If your new hobby is sawing out various decorative elements, burning or carving wood, then our advice would be to start with a material such as plywood.

There are several significant reasons for this:

Plywood is quite easy to work with.

If it's in your hands good tool, and you'll start with the figures small size, then making them will only take you a couple of hours.

The material is universal in use, so you can make literally anything you want from it: furniture, toys, small decorative elements.

All this can be a wonderful addition to the interior of your home.

Features of working with the material

What is a plywood sheet? It consists of several sheets of veneer, which are connected to each other using glue.

Important: plywood can be different types: based on beech, birch, pine.

Not only the quality of the finished product, but even its structure and color depends on which sheet you choose.

If you are going to cut out various figures using a jigsaw, then you need to choose the highest quality types of plywood.

They are particularly durable, which guarantees that the plywood will not crack, ruining the entire appearance products at the most unpredictable moment.

If you are going to start working immediately, immediately on the day of purchase, then choose only dry sheets of wood.

They won't break the jigsaw blade every 10 minutes.

To work with plywood, you will need to acquire a number of tools.

In principle, they are always the same for all types of products, so you only need a one-time investment:

• Jigsaw
• Jigsaw files
• Hand or electric drill
• Ruler
• Grinding machine
• Burner.

Framework

If you want to beautifully decorate your home or give it to someone close to you original gift, make your own plywood frame.

The preparation process will not take you much time, because you just need to get the necessary materials.

Pay attention!

They are standard for all cases, and we have already mentioned them before.

We will offer you master classes on light crafts made from plywood. You can make either a regular straight frame or plan various patterns and figures on it.

First you need to make a template, and after that you can cut it out, trace the contours with a pencil on the plywood and begin the manufacturing process.

This stage is not only the most responsible, but also the most exciting. If you put a piece of your soul into your work, everything will definitely work out. The finished structure must be opened with varnish. Ready!

Doll furniture

This task will be a real test for parents.

Pay attention!

The so-called test of acquired design skills.

Feature of creation doll furniture is that children do not tolerate falsehood at all.

If they see that the furniture is not worked out in detail, but instead kitchen stove for your favorite doll you brought an ordinary block rectangular shape, then you simply cannot avoid serious grievances and childhood disappointments.

The second feature of making such a craft from plywood using a jigsaw is that all this furniture must be carefully worked out with sandpaper or a grinding machine.

Your child will constantly come into contact with these self-made toys, and if the edges are poorly processed, they may get hurt.

Pay attention!

Well, the last feature of crafts made from plywood and the house is that the materials for such furniture must be absolutely non-toxic and normal for constant contact with the child, because he can drag it into his mouth or take it to bed with him.

This is not a simple applique or paper craft, so you need to take the matter seriously, following a whole list of actions that need to be completed.

Carrying out work from plywood

How simple furniture is made in detail, and then assembled into one piece of furniture, so do-it-yourself plywood crafts should be done separately.

To do this, first of all, prepare special drawings of plywood crafts, on which you will specify the dimensions of all parts and their fastenings.

Take a ready-made plywood sheet and attach a paper part template to it.

Trace the part with a pencil and plan out the outline with a jigsaw.

After this, each part must be cleaned with sandpaper or a grinding machine and only then the piece of furniture must be assembled.

When you are done with the entire set, open it with varnish.

Below are provided different options and photos of plywood crafts. Choose the one you like.

Photos of plywood crafts

Try cutting out a craft like this. Your loved ones will surely like it by placing it in a visible place, for example, on a shelf. To make this craft you will need the following:
Sawing tools.

Preparing your desktop

First of all, you need to prepare your table on which you will work. There should be no unnecessary things on it and every tool should be at hand. Not everyone has their own desktop and has probably already thought about creating one. Making a table is not difficult, but choosing a place for it in the house is difficult. Ideal option- this is an insulated balcony on which you can do crafts at any time. I have already written about preparing the table in a separate article and tried to describe in as much detail as possible the entire process of creating it. If you don't know how to prepare your workplace, then read the following Article. After you have completed the process of creating a table, try to start choosing your future craft.

We choose quality material

The main material is plywood. The choice is always difficult. Each of us has probably encountered such a problem as delamination of plywood from the end part and asked the question, what causes this delamination? Well, of course, this is mainly due to low-quality plywood. If this is not the first time you have picked up a jigsaw, then you can select plywood from the remnants of a previous craft. If you are new to sawing and you don’t have plywood, then buy it at a hardware store. Choosing material for sawing is always difficult. You should always choose plywood carefully, often look at the defects of the wood (knots, cracks) and draw conclusions. The difficulty in choosing plywood lies in the fact that no matter how you guess at its defects and shelf life. For example, you bought plywood, cleaned it, translated the drawing and suddenly it began to delaminate. Of course, this has happened to almost everyone and it’s oh, how unpleasant. So it is better to pay attention when choosing and choose good plywood. I wrote a special Article in which all the principles of choosing plywood are described step by step.

