10 Easy Jigsaw Projects for Beginners

August 21, 2022

The jigsaw can cut faster than the hacksaw and the handsaw. As such, it is a favorite by many experienced woodworkers and hobbyists. They love it because of the many benefits, concomitant with its use. One such benefit is safe usage. It is safer to use than other power tools. It is also very efficient in cutting and is portable enough to carry around to your workplace. 

So, if you’re a beginner in woodworking, you can use the jigsaw to kickstart your woodworking career. Yet, as a beginner, you might get frustrated if you try your hands at building challenging projects using the jigsaw. It will be best to start with easy jigsaw projects to build your confidence in woodworking little by little. 

You might be at a loss as to which easy projects you can engage in using the jigsaw. Hence, it will be best to familiarize yourself with the following easy projects that can help you get the hang of the use of the jigsaw:

10 Types of Jigsaw Projects That Most Suitable for Beginner Woodworkers

1) Cheese Board

One excellent easy jigsaw project is the cheeseboard. It is a classic beginner’s project for users of jigsaws, and it can help you hone your cutting skills and other woodworking skills. One best wood for doing this classic project is the olive wood. It is perfect for its exquisite quality and natural oils. 

It will be best to start with a plan for every woodworking project you want to make. You can use a sheet of paper and outline your plan and design. Your design, of course, should take into account the cheese sizes. Besides, you should include on your cheese board a handle. 

In doing this project, you can hone your skills in cutting irregular sizes using the jigsaw. You can use your design as your template when carving the edges of the cheeseboard. Once done cropping the board, you can sand down the board’s edges for a smooth round finish.  

2) Serving Tray

Making a serving tray is another excellent but easy project to engage in using the jigsaw. As mentioned above, start with a design. If you can’t think of a design, you can mimic the designs of others online and give them a bit of a twist. 

Serving trays, of course, come in a wide variety of designs. As a caveat, when making a serving tray, it will be best to use water-resistant glue. Besides, you should provide your serving tray with an excellent water-resistant finish.

3) Wooden Placemat

This project is an easy project that you can complete within an hour. Yet, with a tinge of creativity, you can make this quick project a fantastic one and add some value to your dining table. Driven by creativity, you can infuse your style onto this project and, thus, spruce up your dining table. 

With this project, you can hone your cutting skills and familiarize yourself with the use of the jigsaw. Besides, you can improve your finishing skills and harness your creativity a bit. Moreover, you will learn how to sand and dabble with stains or varnish.

4) Wood Signs

Since the jigsaw is a perfect tool for making curves and other irregular shapes in wood, it is ideal for creating a wood sign. Again, you should start with a design and create a template as your guide. 

Then, drill a pilot hole from where you can start cutting the letters or designs you would like to make. Once done with cutting the letters or numbers, you can sand down and apply some stain or paint.

5) Jigsaw Heart

If you got a beloved someone, you always want to give that someone something special, something your hands have fashioned out. One such gift would be a jigsaw heart. It is easy to make using the jigsaw. 

You can start with an outline of a heart that you can use as your template. Then, you can attach it to your wood piece. Using your jigsaw, you can start carving the outline. Once you’ve cut the heart shape out of your wood, you can sand the rough edges down.

6) Laptop Stand

Another excellent project you can indulge in using your jigsaw is a laptop stand. This project, of course, will come in handy when using your laptop. Your only limitation when it comes to doing this project is your creativity. 

With this project, you can hone your measuring and designing skills while further harnessing your cutting skills and sanding skills, as well as your ability to finish the wood surface.

7) Stool

If you have newly built or arranged your woodworking workshop, and you’ve noticed no stool yet inside it, you can begin your first jigsaw project with a stool. A stool can always come in handy in a workshop. It can prop you up for a quick rest. So, it will be a perfect easy project to get the hang of the use of the jigsaw. 

You can make a stool out of plywood and some solid wood in your workshop. At the onset, it will be best to plan how you will make the stool. So, you need to outline your project. Plan how to make your stool sturdy to make it safe and durable. 

Using your jigsaw, you can cut out circles for your stool. You will not only hone your cutting skills using the jigsaw, but you can also hone your finishing skills using stain, varnish, or paint. You can finish this project within an hour or less. After completing this project, you will feel more confident about tackling more complicated tasks.

8) Drawer Organizer

Another easy project to make using your jigsaw is a drawer organizer. This project is quite simple, but it will help you harness your design capability and cutting skills. Besides, you will enhance your measuring capability with this project. 

With this project, you can organize your drawers and customize the sizes of dividers for your drawers. You can also clear up clutters in your drawers once you’ve customized your drawer organizer to fit your drawers. Making it might not require enough creativity, but you can still infuse some ingenious ideas into your design.

9) Stacking Totes

Another cool project to engage in is stacking totes. This project is a great weekend project that will not take so much of your time. But it can help declutter your space a bit. You can use 1/2″ plywood for this project.

10) Shoe Storage Booster Stool

This project will come in handy in your room to allow you to reach a higher shelf. It is a cool project perfect for harnessing and improving your skills in using the jigsaw. It might not take you an hour to finish this project. You only need plywood, glue, and nails for this project, plus, of course, you will need your jigsaw. 

With this project, you can enhance your skills in making joinery and cutting plywood. Besides, you can improve your skills in taking accurate measurements as well as your ability to finish the surface of your project.

Conclusion

As a beginner in woodworking, it will be best to start with easy projects. The reason is that you need to build skills and confidence in using power tools incrementally. If you become impatient and engage in more complicated projects, you might become frustrated and lose interest in woodworking. Besides, you might injure yourself if you’re not prepared for complex projects. 

But if you begin with easy tasks like the ones mentioned above, you can incrementally build your skills while preparing yourself for more complicated projects in the future. You also slowly build your confidence while learning the rudiments of woodworking using your different power tools.