Need advice on which shop tool to buy

[cajuntec]

I’ve been cutting quite a bit of 1/2” thick poly boards (like cutting board material) for both fishing and hunting related projects. I’m not very smooth with the jigsaw, especially around corners. Wondering if there is a different shop tool I should be using that can smoothly cut 1/2” poly boards into the shapes I need them. All pieces are less than a foot square maximum.

Can scroll saws do that? Or is there something better?

Thanks for any guidance.
All the best,
Glenn

[BertramBass]

Maybe a band saw? I would think a good, quality jig saw should do it though. What type of jig saw blade are you using?

[MadHatter]

Wrong blade ^^^, was the first thing that came to mind.
A straight edge clamped on each end as a guide to run the jig saw down, will help.

[Drycreek3189]

Belt sander to clean up the edges ?

[Walker]

Skillsaw for the straight cuts

[Quackerbox]

I've used it quite a bit and rout the edges

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[cajuntec]

Maybe a band saw? I would think a good, quality jig saw should do it though. What type of jig saw blade are you using?

I was using a wood blade with 8 TPI. I don't know the brand. But I was avoiding metal cutting blades because they just melt the plastic and get gummed up.

I just looked up "best blade for cutting...", and before I could finish, google filled it in with "vinyl plank flooring", so I clicked on that. They recommended the Bosch T101BR blade, so I'm on my way to Lowes now to pick up a pack and try those out.

All the best,
Glenn

[cajuntec]

Wrong blade ^^^, was the first thing that came to mind.
A straight edge clamped on each end as a guide to run the jig saw down, will help.

Highly likely. I'm not a skilled woodworker. I try my best, but need some guidance.

I use a straight edge clamped down for the straight cuts, but lately there aren't many straight cuts. That's my biggest issue - hand cutting 1/2" thick plastic that needs a rounded cut on the top and bottom.

Any advice for guiding non-straight cuts?

All the best,
Glenn

[cajuntec]

Belt sander to clean up the edges ?

This stuff gums up a belt pretty quick. I've tried that. I need a better belt sander I think. Mine's an old Black & Decker that I clamp the handle in the vice to hold it steady.

All the best,
Glenn

[MadHatter]

Highly likely. I'm not a skilled woodworker. I try my best, but need some guidance.

I use a straight edge clamped down for the straight cuts, but lately there aren't many straight cuts. That's my biggest issue - hand cutting 1/2" thick plastic that needs a rounded cut on the top and bottom.

Any advice for guiding non-straight cuts?

All the best,
Glenn

For that I would use a scroll saw with a wire.

[cajuntec]

For that I would use a scroll saw with a wire.

I may try that. I’ve never owned one though, so I didn’t know what they are capable of. My son used one in shop class for cutting letters, but that was soft thinner wood. So I wasn’t sure if it was capable of cutting the 1/2 thick poly.

All the best,
Glenn

[RifleBowPistol]

For that I would use a scroll saw with a wire.

I was thinking the same thing. Maybe a larger quality band saw for straight line cutting, then a scroll saw for corners. Would probably be best. You can never have too many tools.

If you really want straighter cut lines, look at getting a table saw also.

[mmoses]

same sizes everytime?

get some mdf templates, get close with the jig saw and use a flush trim router bit.

or a better jigsaw and blades. not all jigs saws are created equal.

[cajuntec]

I was thinking the same thing. Maybe a larger quality band saw for straight line cutting, then a scroll saw for corners. Would probably be best. You can never have too many tools.

If you really want straighter cut lines, look at getting a table saw also.

Thank you for the reply and suggestions.

I think my band saw (small Ryobi) is a lesser quality one, or I'm just not using it correctly. If I tighten the blade too much or too little, it comes off the main wheel in the housing. But when I have the blade tension set so it's staying correctly on the wheel and I start cutting thicker stuff, the blade always seems to bind / bend, even when I'm putting slow soft pressure on the cutting piece coming through. That ends up with a crooked cut. Maybe I just need to play around with it some more.

But any justification to buy more shop tools is a winning situation to be in, so I'll be buying a scroll saw soon.

I had a table saw for years, and seldom ever used it. I ended up giving it away when I moved to VA. I bought a sliding compound miter saw when I got here, and that gets used more often than I ever used the table saw. I may try that for the straight cuts too. I just need to get a blade made for doing so. Don't want to mess up my good wood cutting blades.

For cuts on stuff like plywood, I've been attaching a guide with clamps and using my Skilsaw Worm Drive Circular Saw (love that thing).

All the best,
Glenn

[cajuntec]

same sizes everytime?

get some mdf templates, get close with the jig saw and use a flush trim router bit.

or a better jigsaw and blades. not all jigs saws are created equal.

Thank you.

No, Unfortunately, the sizes are different most every time. A lot of custom pieces made for specific projects as they pop up.

I purchased a better jigsaw a while back, and I like it. I think I was just using the wrong blades. I bought some specialty blades for it yesterday that I found reference to online for cutting vinyl flooring boards. I also bought a pack of Dewalt "scrolling" jigsaw blades. They are smaller than normal jigsaw blades beneath the part that chucks into the jigsaw, so hopefully those will work well for some of the corner work.

All the best,
Glenn