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The best image I have found showing a method for making accurate bevel cuts with a jigsaw can be seen here. There are also numerous homemade jigsaw table videos and plans around. I don't really want to make a jigsaw table just to make a couple of angled cuts but I've tried and failed to do it accurately by eye.

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I want to use a jigsaw, not a table saw or circular saw (because I got one for christmas and I'm stubborn like that) I need to make a 45 degree bevel cut along the edge face of a board as illustrated at the above link, not a simple picture frame mitre.

Does anyone have any plans for a simple jig to accomplish this? I've done a lot of googling but haven't found anything with any level of detail so thought i woukd ask here before designing my own.

My effort

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You don't need a jig per se to do this successfully, you just need to run the jigsaw against a straightedge (the wooden fence in the image posted) paying careful attention to pressing the baseplate of the saw against the fence. Don't concentrate on the pushing motion, let the saw take care of the cut and work at its own rate, concentrate on pushing against the fence.

One or two practice cuts should see you getting reasonable results doing the above.

But if you do need something more the simplest 'jig' is just two straightedges which the saw's baseplate runs between. This completely prevents any potential for wander from the saw itself. Many circular saw and router jigs work on this principle.

I need to make a 45 degree bevel cut along the edge face of a board as illustrated at the above link, not a simple picture frame mitre.

Not sure what you're doing here or what you're hoping for but if you're seeking a completed surface from the cut you're seeking in vain. Jigsaws just don't produce finish-ready cut faces, no matter how expensive the saw is or what blade you use.

It should be expected that all jigsaw cuts, if they are to be seen (and not infrequently when not), should need planing* or sanding to finish them off.

*If you do have a plane you can do the entire operation with it, after initial marking out in pencil planing can produce the bevelled edge you want in a single operation, without much trouble or undue effort.

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  • Thanks. I did a similar edge with a jack plane in under 20 mins. I am going to try with a bigger fence as I've only tried a straight edge so far. Then I'm going to give up and just do it by hand. My jigsaw bevel dream will then be over :(
    – codecowboy
    Commented Dec 31, 2017 at 17:53
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    I think whats happening is that the blade is flexing and then deflecting and the straight edge isnt tall enough to combat that
    – codecowboy
    Commented Dec 31, 2017 at 17:56
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    Blade flex and wander is always an issue... taking it as slow as possible and letting the blade do the work will help a little. Don't think of this as failure of a jigsaw... think of it as an excuse to get a circular saw.
    – Aloysius Defenestrate
    Commented Jan 1, 2018 at 1:36
  • @codecowboy Just for posterity, when I say a straightedge above I mean something with a straight edge, generally any suitably straight piece of wood e.g. a piece of a 2x4 or a length of thick ply (factory edges are usually reliably straight). You're a braver man than I am using a C-clamp to clamp down an aluminium Starrett straightedge!
    – Graphus
    Commented Jan 1, 2018 at 8:08
  • Stupider not braver :)
    – codecowboy
    Commented Jan 1, 2018 at 9:33
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Given that the jigsaw does not seems to be the best tool to make what you want (the circular saw is far better), I think that the image you show is one of the better way to do it. The only think I would add is a spare piece of wood under your piece in order to have a better and cleaner cut.

Otherwise the jig in this video seens to work reasonably well. At the end of the video there are the measures of the various pieces.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLndE0WuLtA

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