: I'm trying to cut out the coaming base rings out of 1/2" A/C
: grade exterior plywood from Lowes (ala Yost kayaks/plywood
: stacked coamings). It's been in the garage for a month or two
: and it's fairly been wet/humid lately. (OH! And, I'm kind of an
: idiot when it comes to this stuff.)

: Ok, so that's the background.

: I'm trying to cut a fairly simple curve of the interior coaming
: ring (even the long side). It seems like I'm hitting something
: hard inside of the plywood. It seems like I hit it and it grabs
: the blade and pulls it out of the socket/connector/thingie.
: There are times I can barely go 1/4" before the blade pops
: out.

: I've tried...
: - making sure I'm not pushing on the blade;
: - trying to make the blade go faster/slower;
: - trying a new blade;
: - trying a more coarse blade (I'm using "fast sheet
: metal" blades for a nice clean cut);
: - trying to attack the cut from the opposite direction.

: I do feel like the piece is fairly securely mounted/clamped.

: Is this just simply the wood being damp from the humidity (MD
: area)? I'm not sure what to do differently - I tried just
: pushing through tonight, but I was a good chunk of time in and
: hadn't cut out of the interior of the ring.

: Ideas? I'm fairly irked.

: -Doug

Well, I've cut plenty of things with various jigsaws, and have had broken and bent blades, for sure - but never had anything like that happen. I'd have to say that it's your saw/blade connection point that is malfunctioning. Try cutting some other dense objects and see what happens. It might be a good excuse to buy a new tool!
Good luck!