problem was also solved at the end of the previous manual. The answer lies in the stitching of the seat to tighten the needle. For this purpose, a grinder with a metal disc is used. The shank of the file itself also needs to be sharpened so that it fits into the hole in the fastener element with the bolt. Detailed examples are shown in the photo above, below, and also in the video.

Mechanical problems

Difficulties that arise during long-term operation of a jigsaw can be divided into planned and emergency. The first includes, first of all, normal wear of the graphite brushes of the engine. Emergencies include a wide variety of breakdowns of tool components or parts thereof. Let's look at some typical cases.

The saw moves to the side, the cutting line is not straight

Most often, this problem occurs among inexperienced users. They violate two basic rules of operation. The first is obvious. The saw must be sharp, have a tooth configuration appropriate for the material, and be properly secured in the clamp. Not everyone knows the second rule of work. The body of the jigsaw should be positioned in the direction of the cut. Similarly, efforts are made for its forward movement. And the latter should ideally be minimal. That is, you cannot put pressure on the instrument. A straight line and an angle of 90 degrees between the cutting planes will be obtained by themselves if the saw manages to remove the material being processed without effort.

There are also mechanical reasons for saw deflection. It is necessary to check the backlash of the support roller. If it is significant, the part or assembly is replaced entirely. The saw fixation block on the rod is also examined. He must bring the latter close to the support roller and maintain the perpendicularity of the web to its axis.

If the saw moves to the side, it is worth checking the support roller

The most serious problem is wear of the rod or its horizontal displacement limiters. Damage to parts can only be determined after disassembling the housing. If removing contaminants in the pendulum block does not solve the problem, the rod must be replaced.

Vibration and noise

If the tool is difficult to hold in your hands or is abnormally noisy, you should begin your inspection with the worm gear unit. This is the large gear or connecting rod of the pendulum mechanism, a bushing with spiral projections on the motor shaft. Vibrations and noise occur when teeth are chipped or there is excessive accumulation of dirt mixed with old lubricant. If there is no visible damage to the worm gear components, the tool may need cleaning and lubrication.

Sharp shocks

When a jigsaw literally hits the palm of your hand when working, this is a clear indication of problems with the pendulum assembly. The cause is most likely a damaged worm gear. Rarely, runout occurs due to deformation of the connecting rods. And even less often due to dirt accumulation. However, the latter must be removed first. Especially on the worm gear mechanism.

Contamination in the worm gear assembly can cause tool malfunctions

Blade holder faults

Many modern jigsaws are equipped with bells and whistles, which are their weak points. For example, some models often require repair of the saw blade mount due to the presence of such functions.

A quick clamp that does everything for the tool owner: just move the lever, place the blade and work. Over time, the structure becomes loose and fastening parts become unusable. Unfortunately, most of these clamps cannot be repaired; they must be completely replaced.
Lightweight screw fastening is a real problem for owners of cheap and mid-price tools. The rod attachment, made of weak alloys, has low strength, breaks, and the bolts break the seats. Repair consists only in the handicraft production of the appropriate product from durable steel, since each line of cheap tools often has its own saw blade holder configuration.

If the jigsaw has a classic screw fastening of the file, then repairing it will not be difficult. This is a durable and time-tested design; you can use bolts for a Phillips screwdriver or a wrench. The clamping blocks are standard; finding a replacement for an extremely worn part is not difficult. There is a problem with thread wear, but in this case a new one can be cut.

Original homemade products from a sewing machine

1. What can you make from an old sewing machine?
2. DIY jigsaw from a sewing machine

Many people still have old sewing machines left over from their grandmothers sitting idle in their homes to this day. Of course, it would be a pity to throw away such an antique, but there is nowhere to use it. Today, when progress has stepped far forward, the old Zingers are gathering dust idle, no matter what they have to do with modern sewing machines.

However, do not despair, because even from an old sewing machine you can make original homemade products and crafts for the home that will last for many more decades. On the Internet you can find many ideas for using sewing machines with a working upper mechanism, and even without it.

Making a manual jigsaw using simple technology

Before making a jigsaw, you should prepare inexpensive and accessible materials. Let's present them in the form of a list:

sheet plywood - 12 mm;
sheet plywood - 5 mm;
sheet steel - 2 mm;
set of bolts and nuts;
drill (manual or electric);
chisel;
sanding paper;
files.

