A jigsaw does not cope well with a clean cut of sheet materials, since cutting it with a nail file has many chips. However, it still cannot be called exclusively a tool for rough cutting. Using certain techniques, the cut can be made perfect. Let's look at the secrets that allow you to saw without chipping.
Sawing on masking tape
You can apply masking tape to the cutting line.
In this case, it will hold the edge of the cut, preventing the formation of chips.
The cut is not as perfect as from a circular saw with a special saw blade, but still very decent.
Cutting with plastic pad on the sole
One of the reasons why sawing with a jigsaw with chips is its sole. It does not press the edge of the cut, thereby allowing it to break off during the return movement of the saw. This can be solved with a simple plastic cover.
The sole plate is cut from sheet plastic. You need to make a cut in it for a nail file. It is simply pressed against the board with a clamp and sawed along with it. The sawed-off overlay is glued to the sole with double-sided tape.
After this, the jigsaw makes the cut even cleaner than using masking tape.
Cut along the notches from the knife
This method is a little more labor-intensive than the previous ones. It implies the need to make 2 notches with a knife under the ruler. They are done with a millimeter indentation to the sides from the marking line. That is, you need to run the knife so as to cut through the thin top layer of sheet material. The gap between the two lines should correspond to the width of the cut that the jigsaw blade makes.
Afterwards, all that remains is to carefully make a cut with jigsaws between the lines. All resulting chips will end in notches. As a result, they will not be there at all, or they will turn out to be invisible.
Sawing through MDF
You can lay an unnecessary piece of thin MDF or fiberboard on the cutting line. It is pressed against the workpiece with a clamp. Then the cut is made. That is, the saw cuts the workpiece and the MDF at the same time. As a result, with sufficient pressure, such a cutting will turn out without any defects at all.
There are 4 excellent ways to cut sheet material without chipping. This works not only with plywood, but also with chipboard. If you guide the jigsaw along the rip fence, the cut will turn out absolutely perfect, as if made on a professional CNC machine for production furniture.
