Scroll sawing, fret sawing and jig sawing all mean precisely the same thing and that is sawing interlaced and ornamental designs out of wood, or fretwork as it is called.

With a scroll saw frame costing 50 cents and a few thin boards you can saw out the most exquisite patterns and make the most dainty articles imaginable. There is more pleasure, of course, in using a regular foot power scroll saw, but you can do just as good work with a hand frame and though it takes a little longer you'll enjoy it immensely.

Scroll Sawing Outfits

A scroll saw is a very simple piece of apparatus and it consists of a fine saw fixed in a frame, or otherwise supported, so that it can be moved up and down, and it is narrow enough to turn sharp curves.

Now scroll saws, as I shall call them, are of three kinds and these are (1) those worked by hand; (2) those run by foot-power, and (3) those operated by other kinds of power.

Fig. 8. A Simple And Cheap Scroll Sawing Outfit

A Cheap Scroll Sawing Outfit

The simplest and cheapest scroll sawing outfit consists of (a) a scroll saw frame; (b) a dozen saw blades, and (c) an awl, all of which are shown in Fig. 8. If it is your idea to saw out brackets and other fancy knickknacks you ought to have a sheet of (d) impression paper,8 (e) some sheet designs,9 and (f) some fancy wood.

The scroll saw frame is a bent iron or steel bar, usually nickel-plated, which forms a frame about 5 inches wide and 12 inches long. A handle is fitted to one end and a clamp to each end so that the saw blade can be held tight in the frame.

How to Use the Scroll Saw

The first thing to do is to put a saw blade in the frame and be sure to have the points of the teeth down, that is toward the handle.

Next mark the design you intend to saw out on a a thin piece of wood 10 planed nice and smooth on both sides, hold it flat on the edge of the table with your left hand, grip the saw handle with your right hand and hold it so that the saw blade is vertical as shown in Fig. 9.

You are ready now to begin to saw out the design; set the sawblade on the line, jig the saw frame up and down and be careful to give it even and smooth strokes. You will be surprised to find how easily it works. When you are sawing turn the wood and not the saw frame - the latter can be turned a little sometimes to advantage - and hold it so that the back of the frame is always toward you and the blade should move forward but very slightly.

When you want to saw a piece out of the inside of the board, take your awl and make a hole in it by giving it a twisting motion to prevent it from splitting the wood. Now unscrew one of the clamp9 of your saw frame and put the free end of the saw through the hole, clamp it in the frame and start to saw again.

8 This is ordinary carbon paper such as is used for typewriting.

9 See Fancy Woods for Scroll Sawing in this chapter.

10 Both can be bought of L. H. Wild, 171 Avenue A, New York City.

Fig. 9. The Right Way To Use A Hand Scroll Saw