Why won't my jigsaw cut fence pickets?

[Louis Brandt]

I’m almost embarrassed to have to post this, because it really sounds dumb, but does anyone have an idea as to why a jigsaw won’t cut across vertical fence pickets? I have a 6 foot tall cedar fence, made of 1x6 inch weathered rough cedar pickets. I want to cut about 6 inches off the bottom. When I put the blade of a jigsaw in the half-inch gap between any two pickets and try to cut through one of them, the blade just won’t bite into the wood, no matter how much force I apply to it. The lower horizontal wood cross brace of the fence is about a foot above the bottom of the pickets, so that the bottom portion of the pickets are able to move slightly. I don’t know whether the fact that the bottom portion of the pickets can vibrate slightly is keeping the jigsaw blade from being able to get started into the wood. I’ve tried this with two corded jigsaws, and one of them has an orbital function, but neither has variable speed. One is a B&D, and one is from HF. I know that these aren’t top quality jigsaws, but they both work fine when I cut sample pieces of the exact same material held down on a flat surface. The blades that I used are 6 and 8 teeth per inch. The section of fence that I need to trim is about 50 feet long, and I don’t want to do this with a handsaw, and I don’t want to have to wield a heavy circular saw to do it. Any ideas?
Louis

[Josiah Bartlett]

It sounds like you are having a vibration problem. I don't think you are going to get a good straight line with a jigsaw, but if you want to do it, get two 2x4's and sandwich several pickets with them near the cut line, and clamp the ends together. This should stabilize the pickets enough to let the saw bite.

[Harry Niemann]

Vibration is the culprit here. Try this, take a coathanger and bend the end over about 3-4 inches. Like an "L" shape. Hook this end behind the picket above the line you want to cut, and pull it tight with one hand while you guide the saw with the other. This may dampen the vibration.

[Pete Bradley]

the blade just won’t bite into the wood, no matter how much force I apply to it

Exactly.

Get the blade moving before it touches the wood. then apply pressure to hold the foot of the saw to the picket and feed the blade no faster than it wants to cut.

Pete

[Randy Klein]

Is it a new blade?

[Louis Brandt]

Hello,
Yes, they are new blades. One is a 6 teeth per inch, and one is an 8 teeth per inch blade. I'm wondering whether I'd be better off with a finer tooth blade, one with say 14 or so teeth per inch.
Louis

[Lee Schierer]

The vibration should be significantly less with a finer tooth blade. Cutting action would be better I suspect.

[Ben Grunow]

Try a gentle push to reduce the vibration. Let the teeth cut and dont force it (think of using a handsaw).

[Louis Brandt]

Hello again,
I want to thank everyone for their help and comments. The problem has been solved, and here’s what did the trick. I had been using fixed speed jigsaws (one B&D and one HF), and both had short stroke lengths (the B&D was only 3/8 inch maximum stroke). Today I just invested $29.95 for a B&D jigsaw model JS500B from Lowe’s, and it cut through the pickets like butter! This jigsaw has variable speed (0 to 3200) and almost double the stroke length (11/16 inch). I know that B&D doesn’t have a great reputation in power tools, but for my needs, this one does the job. My guess is that the combination of variable speed and extended stroke length proved to be the answer. The variable speed on this one allowed me to start the cut slow, whereas the other two units were running at full speed as soon as I turned them on.
Thanks again for the help and for being patient with me.
Louis

[Maurice Ungaro]

Invest in some Bosch blades and that puppy will sit up and do tricks.:D

[Brent Dowell]

That's certainly one option. The only other thing i would have recommended would have been a more saber looking type of reciprocating saw. Something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/DeWalt-DW304PK-Heavy-Duty-Amp-Reciprocating/dp/B0002AJNQ0/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/105-3181547-9115634?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1186116683&sr=1-2

A bit more expensive, but a lot of fun for the buck....

Glad you found a good solution!