Electric jigsaw from a sewing machine with their own hands
Independently convert the old sewing machine into an electric jigsaw.
There are many videos on the web about using old sewing machines in a new capacity. For this purpose in the case we leave only a crank, a vertical rod for fixing the needle, a flywheel with a groove for belt transmission. To rotate the flywheel electric drive for manual sewing machines is used. (Lyrical digression: the drive was bought by me about 30 years ago to make an electric harness from the drawings of the magazine “Young Technician”. On the spinner was spun wool from a white sheep and tied winter sweater. The spinner itself is safely played by someone I know, t. е. gone). Foot pedal for speed control and electric motor in the photo below.
Step-by-step instructions
To create a jigsaw with their own hands you do not need to have superpowers:
- Making a working table, which will serve as a support. This requires a sheet of wood or metal. Lay the size of the base, which will be about four times the size of the saw;
- At the bottom of the base attach the factory device. You can use cap screws to secure it;
- The structure is mounted on a table.
The trick is that the hand jigsaw is cheaper, but it is more convenient to work with it on the stand. This will avoid irregularities and shifts when working with the material.
How to make jigsaw tool using an Old sewing machine/Making a jigsaw tool using a Old sewing machine
Jigsaw machine with their own hands. a real help for singles who have no one to hold a part of the sawed element.
A jigsaw from an old sewing machine with their own hands
A bench jigsaw will come in handy for every craftsman sawing thin parts. But it is not always possible or sensible to buy a complete machine. In that case, take it upon yourself to make it with your own hands!
Jigsaw structure. what lies inside?
Jigsaws refer more to special tools than to devices that are needed both by an experienced craftsman and an amateur, who is a householder in the garage. Their purpose is limited to the special task of sawing complex curved contours out of sheet material.
A special “chip” of such machines can be attributed to the execution of the cut without violating the integrity of the outer contour.
Sawing is most often performed on wood and derived materials (plywood, chipboard, fibreboard), although modern machines, equipped with appropriate files, are able to work with other materials, such as plastic or drywall.
Such equipment has found use in the music industry (making musical instruments) and, of course, in the furniture industry. Buy such units and lovers of craftsmanship in their own workshop.
The device of the traditional jigsaw machine, designed according to all the rules, looks like this: the working surface, which is derived saw, hides under the drive (electric motor) and the crank-rod design.
Tensioning mechanism can be located either on top or bottom of the machine.
Workpiece must be placed on the table for machining. Many models have the ability to rotate it at different angles to make a beveled cut. The stops and guides on the surface, and the swivel mechanism can be labeled, which greatly simplifies and speeds up the work.
It is from the length of the working table and depends on the cutting length. most models are limited to 30-40 cm. The power of the electric motor is an important, but still not the most fundamental factor, because the machine has a huge reserve of unused power.
For example, for a home workshop or even a small production is enough “engine” at only 150 watts.
The crank mechanism is a much more important detail, because in this case it is the quality of transmission of the drive torque into the translational-return motion directed in the vertical plane by means of the saw.
Standard jigsaws are considered to be machines with the amplitude of movement in the region of 3-5 cm and the frequency of oscillation up to 1000 per minute. Many models have a change of speed mode for different materials.
The jigsaw itself is usually made up to 35 cm long and can cut materials up to 10 cm thick.
The file width can vary quite a lot. from very thin 2 mm to 10 mm with thickness from 0,6 mm to 1,25 mm.
Even the thickest and widest file will break easily if sufficient tension is not applied to the file along its entire length. For this purpose, spring and helical springs are used.
Quite often such machines are equipped with an air pump, which cleans by blowing the cut from sawdust, as well as a drilling unit.
How to make a jig saw from a sewing machine with your own hands
Self-made jigsaw machine from a sewing machine is convenient in that the latter almost does not have to finalize. Its design initially provides almost all the necessary mechanisms, and you only need to make minor adjustments.
