Ryobi JS550L - Manual (Page 11)

11
OPERATION
gENERAL CUTTINg
Rest the front of the saw base on the workpiece and align
cutting edge of the blade with the line on your workpiece.
Make sure the power cord is out of your way and not in the
line of cut. Start your saw and move it forward on the work
surface. Apply downward pressure to keep the saw steady
and only enough forward pressure to keep the blade cutting.
DO NOT FORCE ThE SAw
Applying too much forward pressure your saw may overheat
the motor and break saw blades.
ORbITAL MOTION
See Figure 6, page 14.
The blade of the saw cuts in an orbital motion. This feature
is adjustable and provides faster, more efficient cutting.
With orbital motion the blade cuts through your work in
the upstroke but does not drag across your work in the
downstroke. The higher settings should be used when fast
cutting in soft material is desired. The lower settings should
be used when cutting materials with more resistance. The
“0” setting shuts off the orbital motion. Setting "3" offers the
maximum orbital motion.
STRAIghT CUT
See Figures 7 - 9, page 15.
Your saw is equipped with a lock for locking the scrolling
knob in the forward facing position. This should be locked
for all straight cuts as shown in figure 8. A straight cut can
be made by clamping a piece of wood or straightedge to
the workpiece and guiding the edge of the saw against it.
Make the cut from one direction only. Don't cut halfway and
complete the cut from the opposite end. You can also use
the supplied edge guide as shown in figure 8. Loosen the
thumb screw and insert the end of the edge guide through
the two slots in the base. Measure the distance to cut and
tighten the thumb screw. Place the edge guide on the outside
edge of the workpiece and cut in a straight path.
wARNINg:
To avoid possible serious injury, keep hands and fingers
from between the gear housing and saw blade clamp,
and keep the guard in place.
wARNINg:
Excessive side pressure to the blade could result in bro-
ken blades or damage to the material being cut.
USINg ThE LASER gUIDE
See Figure 9, page 15.
wARNINg:
Do not stare into the laser beam or turn the laser on when
the tool is not in use. Failure to do so could result in pos-
sible serious personal injury.The laser unit comes from the
factory already installed and aligned. If the laser becomes
misaligned after time refer to the "Adjustments" section.
The jig saw is equipped with a laser guide to project a red
line to show the cut path.

Pull the switch trigger slightly to engage the laser guide.
 The laser guide will turn on before the jig saw and con-
tinue to stay on for the cutting operation.
 The laser guide will turn off when the switch trigger is
released.
SCROLL CUTTINg
See Figures 10, 11, and 12, page 15.
The scroll cutting feature is designed to permit 360° rotation
of the saw blade so that intricate designs may be cut with
minimum effort.

Set the orbit adjustment to “0”.
  Loosen the base locking lever as shown in figure 10.
  Slide the base back to move the blade-support roller out
of the way of the saw blade as shown in figure 11.
 Retighten the base locking lever.
 Unlock the scrolling mechanism of your saw by sliding
the scrolling knob lock, located on the front of the jig saw,
to the right.
  Rotate the scrolling mechanism with your free hand as
you apply pressure in the direction of the cut with your
other hand as shown in figure 12.
NOTE: The laser guide will not rotate with the scrolling
mechanism.
ANgLE CUTTINg (bEVEL CUTTINg)
See Figures 13 and 14, page 15.
Bevel cutting angles may be adjusted from 0° to 45° right
or left. Angles for cuts from 0° to 45° in 15° increments are
marked on a scale on both the left and right side of the base.
An arrow under the motor assembly provides an indicator at
each of the above mentioned 15° increments. A protractor
is recommended when accurate cuts are required.

Unlock the base by moving the base locking lever forward.
 Align the mark, on the base, of the desired angle with the
indication arrow located on the housing.
 Once the desired angle is reached, tighten the base locking
lever by moving the base locking lever under the motor
assembly.