How to Use a Jigsaw — A Great First Power Tool for DIY Beginners

If you’d like to try DIY — or you’ve already started but cutting lumber with a hand saw is wearing you out — you’re not alone.
When I started, I was hand-sawing every cut, and it was honestly punishing.

If that sounds familiar, let me suggest an easy entry-level power tool: the jigsaw.
Compared to a hand saw, the jigsaw makes cutting dramatically easier.

This article walks through what a jigsaw is and how to use one.

The two main power tools for cutting lumber are the circular saw and the jigsaw. On this site, my recommendation for beginners is to start with the jigsaw.
I have a separate article comparing the two (Japanese version available; English translation forthcoming).

What Is a Jigsaw?

A picture is worth a thousand words — here’s a quick video of a jigsaw cutting wood:

It cuts by rapidly moving a blade up and down through the material.

In short, a jigsaw is an electric saw.
(There’s another type of “electric saw” called a reciprocating saw / sawzall, but those are mainly for things like trimming tree branches. For DIY-level precision, a jigsaw is the more useful tool.)

Side note: originally “jigsaw” referred to a hand-powered fretsaw / coping saw. The “jigsaw puzzle” got its name because the original puzzles were cut with that kind of saw.

What’s Special About a Jigsaw

A jigsaw cuts both straight lines and curves.
Mental model: it’s basically the power-tool version of a hand saw.

Swap the blade and you can cut metal as well as wood.

Drill a pilot hole, and you can do “pocket cuts” — cutting a hole out of the middle of a board (more on this below).

For all that capability, the jigsaw is one of the safer power tools and is great for beginners.

＜Jigsaw at a glance＞

• Cuts straight lines and curves
• Relatively safe
• Can cut interior holes (pocket cuts)
• With the right blade, can cut metal too
• Less precise and slower than a circular saw

The signature jigsaw advantage — curve cutting:

How to Use a Jigsaw

The basics:

Basic workflow

You need a workbench

You’ll want a stable surface to hold the workpiece while you cut.

Install the right blade

Match the blade to your material — wood blade or metal blade. Curve-cutting blades are also widely sold.
※ Always unplug the saw before changing blades.

Cut along your marked line

Start the saw before the blade touches the material — turn it on, then bring it into the wood.

For a straight cut, use a ruler or a piece of straight scrap as a guide (see below).

Sand the cut edge if needed

Jigsaw cuts tend to be a bit rough — sand the edge if you want a clean finish.

Useful cutting techniques

Two worth covering: using a guide for straight cuts, and pocket cuts.

Using a guide for a straight cut

Freehand straight cuts are hard to keep accurate.
Clamping a ruler or a long straight piece of scrap as a fence makes it much easier.

Clamping the guide down (as in the photo) makes it even more stable.
Any long, straight piece will do — doesn’t have to be a ruler.

Even with a guide, the cut edge is still on the rough side, so I’d recommend a quick sanding pass to clean it up.

Pocket cuts (cutting an interior hole)

One thing a jigsaw can do that a circular saw can’t: cut a hole out of the middle of a board.
Drill a starter hole somewhere inside the cutout area, then start the jigsaw blade in that hole and follow the line. Easy.

Orbital action

Some jigsaws have an “orbital action” mode.
The blade swings forward and back as well as up and down — kind of a scooping motion. This cuts faster.

The downside: the cut edge is rougher than in standard mode.

Personally I don’t use this feature.
Two reasons: I rarely have a use case where I’m doing tons of jigsaw cuts back-to-back and need extra speed, and when I do have a lot of cuts to make, I switch to the circular saw.

Corded or Cordless?

For a jigsaw, I’d recommend a cordless model so you can use it anywhere.

Personally I don’t expect surgical precision from my jigsaw — for me it’s just “the power-tool version of a hand saw.” So I don’t think you need to splash out on a top-tier model.

If you want truly precise straight cuts, that’s where a circular saw comes in.
(Unlike jigsaws, the higher-end circular saws are actually cheaper in the corded versions, so corded makes more sense for circular saws.)

For circular saw details, see my Japanese article (English version forthcoming).

Wrap-up

That’s the jigsaw rundown.

Whether you’re already DIY-ing with hand saws or just thinking about getting started, the jigsaw is a great first power tool.

Less dangerous than a circular saw, but still a power tool — handle with care and have fun!