Necessary tools
To make an electric jigsaw from a sewing machine, you will need to take:
- A flexible metal plate or springs to create a tensioning mechanism;
- a nut and bolt;
- Three bearings to create a guide for the saw blade;
- The sewing machine itself;
- electric motor.
Motor for jigsaws with their own hands is recommended to take as powerful as possible. For example, a motor with an output of about 0.37 kW and 3,000 rpm will cut not only particle boards but also metal sheets up to 8 mm thick.
You also need to prepare simple tools for work:
If you want to make a workbench for the homemade jigsaw from a sewing machine, you will need to additionally prepare a sheet of chipboard for the table top, metal pipes or profiles for the legs, fasteners for assembly.
Step by step instruction
The exact algorithms for converting a sewing machine to a jigsaw can vary slightly depending on the model of the machine. But in general, the scheme is the same:
-
On the sewing machine dismantle the flywheel and the coiler mechanism hidden behind it. In the front of the machine remove the front cover and remove all unnecessary parts. the needle plate, the shuttle stroke, the presser foot rod. In a homemade jigsaw, these elements will not be needed, so you can safely put them aside or throw them away for lack of use. The sole of the device is disassembled and unwanted parts are also removed from the unit.
In a sewing machine, only the crank mechanism and the needle holder should be left
It is not necessary to clean the machine from the varnish, but the jigsaw looks more solid after a fresh coat of paint
A groove on the stem of the foot is needed for screwing in the clamping screw of the crank mechanism
The shape of the lower guide should fit the standard eyelets under the sole of the sewing machine
The pulley on the back of the sewing machine is necessary to connect the electric jigsaw motor
For a powerful jigsaw, it is better to have a motor that runs on a 380 V mains supply
For the smooth operation of the jigsaw all parts are lubricated with lithol or other machine oil when assembled
The assembled tool is checked in operation and, if necessary, errors are corrected. Especially when testing the jigsaw, it often turns out that the mechanism that holds the saw blade is not fixed securely enough. If gaps and tolerances are noticeable, the coupling must be readjusted immediately. Otherwise at the first serious sawing the blade can break, the workpiece will be spoiled, or the operator of the homemade device will be injured.
For making serious cuts, the homemade electric jigsaw from a sewing machine is not suitable. But it copes well with small tasks and allows you to perform shaped cuts on enough thin sheets of plywood, chipboard or wood.
Many people in the house still have old sewing machines, left by grandmothers. Of course, it is a pity to throw away such an antique, but there is no place to apply it. Today, when progress is stepped forward, the old “Singers” are gathering dust, where they have nothing to do with modern sewing machines.
But do not despair, because even with the old sewing machine, you can make original homemade products and crafts for the house, which will last for decades. On the expanses of the Internet you can find a lot of ideas for using sewing machines with a working upper mechanism, and even without it.
Stationary jigsaw from a sewing machine with their own hands
One of the most convenient stationary machines for shape sawing, has a very simple design. Folk craftsmen make such devices from a variety of materials and tools. One of the most suitable bases for making a desktop jigsaw, is an ordinary sewing machine. At the same time, the device does not have to be new or have an electric motor. In more detail about the principle of operation and manufacture of a stationary jigsaw, we will tell further in the article.
The principle of operation of the jigsaw machine
Before proceeding to the study of the manual for the assembly of their own stationary apparatus for sawing, it is necessary to delve into his device and a little, in the history of origin.
The first electric jigsaw was born in 1946, when engineer Albert Kaufmann had the idea of replacing the needle of a sewing machine with a thin saw. For its time, the invention was very original and received well-deserved public attention. The production and sale of jigsaws was in the hands of Scintilla AG until it was taken over by Bosh in 1954. Today, the patents on the invention have long expired, and a wide variety of companies have become involved in the production of jigsaws.
Modern stationary jigsaws are functional machines assembled from precise and reliable parts. At first sight the commercially available models may look incredibly complex to build, but they are based on the same old principle of operation, albeit with a more optimized mechanism. Assembling a jigsaw from a sewing machine, we are in fact going back to the origins of this invention, partly complementing it with modern technology.