Stripping plywood

We clean our plywood with sandpaper. As you already know, “Medium-grained” and “Fine-grained” sandpaper is used for cleaning plywood during cutting. IN construction stores You've probably seen skins (in a different way sandpaper), they are exactly what we need. In your work you will need “Coarse-grained”, “Medium-grained” and “Fine-grained” sandpaper. Each of them has its own property, but a completely different coating, by which it is classified. “Coarse-grained” sandpaper is used for processing rough plywood, i.e. which has many defects, chips, and cracks.
“Medium-grained” sandpaper is used for processing plywood after “Coarse” sandpaper and has a slight coating. “Fine-grained” or otherwise “Nulevka”. This sandpaper serves as the final process for stripping plywood. It gives the plywood smoothness, and therefore the plywood will be pleasant to the touch. Sand the prepared plywood in stages, starting with medium-grain sandpaper and ending with fine sandpaper. Sanding should be done along the layers, not across. A well-polished surface should be flat, completely smooth, glossy in the light and silky to the touch. How best to prepare plywood for sawing and which sandpaper is best to choose Read here. After stripping, check the plywood for burrs and small irregularities. If there are no visible defects, then you can proceed to the process of translating the drawing.

Translation of the drawing

For me, drawing translation has always been the main process in my work. I will tell you a couple of rules, as well as tips for high-quality translation of a drawing. Many people transfer the drawing onto plywood not only using a pencil and copying, but also using “Black Tape”, glue the drawing to the plywood, then wash off the drawing with water and the markings of the drawing remain on the plywood. In general, there are many ways, but I will tell you about the most common method. To transfer the drawing onto prepared plywood, you must use a copy, a ruler, a sharp pencil and a non-writing pen. Fasten the drawing in plywood using buttons or simply hold it with your left hand. Check if the drawing fits the dimensions. Place the clock drawing so that you can use a sheet of plywood as economically as possible. Translate the drawing using a non-writing pen and ruler. There is no need to rush, because your future craft depends on the drawing.

Drilling holes in the parts

As you have already noticed, the parts contain parts of the grooves that need to be cut out from the inside. To cut out such parts, you need to drill holes in them with help hand drill or, the old fashioned way, make holes with an awl. By the way, the diameter of the hole must be at least 1 mm, otherwise you can damage the elements of the drawing, which, alas, are sometimes difficult to restore. To avoid damaging your work table when drilling holes, you must place a board under the workpiece so as not to damage the work table. It is always difficult to drill holes alone, so ask a friend to help you in your task.

Sawing parts

There are many rules for cutting, but you need to stick to the most common ones. The first thing you need to do is cut out internal parts, only then according to the outer pattern. There is no need to rush when cutting. The main thing is to always keep the jigsaw straight at a 90-degree angle when cutting. Cut out the parts along the lines you precisely marked. The movements of the jigsaw should always be smooth up and down. Also, do not forget to monitor your posture. Try to avoid bevels and unevenness. If you go off the line while cutting, don't worry. Such bevels and irregularities can be removed using flat files or “coarse-grained” sandpaper.

Rest

When sawing, we often get tired. Fingers and eyes, which are always tense, often get tired. When working, of course, everyone gets tired. In order to reduce the load, you need to do a couple of exercises. You can view the exercises here. Do the exercises several times during work.

Cleaning Parts

You should always clean the parts of future crafts carefully. At the very beginning of the work, you already sanded the plywood with sandpaper. Now you have to do a small part of stripping the plywood. Using medium-grain sandpaper, sand the edges of the parts and the back of the plywood. “Fine-grained” sandpaper is considered the final stage of cleaning parts. It is better to clean the front part of the parts with fine sandpaper. When processing plywood, take your time. You can also use a rounded file, which is convenient for cleaning the inside of the holes. Try to ensure that the parts come out without burrs or irregularities.

Assembly of parts

Assembling the parts of our craft is not so difficult here. In order to correctly assemble the parts, you need to read the following Article, which describes in detail all the details of the assembly. After the parts are assembled into one common craft without any problems, then start gluing them.

