What I do with materials that want to rip out and shred, is that I put the blade on backwards. I've used this many times with plastics, etc. to great effect.

Oh wait, you said jig saw. I was thinking CIRCULAR saw. Oops!

Support, support, support. Plus, like others have mentioned, get the right blade.

If it really doesn't work for you (still tears out), you may have to cut it to within a 1/8 inch or so, then plane down the rest. Lots more work there though....

phil

: OK, how do you cut Okoume without ripping the crap out of the surface?
: I got out my brand new cheap Black and Decker one speed jig saw last night,
: put in a new blade, and cut about an inch off one end of a sheet of
: plywood to get a water stain off. First thing I noticed is how hard it is
: to cut in a straight line as it vibrates a lot. The top surface looked
: fine, although it did rip out a small piece of the veneer in one spot. The
: bottom, however, looked bad. About an eighth of an inch of shattered
: veneer all along the cut.
: Not a problem if I'm going to scarf it there, but a definite problem if I'm
: not.

: I changed from a wood cutting blade to a metal cutting blade, thinking the
: smaller teeth would rip less. It cut a straighter line, but the tearing
: was actually worse on the bottom as well as on the top.

: I'm thinking it has to do with the vibration. I was cutting an inch off with
: the board just hanging over the edge of the table. This was a very
: discouraging start, I must say, but I'm confident you all will give me
: lifesaving advice.

: Thanks,

: Patsy