Winston writes:

Here, a few months ago, I wondered aloud what would
happen if I clamped my saber saw underneath a work
surface so that I could free up my hands to guide
the workpiece. This would allow me, for example to
do miter and notch cuts in steel quickly and accurately.

I tried it and found that I couldn't hold the workpiece
down against the face of the surface for some reason.
I jumped to the conclusion that I needed a larger
'orbital' blade clearance setting but even with that
set for maximum 'return clearance' the work still
vibrated uncontrollably.

I dunno about the lateral blade flop you mention. Maybe you're using
long blades?

When I had a bunch of rosettes [1] to cut out of sheet metal (I
forget the ga., but way less than 16 ga. 24 ga. maybe?) I mounted my
sabre saw shoe-up under a hobby-grade router table. Made a 16
ga. plug for the round router-bit opening with a slot to allow the
blade to pass through.

Then made an angle-iron bridge across the table to which I attached a
thing very like a sewing machine presser foot. The presser foot could
be adjusted for work thickness so's to make a very light friction fit
when the stock slid under it.

The vibration was a bit hard on the fingers but I cut out the rosettes
without readjusting the foot more than once or twice.


[1] Rosettes at the center of the roses he

http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/img/rose-3.gif

--
Mike Spencer Nova Scotia, Canada