Gluing the parts

The shelf parts must be glued using PVA or titan glue. You don't need to pour a lot of glue. It is better to tie the assembled craft with glue with a strong thread, tighten it and lay it out to dry. The craft glues together in about 10-15 minutes.

Burning out crafts

To decorate our craft with a pattern (for example, along the edges of the craft), you will need an electric burner. It can be very difficult to burn a pattern beautifully. To burn patterns, you must first draw the pattern with a pencil. You can read how to work with an electric burner and add patterns to a shelf here.

Varnishing crafts

If desired, you can transform our craft by covering it with Wood Varnish, preferably colorless. Read how best to varnish a craft. Try to choose a quality varnish. Varnishing is carried out using a special brush “For glue”. Take your time. Try not to leave visible marks or scratches on the craft.

1. Hand tools
2. Jigsaw
3. Preparing the stencil
4. Sawing process technology
5. Defects in work

Wood carving with a jigsaw is rapidly gaining popularity: many people want to purchase interesting subject decor for decorating your home, furniture and even clothes! Carved items from plywood of varying thicknesses fit organically into any interior style; often people buy photo frames with ornaments, cut-out words and letters, or order intricate shelves and other interesting products. Few people know that artistic sawing using a plywood jigsaw is a task accessible to anyone, even the untrained and inexperienced. You just need to understand how to work with the tool.

What is a jigsaw: general description

A jigsaw is a tool designed for cutting various contours from plywood, including curved ones. It is equipped with a blade with fine teeth that can make an even cut of plywood without the formation of significant burrs.

Hand tools

The ancestor of this type of tool is a manual jigsaw. It consists of a metal arc in the shape of the letter “U”, between the ends of which a sawing blade is stretched and attached to clamps. They securely hold the file during operation and allow you to adjust its tension. On one side of the frame there is a handle.

The clamps on the tool can rotate, creating different planes for sawing, thereby providing the opportunity for wood carving of varying complexity.

When cutting from plywood with a hand jigsaw you have to be careful: its design is quite fragile; during intensive work, the blade often breaks from force and heat, so it has to be replaced. To do this, each master must have several dozen spare files.

When working with a jigsaw to carve internal contours, it is convenient to use such an auxiliary board as in the photo: it will help both protect the table and solve the problem of convenient placement of the workpiece.

Jigsaw

The tool runs on electrical network. It is a housing in which the working mechanisms are located, and there is also a handle for control on it. The sawing organ is located in the lower front part. The blade is often protected by a foot, which allows you to cut the contour exactly along the line without deviation. Advanced and professional models jigsaws have various attachments that facilitate the cutting process and straighten the edges of plywood.

Blades can have different teeth in shape and size. It is necessary to select saw blades that are appropriate for the material being processed so that damage and damage to the plywood sheet does not occur during operation of the mechanism.

Classification of jigsaws by power and application:

The instructions on how to use a jigsaw, or the technical data sheet, should describe the main parameters of the tool that must be taken into account when using the mechanism.

Wood carving tools

Sawing with a jigsaw is a creative process, but it requires preparation and additional equipment. What you will need for work:

Preparing the stencil

Drawings for cutting with a jigsaw can be different sizes, depending on the scale of the product being manufactured. To create a diagram of a shelf, a piece of furniture or a composite three-dimensional toy, you can take a large sheet of whatman paper A1 or A0, the wallpaper left after the renovation will also work, for small figures take regular A4 paper or another suitable format.

Using a bright pencil or marker, draw the outline of the future product on the surface, following the dimensions. This could be an element for assembling furniture, a shelf or another large product.

There are such a wide variety of templates for cutting with a jigsaw that it can be difficult to choose the right one. It is much easier to come up with your own cutting patterns and transfer them to paper.

Transferring an image to the surface of plywood or boards

Before you start cutting with a jigsaw, you need to transfer the image from the stencil to a piece of wood or plywood. To do this, cut out a shape from a sheet, apply it to the surface of the plywood and carefully trace it. It is desirable that the line be smooth and accurate. We use a simple pencil so that, if necessary, we can correct the line by erasing it with an eraser.

We apply the outline from the back side so that finished product no remnants of the lines were visible. The internal area can be shaded so as not to cut off excess and to mark untouchable areas.

It is important to transfer the design in such a way as to minimize cutting along the grain with a jigsaw - it is so difficult to get an even line.

Sawing process technology

Many people have probably heard how to use a jigsaw. Working with the tool will not cause difficulties if you prepare for it correctly.

