How To Make a Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig

Learn how to make a jigsaw guide and crosscut jig that will help you in your workshop. A great woodworking project for beginners. Step-by-step tutorial, measurements, and video!

If you only have a jigsaw in your workshop and you want to make straight cuts or crosscuts, this jigsaw guide will help you do so.

This jig serves both as a jigsaw guide as well as a jigsaw crosscut jig. The build is solid, you’ll only need a jigsaw to build it and it will come in handy for a lot of workshop projects. But the best part, it really doesn’t cost much to build it and you’ll have a nice addon to your workshop.

If you are building a workshop on a budget you should consider making this jig, definitely helped me with my projects. I’ve used this jig for countless projects over time and I am really happy with how it works.

Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop
Router dado jig t-tracks

The main purpose of a jigsaw is to cut curves and angles and other intricate cuts. That’s where the tool really shines. You can also make straight cuts with a jigsaw but that might be a bit tricky and quite difficult to end up with a straight and clean cut

However, that can be achieved with a guide for jigsaw. You can get a straight edge from the shop or build one yourself.

RELATED: Check out these other must-have jigsaw guides for a workshop. Some of them can also be used in combination with a Crosscut Cutting Station

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*Safety is your responsibility. Make sure you know what you’re doing and take all necessary safety precautions while working with power tools. Safety comes first!

Always be cautious and careful when using any power tool.

Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig Plans

Download the Free Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig Plans here
Free Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig Downloadable Plans

What you'll need to build the Jigsaw Guide

Jigsaw base:
Birch Plywood – (30 x 40 x 1,2 cm)
2x Aluminium L Angle – (40 x 1,1 x 1,4 cm; 30 x 1,1 x 1,4 cm) – thickness 1,5 mm

Other:
M4 Bolts (Countersunk) – 1,5 cm, M4 Nuts Washers
Double-Sided (Carpet) Tape
Handle or a Piece of scrap wood (20 x 2,8 x 1,8 cm)
Sandpaper

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Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop

Let's Start

How to make a Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig

Step 1: Build the Jigsaw Base

I started out by cutting a piece of birch plywood (40 x 30 x 1,2 cm). Use the jigsaw for the job.

Try to make a perfect rectangle, it will be easier later on when fixing the aluminum guide to the base. Apart from that make sure one of the 40cm sides is a straight cut.

You might ask now how to make a straight cut with a jigsaw since I don’t have the guide yet? Good point, well, I used a straight piece of wood for that. Or you can build a jigsaw guide rail for straight cuts. Both would work just fine.

TIP: To avoid tear-out with a jigsaw:

  • Use the right blade. You can use a reverse tooth blade or a dual-cut blade. You’ll get much better results with both of these blades. 
  • Use painter’s tape. The tape will help to hold down the fibers while you make the cut.
Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop

I used a straight piece of wood that served as a guide to cut out the plywood base.

Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop
Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop

Note:
It can be problematic to make a 90-degree angle cut with a jigsaw. These tips will help you not to end up with a skewed cut when using a jigsaw:

  • The thicker the piece the higher the chance the cut will be skewed
  • Progress slowly while cutting and try to keep the jigsaw in a straight position
  • If using a guide do not press too much against the guide with the jigsaw. That might lead to a skewed cut.
  • The most important thing- use a jigsaw blade designed for long, straight, and precise cuts

Step 2: Attach the Jigsaw Cutting Guide

First, you need to cut two aluminum L angles. One serves as a guiding rail for the jigsaw the other one serves as a stopper for right-angle cuts/crosscuts.

  • The guiding rail is the same length as the longer side of the board.
  • The crosscut L angle is a little bit shorter than the width of the board. The reason is that we will cut off the wood excess after fixing the guiding rail. 
Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop
Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop

You should end up with 2 aluminum angles as shown in the picture below.

Note:
One angle goes on the top of the jig the other one on the bottom. 

Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop

1. Fix the Guiding Rail

Measure the width of the jigsaw and the center of the jigsaw blade. The center of my blade is a little more than 4 cm. (Jigsaw shoe included)

Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop

Tape a double-sided tape on the angle and tape it to the base at a distance slightly greater than 4 cm.

Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop
Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop

Drill several holes for M4 bolts in the guide rail. Flip the board over and enlarge the holes to countersink the bolts.

Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop
Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop
Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop

Tighten the bolts and cut off the wood excess. That should give a nice straight edge. 

Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop

2. Fix the Crosscut Fence

Turn the board and draw the line where the crosscut fence will be placed. If your board is a perfect rectangle you can use a ruler marking gauge to mark the line. Otherwise, you’ll need to make adjustments until you get a perfect 90-degree angle between the guiding rail and the crosscut fence (a long rectangular ruler will help).

Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop

Follow the same previous steps mentioned above and fix the crosscut fence to the board.

Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop
Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop

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Step 3: Shape the Jigsaw Guide and Get Rid of Wood Excess

Mark the position of the handle first, then draw the design of the jigsaw guide.

Don’t attach the handle yet tough, do so after cutting the shape (it would be difficult to cut the inner parts of the guide). For the handle, I am using a piece of spruce wood. 

Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop

Draw the design of the guide and get rid of wood excess.
The guide will be lighter and it will be easier to work with.

Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop
Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop

Don’t forget to cut out the center. That will allow for holding the cut piece while making crosscuts.

Tip: For short 90 degree cuts with a Jigsaw you can use a speed square.

Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop

Once the shape is cut attach the handle with glue and wood screws.
You can optionally sand off the surfaces and edges of the handle.

Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop

Using a Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig

There are a few ways how to use a jigsaw guide.

  • Make straight long cuts along a line using the guiding rail – draw a line on a piece of wood you want to cut. Attach the jigsaw guide along the line and cut. You can use the handle to press down the guide or attach the guide to a table with clamps and cut using both hands.
  • Make crosscuts with the crosscut fence – since the aluminum crosscut guide is attached at 90 degrees to the cutting edge your cuts will end up right-angled. You can make both long and short cuts. For short cuts, you can use the space in the center of the guide to hold down the piece.

I was quite happy with the results, especially with the crosscuts. The guide is very easy to use, portable, and very convenient for cutting smaller pieces.

Just keep in mind – if you want to have 90-degree crosscuts make sure the L angles are perpendicular to each other. It is definitely worth spending a bit of extra time on this part since that determines how accurate the guide will be.

Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop
Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop
Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig | AllFlavor Workshop

My Take

If you only have a jigsaw in your shop this homemade jigsaw guide will definitely help you with your projects. It helped with mine. 

I hope this article was helpful and now you are ready to build one yourself! It is a versatile jig, easy to use, and very much helpful when starting with woodworking. Also, check these DIY circular saw guides every workshop should have.

How to Make a Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig Video

If you want to see how it is done check out the video below for How to Make a Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig.

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How To Make a Jigsaw Guide and Crosscut Jig. Guide for Jigsaw with a Crosscut Jig.

How To Make a Jigsaw Guide DIY and Jigsaw Crosscut Jig

Jigs used for this project:

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About the author, Lukas
About the author, Lukas

My passion is to build homemade equipment for the workshop and sharing that with others.