First Jigsaw!

[Dai_The_Eye]

Just tried my first Jigsaw! Used FD puzzle blade and its so much finer than what I've been using before. Snapped first blade just putting the tension on! Went through several blades but I expect its all a learning curve. I've not got the most tuneful of ears so any advice about getting the tension right. I felt the blade had to be on a low tension and then it seemed to wander if not careful.

 

[stevebuk]

Snapped first blade just putting the tension on! Went through several blades but I expect its all a learning curve. I've not got the most tuneful of ears so any advice about getting the tension right. I felt the blade had to be on a low tension and then it seemed to wander if not careful.

and therein lies your problem, you will need tight tension to keep a clean cut. Looks ok to me, keep going..

 

[Dai_The_Eye]

Thanks Steve. Any advice about getting the right tension on such a fine blade?

 

[Scrollerman]

Hi David....Steve is right about needing tight tension to keep a clean cut but he clearly missed what you said about you snapping the first blade when just applying tension in the first place !
My answer is this....If a blade breaks when applying tension, back the tension off a bit and see if that works.
If it still breaks, back off a bit more until you find the optimum tension for that type of blade.
A better option would be to start with less tension and work your way up so you break less blades in the process.
I know this sounds simplistic but it's an obvious thing to do. #-o