Hybrid Cut Jigsaw Puzzle

[Sally]

Yes - Mike - sorry. Wildwood it was - just got it yesterday. They sure have a big selection of plywood.

[turtleteasers]

Originally Posted by Spirithorse

Using the puzzle blades on 1/4" material seems to be a bit tricky!
Spirithorse

You need to find the tension and speed that suits you and your saw/blade combination.

My personal preference is to use the fastest speed and highest tension that I can without breaking blades. The most important tip is to use a light touch - do not force the wood into the blade. Don't worry about speed of cutting - concentrate on feeding the wood gently and consistently and you will find that over time your speed of cutting will increase without your having tried to cut any faster!

The main reason that a properly-mounted and carefully-used blade will break is that it gets too hot and the metal fatigues. Keep in mind that as the blade gets dull it will run hotter unless you reduce the blade speed, so if you plan to run your blade until it gets very dull, you should reduce the blade speed as it dulls.

I have used puzzle blades to cut a stack of four 1/4" plywood boards. I had to cut very slowly with a light touch. The light touch reduces blade breakage and also reduces the likelihood of the blade deflecting from 90 degrees to the table.

For a single thickness of 1/4" plywood, I find that Skip blades (as opposed to Double-Skip blades) are easier to control and less prone to breakage. Double-Skip blades have their uses (for tight turns or thicker wood), but in general are more difficult to use.

Hope this helps. Some of the points are my own preferences, but they have been deduced from practice, and my main suggestion is that you experiment and draw your own conclusions, which apply to your cutting style and saw/blade combination.