The construction itself, which pulls and drives the saw blade, is quite simple and consists of a special frame and crank mechanism. The sliding frame consists of upper and lower levers of equal length, fixed to the stand. A saw blade is mounted on the front side of the frame, and a spring is mounted on the opposite side that performs tensioning. The saw blade moves up and down, forced by the crank mechanism connected to the motor. A more clear and detailed embodiment of the above process, can be seen in the following drawing.
Jigsaw from a sewing machine
The whole beauty of making a stationary jigsaw from a sewing machine is to minimize precision work. Reliable crank assembly is already connected to the needle mount, which is quite simply remade for the saw. Essentially, to requalify the machine, a tensioning mechanism must be arranged on the opposite side of the saw blade to be installed. In details about how to make a jigsaw from a sewing machine, we will tell and show further.
- sewing machine
- Nut and bolt (full thread)
- Spring or flexible metal plate (for tensioning device)
- Metal brackets (2 pcs.)
The above components are not meant to be absolutely accurate and are provided as a guide only. The size of the required parts should be selected according to your capabilities, based on the examples in the video below.
If you will be using thin saw blades for sawing, up to #2, the standard hole in the upper mount will suffice. For wider webs, you will need to drill a larger diameter hole.
The bottom bracket can be made from an ordinary bolt. You will need a drill, a 3-4 mm metal drill bit and a tap to cut the thread to this diameter. The resulting structure should have the following look.
There are 2 types of installation of the sewing machine: above the table and under the table. In the version we are considering, the machine is placed on top, when the tensioning mechanism goes on the bottom. The author of the product abandoned the spring method of tensioning in favor of a metal plate cut from the blade of a hacksaw. Drilled hole in the center of the plate, serves as a place to attach the saw blade. The strip of steel itself is installed in improvised slots made from angles.
At this point, the assembly of a homemade jigsaw from a sewing machine is considered complete. The machine can easily cut wooden workpieces up to 20 mm thick. With a more advanced tensioning system, made of a good spring, and a powerful motor it can easily take higher values. A detailed assembly process, with Комментарии и мнения владельцев by the author, is shown in the video below.
Redesign of the needle mount for the saw
Not everyone and not always there is a need to make only shaped cuts. Much more often, the jigsaw is used to produce controlled straight and rounded cuts. In such cases a fine file will be too slow, but a standard jigsaw blade can cope with the task quite quickly. And it would be OK, but there is no place for such a saw in a standard needle holder. So I need to activate my logical brain again and “pump” my homemade jigsaw from the sewing machine. To do this, by the way, is quite simple.
Modification of the rod from the broken jigsaw from the factory
Finished disassembling the sewing machine, I engaged in the rod from the broken jigsaw. It had to be sawed by removing the surplus part and then installed in a new place. To do this I measured from the clamp of the jigsaw about a third of the entire length, marking the place of the saw with a marker.
It only seems at first glance that the stem of an electric jigsaw is all-metal. It’s actually a hollow tube that’s pretty easy to saw off with an ordinary metal hacksaw. But in doing so, so as not to waste extra force on the steel core located inside it, it is better to rotate the tube. And when it is completely sawn, just remove it from the core. I used an angle grinder. no sense in wasting time?
Mark the place of the cut on the rod from the broken jigsaw
Installing part of the jigsaw rod on the sewing machine
The rod was cut off, and now I had to mount it on the sewing machine. To do that I had to drill a 3mm diameter hole on it, as well as on the machine stem. This is where you have to be careful. The drill had to go exactly perpendicular to the blade. Also on the spindle, parallel to the axis of the machine. On the sawed off piece a mark was made about a centimeter away from the edge.
In order to drill the hole properly, I used a machine tool. If you do not have one, I advise you to clamp the part in a vice. Before you start work, it is worth tapping the drilling point. Otherwise, the drill bit would slide off the rounded surface of the rod.
