The average homeowner in the UK will spend more than £4,000 on a fitted kitchen. Here Donald Miller, general sales manager at power tool accessories and hand tool specialist, Starrett, explains how contractors can make the most of the boom.
With such a rise in demand, kitchen installers are increasingly faced with challenging design requirements and materials that can often feel like an impossible jigsaw puzzle. Choosing the right jig saw blade can be the missing piece to improve installation methods and quality of finish.
The trend for sleek, minimalist and contemporary kitchens shows no sign of slowing downand kitchen installers are facing an ever-expanding range of materials. Wood, metal, plastic, ceramics, stone and fibreglass are all common parts of a homeowner’s design requirements,making the need for high quality power tools and accessories greater than ever.
While jig saws are amongst the most popular power tools used by kitchen fitters, the frequent chipping of coated surfaces is a common problem for installers. Innovative technologies and materials, including Starrett’s patented bimetal material and Dual Cut blades, provide the perfect solution for multipurpose cutting that creates the highest quality finishes in the easiest way possible.
Bimetal Unique
Tool manufacturers have long used bimetal materials — the layering of one type of metal on top of another — in the manufacture of saw blades for a wide range of industries. Bimetal fulfils a wide range of installation requirements by taking advantage of the flexibility of both hard and soft materials.
Starrett’s bimetal unique technology is a patented process which takes the production of bimetal material to a new level. Benefits for installers include much stronger teeth, improved heat resistance and greater blade life, when compared against competitive bimetal products.
No chipping to the edge of the cut
Damage to the edge of the material being cut can be the bane of any installation. Because jigsaw blades are prone to chipping the coated surface of a material as the blade leaves the cut,many installers choose to cut from the underside of the material or cover the coating in masking tape to combat this problem.
This adds substantial time and risk to any job. What’s more, because of the rise in sleek kitchen designs the underneath edges are often left exposed as part of the interior style. Tocombat chipping on the top surface, many jig saw blade manufacturers offer blades with the teeth reversed so that the jig saw cuts on the downstroke rather than the usual upstroke.
Although this might appear to be a solution, the design specification of the blade makesinstaller use difficult. The downcut positioning can cause the blades to cut off straight vertically due to the sheer pressure of the blades pushing away from the machine. Even though the cuts might slant by only a few millimetres, the installation of sinks and other appliances can become a significant problem.
To combat this issue, the Starrett BU310T jig saw blade cuts as normal on the upward stroke of the machine but features ground teeth which create exceptional sharpness for a sleekfinish. There is also no set on the teeth of the blade which limits further the potential for chipping of the surface coating. The result is a worktop cut straight, and cut from the top with a high quality, chip free surface finish.
New materials and aesthetics provide kitchen fitters with the opportunity to create installations that push traditional design boundaries, and specialist jig saw blades that increase efficiency and reduce time scales provide the final piece of the puzzle for installers. Brit’s are splashing out on their kitchens and by investing in a trusted trader, with trusted tools, these homeowners can sleep soundly, safe in the knowledge that the result will look every bit as good as they expect.
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