After this, you should thicken the handle using a thinner plywood sheet (5 mm). This thickening is glued evenly on both sides of the handle, which ensures its comfortable position in the hand during subsequent work with a jigsaw. At the same time, the bracket and handle must be carefully processed using sandpaper and files of different classes.

The steel plate must be cut out using a chisel and the clamping jaws must be cleaned using a file. Next, you will need a drill to make slits in the jaws. Having taken this step, we begin to cut out notches on them with a sharp chisel. The left clamping jaw must be modified in such a way that a threaded hole is made for the bolt. We attach the jaws to the bracket, and then screw in the bolts on the left clamp, securely securing it with a nut.

DIY jigsaw from a sewing machine

If you have an old sewing machine on hand in fully working order, then it can easily be used to make a homemade jigsaw, and even a small sharpener. The essence of converting a sewing machine into a jigsaw is to install a fabric holder instead of a needle.

In this case, the design of the sewing machine itself is of no small importance. So, if an old sewing machine with a foot mechanism is being converted into a jigsaw, then there is no need to install a small 40 W motor. Otherwise, you will have to install an electric motor on the sewing machine, since the quality of cutting workpieces largely depends on the required force and uniformity of saw movement.

In this case, the motor is installed on the tabletop, near the stand of the sewing machine, as close as possible to the flywheel. Since a belt will be used to transmit torque, a pulley should be installed on the electric motor shaft, after which it will need to be connected via a belt to the pulley of the sewing machine. Thus, you can convert a manual sewing machine to operate from an electric motor.

Now you will have to tinker a little with installing the adapter for installing the jigsaw file. As a rule, the socket into which the sewing machine needle is fixed is too small to install a jigsaw blade, so it will have to be drilled out a little and deepened at the same time. In general, a lot here depends on a particular device of the sewing machine.

If using the method described above to install a jigsaw saw on a sewing machine does not work, then there is another suitable option. For these purposes, you need to use a nut with a hole in the end into which the bolt can be screwed.

It is the bolt that will hold the blade of the electric jigsaw. To drill a hole in the end of the bolt, you will have to use a drill of a suitable diameter, and to cut threads, a tool such as a tap.

Source: zen.yandex.ru

Security questions

To cover the file and provide additional safety, the jigsaw is equipped with a special protective screen. This element is made of organic glass. Its presence makes working with a jigsaw safer.

Jigsaw diagram.

To choose an electric jigsaw, you need to understand the features of its design. Tools may have different handle designs, namely:

Bracket handle. Its advantage is that it allows you to see the cutting line.
Mushroom handle. Well suited for working on inclined surfaces.

The quality of work with a jigsaw does not depend on the type of handle installed. You should choose a specific form solely based on your individual preferences.

If you have to work in places far from electrical outlets, then it would be advisable to choose an electric jigsaw with the ability to operate on battery power. But you shouldn’t count on long-term work. Batteries tend to have low power and drain quite quickly.

Metal cutting machine

If the machine has a working mechanism, it can serve as the basis for the machine. If it has a manual drive, then it is better to use an electric motor; if it has a foot drive, it will not be needed. Next, you need to remove the mechanisms of the sewing machine, assemble the cutting unit, install a device for securing parts and supply electricity to the machine.

Attention! Before the first start-up, check all installation details and follow safety precautions.

For a kitchen or summer veranda, a stylish piece of furniture made from the base of an old typewriter and a tabletop made of wood or glass is suitable. You can use not one, but two frames, then the table will be larger and more stable, which are better placed closer to the edges.

A cast iron bed from a sewing machine can be used as a base for a barbecue. On top you need to make a brazier from a metal sheet, which will be placed on the structure of the sewing machine. Thus, you get a good grill that will decorate any garden or summer cottage and will last for many years.

Important! To prevent the metal from corroding, it is recommended to coat it with paint that is resistant to heat from fire.

Assembling a table jigsaw

The construction of a homemade jigsaw begins with assembling the body, which can be made of plywood, chipboard or metal. The simplest model of this tool can do without a housing, but in this case strong vibrations occur, which can significantly affect the ease of use. In this case, two holes are made in the jigsaw - one for attaching the crank to the tool, the second for movably fixing the jigsaw itself to the table. After starting the engine, the jigsaw begins to produce reciprocating movements that facilitate sawing of the material.