The place of drilling is marked, you can start
After both holes are ready, the rod from the broken jigsaw was put on the same part of the sewing machine, the holes are aligned, and the elements are secured with a bolt and nut. Of course, you could spend a little more time (I might do so later) to thread the holes. This will fix the connection even more securely. However, even after the thread has been threaded to the correct diameter and the screw has been screwed into it, you should not neglect the additional nut on the back side. After all, the speed is high and the work load is considerable.
Fix the connection with the bolt and nut and tighten it
How to make an electric jigsaw from a sewing machine with your own hands
The design of a homemade electric jigsaw from a sewing machine is quite simple, it consists of the following parts:
The base on which the sewing machine is installed; 2. The electric motor, which transmits the torque by means of a belt transmission; 3. Crank mechanism; 4. Movable frame with a saw (it can be dispensed with); 5. Springs.
The advantage of this kind of homemade sewing machine, is to minimize rework. So, for example, the crank mechanism of the sewing machine is already connected to the movable mount, by means of which the needle is fixed. The mount itself is easily enough remade to fit a jigsaw blade or any other, suitable size.
Let’s consider on an example, how it is possible to remake the Soviet sewing machine for the needs of figure sawing.
To make this homemade machine, you will need:
Sewing machine; 2. Bolt and nut; 3. Metal plate with a spring to make a tensioning device ( in some cases it can be done without it); 4. Two metal angles.
The above components can be replaced with others if necessary, as can the construction of the jigsaw itself.
Of the tools to do all the work, you will need:
Drill with metal drill bits; 2. Screwdriver and pliers; 3. angle grinder; 4. Tap for tapping internal threads
First of all, it is recommended to remove all unused parts from the sewing machine, leaving only in its place, the crank mechanism with the needle holder. To install a saw tensioning device on the future electric jigsaw, you will have to dismantle the shuttle mechanism of the sewing machine.
Important note, if the sewing machine already has an electric motor, you should not get rid of it, because it will be used as the main drive. To install a fine saw on the sewing machine, it will be enough to drill a small hole in the upper mount. To install a wider leaf, the hole must be drilled to a suitable diameter.
When making the lower attachment, you can use an ordinary bolt and nut. To make a hole in the nut for the bolt, you should use a tap, whose diameter should match the diameter of the bolt.
This is almost the end of the sewing machine conversion. In order not to carry out shaped sawing by hand, on the side of the pulley sewing machine should be provided installation of an electric motor (45-50 W), on the shaft of which will also be fixed pulley. To transmit the torque you will need to connect the pulley of the electric motor with the sewing machine pulley by means of a belt.
Operating principle of the jigsaw
Before you begin to study the manual for the assembly of your own stationary machine for sawing, you should delve into his device and a little, the history of origin. The first electric jigsaw was born in 1946, when engineer Albert Kaufmann had the idea to replace the sewing machine needle with a thin saw. For its time, the invention was very original and received well-deserved public attention. The production and sale of jigsaws, was engaged in. Until it was purchased in 1954. Today, the patents on the invention have long expired and a wide variety of companies have become involved in the production of jigsaws.
Modern stationary jigsaws are functional machines assembled from precise and reliable parts. At first sight, the commercially available models may seem incredibly complex to produce, but they are based on the same old principle of operation, albeit with a more optimized mechanism. Assembling a jigsaw from a sewing machine, we essentially return to the origins of this invention, partially supplemented by modern technology.
The construction itself, which pulls and drives the saw blade, is quite simple and consists of a special frame and a crank mechanism. The sliding frame consists of upper and lower arms of equal length, fixed to the rack. On the front side of the frame a saw blade is mounted, and on the opposite side of the frame a spring, which performs tensioning. The saw blade moves up and down by the crank mechanism connected to the motor. A more clear and detailed embodiment of the above process, can be seen in the following drawing.
