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Using a jigsaw for scarf cutting?

As I type this, my first scarf neck is drying, and I am not ashamed to say it pretty much sucks. First times are almost never perfect, and I wasn't expecting this to be either, but the experience was disappointing. The biggest problem was that I am without the means to get a chop saw or a good circular saw, so I ended up doing it with a crosscut saw. I ended up block-planing for almost 2 hours to get the ends somewhere near flat. Sigh.

I'm thinking of getting an inexpensive jigsaw for a number of things CBG-related, including scarf cutting. Any thoughts?

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Permalink Reply by Don Thompson on August 4, 2010 at 10:37pm

Jig saws are good at cutting certain things, scarf joints ain't one of them. The blade isn't designed to cut through thick stock, it will wander and slope.

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Permalink Reply by Brett Morgan on August 4, 2010 at 10:50pm

Wouldn't it be better to knock up a 15 degree mitre box and cut it with a hand saw?

Brett

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Permalink Reply by Don Thompson on August 4, 2010 at 10:57pm

I agree Brett, better to spend the time and build a miter box.

Brett Morgan said:

Wouldn't it be better to knock up a 15 degree mitre box and cut it with a hand saw?

Brett

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Permalink Reply by YeahDoIt on August 4, 2010 at 11:46pm

Perhaps a neighbor has a saw that is good for making scarf joints. I traded a bottle of root beer for a saw cut and it worked out well.

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Permalink Reply by Mister Scott on August 5, 2010 at 3:28am

Brett Morgan said:

Wouldn't it be better to knock up a 15 degree mitre box and cut it with a hand saw?

So 15 degrees is the typical angle for the scarf joint?

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Permalink Reply by Brett Morgan on August 5, 2010 at 3:30am

I got the info from Josh's tutorial here:

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/group/smokehouseguitars/forum/topics/...

Scotty C. said:

Brett Morgan said:
Wouldn't it be better to knock up a 15 degree mitre box and cut it with a hand saw?

So 15 degrees is the typical angle for the scarf joint?

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Permalink Reply by Mungo Park on August 5, 2010 at 4:05am

You could cut it with a jig saw and clamp a board onto it as a guide to help you cut it straight, might be tricky but doable, if you make a jig, miter box you will have it for future CBG, you can't really make only one you know.
Josh's tutorial is a super job. Cheers Ron.

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Permalink Reply by Mister Scott on August 5, 2010 at 4:15am

Mungo Park said:

if you make a jig, miter box you will have it for future CBG, you can't really make only one you know.

Oh believe me, I'm finding that out already! :-)

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Permalink Reply by Mark Werner on August 5, 2010 at 8:36am

The last time I used a scarf joint I sandwiched my neck board between two 2 x 4s and clamped the whole thing together.

Then I marked out my angle and simply cut through all three boards with a hand circular saw. Worked perfectly....
Might have been luck.
Cheap miter boxes only have a few "fixed" common angles, I note; the better ones are fully adjustable.

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Permalink Reply by Don Thompson on August 5, 2010 at 11:40am

Mark, Both Brett and I said build a dedicated 15 degree miter box.
Don

Mark Werner said:

The last time I used a scarf joint I sandwiched my neck board between two 2 x 4s and clamped the whole thing together.

Then I marked out my angle and simply cut through all three boards with a hand circular saw. Worked perfectly....
Might have been luck.
Cheap miter boxes only have a few "fixed" common angles, I note; the better ones are fully adjustable.