mark wrote:
I am trying to cut some toekicks out of 5/8" melamine with a jigsaw. I tried
the cutting guide that came with it and I keep the guide tight and saw foot
nice and flat but the cut will not follow my straight line made with a speed
square. I also tried clamping the speed square to the work and using it as a
guide for the saw without the guide, keeping the saw's foot tight to the
square and still the blade wanders off course. It is a brand new craftman
top of the line and new bosch blades meant for "fine cutting in wood,
plywood and plastics". Thanks for any tips.


G'day Mark,
This wont help your problem much, but give a few idea's for correcting
it slightly.
Cutting straight lines with a jigsaw is not easy, (as you have found
out) especialy using a fence.
Not saying that the quality of the machine is not important, but the
main factors a
1) The blade would have to be EXACTLY parrelell with the fence guide.
2) The blade would have to be precision ground so that the set of teeth
are the same on each side.
3) The shaft on the saw can not have any slop.

As others have mentioned, sometimes you can jag, all of the above and
cut a straight line but very rarely.
I have Jigsaw with a laser guide,(Bloody waste of time) I only used the
guide once, for about 12"'s and cutting straight with it was a miserable
experience. Following a pencil line was easier and more accurate.

Considering that you may not have a circular saw, the way I would attack
this job is to:
1) Cut the piece with the Jigsaw, free hand following a line.
2) Ensure that any wobbles are on the waste side of the line.
3) Either plane or use a belt sander to remove the inconstancies down to
the line.
Hope this helps a bit.
regards
John