Such a spring will provide the necessary tension on the jigsaw saw.

A more sophisticated model includes two separate strips with wing nuts installed at the ends. At the opposite end, the planks are pulled together by a strong spring, ensuring constant tension on the saw. Such a device operates from a separate motor or, for example, from a drill.

There is a vertical bar running inside the case, which is fixedly attached to its bottom or one of the walls. Two holes are made in it, the distance between which should be 2-3 cm less than the length of a standard file. Bolts or pins are inserted into the holes, onto which strips are placed that hold the file.

The engine is built into the housing and is attached to the bottom bar by means of a disk with a connecting rod mechanism. A table with a hole for a file acts as a cover for the case.

The main disadvantage of a jigsaw with a separate motor lies in its most intricate part - the crank mechanism. The file with it makes not only vertical, but also oblique movements, which cannot but affect the cutting accuracy. If you need to get a precise tool, then it is better to replace the motor with an inexpensive factory-made manual jigsaw. It is attached under the surface of the body and a file is passed through the table, clamping it with one end in the jigsaw and the other in the upper bar of the structure. This design ensures sufficient cutting accuracy, bringing this parameter closer to factory models.

Homemade jigsaw from a sewing machine

The idea of making a jigsaw came to me many years ago, but I brought it to life much later - when someone came into my hands with a discarded faulty sewing machine made in Podolsk, I took only the main shaft and the “needle bar” assembly, and dismantled the rest of the parts. Cut it off and the front part of the platform, leaving only the thrust bearing under the pillar of the L-shaped body. I sanded down all the ridges on the bottom surface. I drilled holes in the corners of the thrust bearing and through them I attached the inverted machine to the table top of the cabinet from below. By the way, I also used a cabinet from an old foot-operated sewing machine. True, finding such a cabinet is perhaps more difficult than the machine itself. But it is not difficult to make it from a 20 mm thick chipboard. On top of the lid I covered it with a steel sheet 1.5 mm thick (can also be made of duralumin).

A pulley with a diameter of 80 mm for a V-belt drive was installed on the protruding end of the main shaft (you can take it from an old foot sewing machine, you just need to bore it for a V-belt). A similar pulley, but with a larger diameter (100 mm), was installed on the electric motor shaft. The electric motor is single-phase (220 B) with a power of 180 W and a speed of 1350 per minute, together with a pulley, used from an old washing machine.

Disadvantages of a manual jigsaw

When the saw becomes dull, deviation from a straight line is observed when cutting material of uneven density (for example, low-quality chipboard). The saw is capable of leaving the cutting line when it encounters a knot in the wood.
When trying to make a curved radius cut, you can observe the following picture: the upper cutting line, which the worker follows, follows an exact trajectory, the lower one deviates, goes to the side, the radius becomes larger. The higher the wear of the tool and the lower the sharpness of the saw, the more pronounced this phenomenon is.
Some materials cannot be worked using a pick-up or bottom feed of the saw. The carpenter is required to move the tool forward extremely evenly, which is impossible to do very accurately; as a result, the saw beats along the entry and exit path.

Manufacturing

Drawing of a thermoelectric jigsaw.

The simplest model is made quite quickly, but its availability is usually sufficient for household needs. A carefully made jigsaw will be no worse than one made in a factory, and in some ways it may be able to surpass it. In order to make a jigsaw, you will need:

manual jigsaw;
heating thread;
screws;
plywood;
duralumin pipes up to 12 mm in diameter;
drill;
clamp.

For normal operation of a jigsaw, the following parts must be present: a comfortable handle, a switch (a push-button switch is most convenient), a power cord, and a heating filament.

Schematic diagram of starting an electric motor.

The first step is to make a frame from a duralumin pipe, but for the base you can also use textolite of at least 10 mm or thick plywood. The lighter the frame made, the easier the jigsaw will be to use. The frame must have a channel for the power cord. Experts believe that the best frame shape is one in which one of the sides is deviated by 45º.