Plywood carving begins with the inner contours of the design. To do this, you need to make slots for inserting the tool blade:

• The plywood is often taken thin, and when cutting a large contour there will be no problems, but tension may arise in a small remainder. Sawing with a jigsaw inside can damage the product - chips, burrs, cuts;
• It’s easier to work this way: you always have something to hold the workpiece by. WITH large sheet much easier to handle than trying to hold a small sawn piece while shaping its interior.

How to saw with a jigsaw:

Working with a jigsaw is much easier than hand tools, there is no need to make physical efforts and the process goes faster.

How to saw with a jigsaw:

As you can see, there is nothing complicated in this process.

Defects in work

If you did not follow the technology or hold the tool incorrectly, the saw may simply move off the line. Why does a jigsaw cut crookedly:

• tilted the tool while working;
• the tension of the file has weakened;
• With an electric saw, the fastening of the saw may become loose.

To avoid such problems, before starting sawing, be sure to check the tension of the saw and the fastening of all working elements. If the blade is beveled and stuck, it is better to start over and make a line parallel to the defective one.

A little about safety

Safety precautions when working with a jigsaw for cutting plywood and wood are simple:

• Use protective equipment- glasses, gloves, robe. These things will protect you from dust and small chips.
• Sawing with a hand jigsaw should be done carefully so as not to damage your fingers with the file. Maintain a distance between your body and the tool.
• If you are a beginner, carefully read the instructions on how to use a jigsaw and the main characteristics of the tool. This information will help avoid accidental injury and unit breakdown.

Wood carving with a jigsaw requires care and attention. Both your health and the integrity of the finished product depend on these qualities.

What can be made from plywood: interesting ideas and drawings

Sawing wood with a jigsaw or hand tools is a creative process. You can create many decorative items different directions:

Drawings of plywood crafts do not have to be made in exact dimensions. Even taking an example from the Internet and changing its proportions, you will get unique product, which definitely no one has in this form.

DIY plywood crafts can be painted or left in natural color, you can glue buttons, beads, ribbons and other decor on them to liven up the product. To do this, it is worth involving children in the work; their imagination is a bottomless well of interesting ideas.

We offer you diagrams with photos for cutting out of plywood with a jigsaw.

You can think of yourself what can be cut using a hand or electric tool, make your own sketch and transfer it to paper, then to a piece of wood or plywood.

Carving plywood with a jigsaw requires certain knowledge and skills. If you don't have them, take note following rules:

Plywood vase

For work you will need: jigsaw, files, sawing machine, sandpaper, drill or saw, pliers, wire cutters, screwdriver, hammer, BF-2 or wood glue, compass, ruler, pencil, copy paper, buttons, plywood 4 mm thick, round stick with a diameter of 14 - 18 mm, thin cord, some small nails and screws, oil paint, colorless la To, sharp knife or scissors and burning machine.

First transfer the development of parts through carbon paper to plywood, while not forgetting about the economical use of material. Draw straight lines with a ruler, round ones with a compass. In the drawings, the centers of the circles are marked with dots, and their radii with arrows.

It is very important to consider in which direction the fibers of the top layer of plywood will be located on the parts! When sawing on edges with outside There should be a thin trace of the pencil line. Thoroughly clean the edges of the parts with a file, and hard to reach places- a file. The tenons must fit tightly into the grooves of the mating parts. Finally, thoroughly sand all surfaces with sandpaper.

Carry out preliminary (without glue) assembly of the products: you need to make sure that everything is done correctly. Only after this, lubricate the parts with glue and connect. Don't forget to remove any spilled droplets.

Queue for painting. If you decorated the parts with an ornament using a burning apparatus, then it is better to cover them with colorless varnish in 2 - 3 layers. And those without decoration, first paint them with oil or aniline paints, and then with varnish.

WALL VASE. cut out parts 1 - 10. Glue parts 2 - 9 into the grooves and slots of part 1. Insert a clean mustard jar into the resulting cavity. The bottom of the jar should rest on part 7. Drive a nail into the wall from the underside of part 10. Use wire cutters to bite off the cap so that the remaining stem protrudes 8 mm. Insert this part with a groove (without glue) into part 1 so that you can periodically remove the jar. The vase is assembled. Hang it on the wall using the hole in the top of part 2.

HANGING VASE. Cut out parts 11 - 14. Glue part 12 into one of the grooves of part 11. Take a clean 0.33 liter jar and place it on it top part part 13, and place the bottom of the jar on part 11. Then glue the upper part of part 12 with grooves into part 13. Insert the remaining parts 12 and all parts 14 with glue. The vase is assembled. After final processing, the vase with flowers can be hung by the “ears” on three strings in a bookshelf.