Dear all,
I know that galloot-dom tends towards the heavy duty end
of wood-work. There something about malleting out M&T's in
4 inch oak on a 6 inch thick bench that appeals.

But does anyone have any experience (and hence advice) on using
a fret-saw? Not a treadle powered one, just a 'U' shaped frame
(in this case 16" deep) with a handle. I am cutting out some
decoration on a plant-stand (art-neaveau, mentioned ages back),
and I cannot for the life of me keep the cuts vertical.

In "classic" fretwork, i.e. cutting patterns out of 1/8 ply
off-vertical don't show too much, but I'm piercing 8mm (5/16)
Oak. And in pointed features (were 2 cuts meet at an acute angle)
the errors look AWFUL. (working on scrap wood at the moment. Good
decision!)

I'm currently using the classic "support plank with a 'V' cut-out,
sit on a chair, and move the wood around the blade" technique. The only
reference I've found is a 1930's "Home Lover's Encyclopedia", which has a
2 page article on Fretwork, which advocated "practice".

Perhaps some of the frame/bow sawyers in the group have solved similar
problems.

        BugBear.
        (who had similar problem with a coping saw, but was able to clean
        up with chisels since the curved cuts were all exterior)

your doc reference was right. Practice. A lot. If its any consolation, I
learned to use a fret saw (also known as a jewelers saw) on sheet silver. A
lot thinner, but it hurts a lot more when you screw up and waste $$$..
                -JD

From: Esther Heller
Bugbear asked:
But does anyone have any experience (and hence advice) on using
a fret-saw? Not a treadle powered one, just a 'U' shaped frame
(in this case 16" deep) with a handle. I am cutting out some
decoration on a plant-stand (art-neaveau, mentioned ages back),
and I cannot for the life of me keep the cuts vertical.

My first reaction is the 16" frame is overbalancing you, do
you _really_ need that much depth?  I have been cutting circles out
of 1/4" veneered termite barf for drop spindles for several
years with a fretsaw about the size of a coping saw except
that you have the little screw clamps for shorter (broken) blades.
Looks like a jeweler's saw.  I am not real picky about verticalness,
but I suspect I could be.

Esther eoh@k...

>In "classic" fretwork, i.e. cutting patterns out of 1/8 ply
>off-vertical don't show too much, but I'm piercing 8mm (5/16)
>Oak. And in pointed features (were 2 cuts meet at an acute
>angle) the errors look AWFUL. (working on scrap wood at the
>moment. Good decision!)

You might consider putting a block of wood with a square edge
near the cut line:

     ------------------| |
                       | |
                       | |
            block      | |
                       | |
                       | |
     ------------------| |
     ======work==========|
                         |

Variation from square is much more obvious with the larger
thickness.

Brent

Brent Beach, Victoria, BC, CA