Then an earring is made from a millimeter-thick copper sheet and attached to the frame with screws in the place where the frame is connected to the handle. The earring, screw and wing nut form a clamp in which the heating filament is fixed. The clamping cheeks are made from a 0.8 mm thick duralumin sheet, and a push-button switch is located between them.

After this, a slot-like hole is cut in the plywood through which the file can pass. It is convenient to make this gap using a drill. Markings are made and holes along it, the transitions between which are smoothed. Instead of plywood, plexiglass, plastic, or metal can be used. The drill is then used to make mounting holes in the plywood and on the base plate itself. A jigsaw on a plywood base is secured with screws so that the file can pass through the gap. The structure is attached to a table or workbench using a clamp so that the file is directed upward. If the clamp is not suitable, you can use another fastener that is more suitable for the specific case. Although the file in this case remains standard, both hands are freed up, thereby increasing the cutting capabilities, so the design is functional even in this form.

Manufacturing process

For this you will need materials:

drawings or diagrams;
wooden blocks;
short boards;
pieces of old plywood;
simple nails or screws.

Tools:

medium sized hammer;
regular hand saw;
small plane;
jigsaw;
sharp axe.

Scheme or drawing

Before you begin assembly, you need to draw a diagram or make a drawing of the jigsaw yourself. It’s rare that anyone manages to complete a high-quality document at a good professional level with their own hands, but it doesn’t matter. You can always find a suitable drawing on the Internet and use it to assemble your jigsaw. Often, for a simple homemade device, inventors use only a mini-circuit, simply drawn by hand. This is quite sufficient when you need to construct a simple device for figure sawing from plywood and wood.

Stationary option

There are often times when it is necessary to make perfect cuts in plywood or wood strictly vertically. This kind of work is simply impossible to do even with a factory jigsaw. A device that is always in your hand will produce deviations, and the edges of the slots will never be perfectly shaped. To make them straight and even, such work should be done only on a stationary machine, where the device for sawing in wood or plywood is firmly and securely fixed to the table surface.

To design a stationary jigsaw for figured cutting on plywood and wood, you must first prepare the material for building the table. It will provide a strong support for the machine and will also provide ease of use. All this is easy to make from wood. First you need to find suitable bars, mark them and make a table frame from them. After this, cut off identical boards, lay them on top and secure them with ordinary nails or screws. To ensure that the surface is sufficiently smooth, it is advisable to lay plywood on the table. It will not only make the surface smooth, but also create additional rigidity.

Read also: Electrical safety class of power tools table

Next, you will need to install the unit itself for figure sawing from wooden blanks. Of course, you can make the entire mechanism out of plywood, but it will take too much time. The easiest way is to use a very simple method, where a standard factory device is installed to operate the saw - a jigsaw. To do this, you only need four small corners and a few screws. And then everything is done very simply: we find the center of the table and drill a hole right through with a hand drill. Its diameter should be such that the factory file of a standard electric jigsaw can fit through it freely.

When a file is inserted into this hole and the entire device lies tightly on the table, you will need to draw a pencil around the duralumin support. Then use a jigsaw to cut a hole so that the body itself fits through it upside down, and its support bar sits tightly at table level. All that remains is to place small corners at the bottom and secure the platform with screws. At this point, the stationary jigsaw machine is considered built and you can safely begin work.

Design features

The design diagrams of all jigsaw machines are usually the same. Having carefully examined the drawings where this tool is depicted, you can see the following structural components:

the bed, which is also often called the body. It is designed to accommodate all structural elements of the unit;
drive mechanism;
crank mechanism. It is necessary to convert the rotational energy of the motor shaft into the movements of the saw used during operation;
double rocker arm. Equipped with fasteners for a file and a tension device;
Desktop. In some modern models, it has a rotation mechanism that moves to a given angle.

General assembly instructions

Craftsmen often assemble their jigsaws from an ordinary home drill or from a refrigerator compressor. Thus, a manual jigsaw is converted into an electric tool. Some use a washing machine motor. An interesting solution is to create a jigsaw machine using an old sewing machine.

Making from improvised materials

You can use any available household power tool as a motor: a screwdriver or electric drill, which has a spindle speed regulator, is perfect. You can use materials that are at hand: wooden blocks, unnecessary sheets of plywood.

The main thing, from the point of view of safety, convenience and productivity, is the bed. It is made from plywood sheet with a thickness of 15 mm. The wooden parts are connected with screws. For increased reliability, the joints can be coated with glue.

A lever assembly is assembled from wooden blanks. Levers must have good strength. The most suitable tree is beech or oak. You can use straight sections of legs from old chairs.

The tips of the levers are sawed longitudinally. The nail file fasteners are inserted into the cuts. The fastening is a regular metal plate with two holes. The thickness of the plate is 2-3 mm. The mount is screwed to the lever through the upper hole, and the jigsaw blade is clamped through the lower hole. Wing nuts are used for clamping.

The lever system is fixed in the frame. The back of the levers is connected to each other by a lanyard. Or, in other words, a screw tie. It is desirable that the levers are parallel to each other.

The crank assembly is cut out of plywood up to 1 cm thick. The axis of rotation is designated using bearings. The bearings themselves are seated in holes that are drilled in the racks.

Then the flywheel and lower arm are made. They are connected to each other by a connecting rod, which is also made of plywood. After which the work table and rotating mechanism are assembled. A rotating arc is cut out of thin plywood, in which a slot is cut. The table is installed on the bed. The structure is tightened with a wing nut. The drive can be an electric screwdriver.

Approximate design diagram:

Conversion from a hand jigsaw

The first step is to make a working table for the mechanism. A metal sheet or thick plywood is suitable for these purposes. Holes for the cutting tape and fasteners are drilled and sawed out in the worksheet.

The jigsaw table is then placed on a regular table. Once secured, the guide rails can be assembled. To reduce vibration, simply cut a rubber pad of the desired size and place it between the jigsaw table and the main surface.

The above design is convenient in that it can be easily disassembled and can be used again as a hand jigsaw.

Since the standard device has springs that tension the saw, a rocker arm is necessary. One edge of the rocker arm is attached to the cutting element of the machine, and the second is under tension from springs. These simple steps will easily turn an ordinary jigsaw into a machine.

When operating the device, it is important not to forget to turn off the pendulum stroke before starting cutting.

Assembly from a sewing machine

You can also quickly and easily assemble a homemade jigsaw from a sewing machine. Moreover, this device has an interesting feature - a regulator for the stroke of the nail file, since sewing machines have a speed switch.

First, at the bottom of the machine you need to find a thread weaving knot. To do this, several screws are unscrewed. The cotter pin located inside is knocked out and the drive shaft, which is connected to the thread weaving complex, is removed. After completing this procedure, the top panel is unscrewed. The groove along which the needle rode widens slightly to accommodate the saw blade. The files themselves are shortened slightly to the length of the needle. To fix the saw itself, you can make an adapter. But the easiest way is to grind off the top part of the cutting blade and sharpen the bottom. After which you can insert the nail file into place of the needle and get to work.

When working with jigsaws of any type, you should not forget about safety rules. Do not leave the device turned on for a long time without supervision.

If the master has long hair, it is better to pick it up or use a special cap. It is better to roll up the sleeves of your clothes. The room should be well ventilated. In the room where carpentry work is carried out, a first aid kit with emergency aid for cuts must be kept.

Connecting the electrical components of the machine

Connecting an electric motor cannot be called complicated, however, there are some nuances here too. As you know, there are 2 switching schemes - “star” and “triangle”. Each of them has both pros and cons. For the jigsaw, I chose the “star” and now I’ll explain why. Such a circuit ensures a smoother start-up, without strong surges in the current load, unlike the “triangle” one. Of course, in this case the power drops by about 30%, but this is not critical, I am not going to cut thick metal. Those who decide to repeat my project should take this point into account.

When connecting an electric motor, situations may arise where connections cannot be avoided. You should not use self-clamping terminal blocks, such as “WAGO” for them. Such elements may not withstand inrush currents. It’s better to make a regular twist, solder it and insulate it. For this I used heat shrink tubing.

We insulate connections using heat shrink

Installing a button

The START button was installed on the right hand in the corner of the tabletop. This arrangement is most convenient when working on the machine. Everything is connected here extremely simply - 3 phases coming out of the engine are switched to 3 contacts of the start button. On its reverse side, power will be supplied from a 380 V network.

Attach and connect the start button