I prepared the triangular packers for the recesses in the canted corners and sawed the frets out of pre-sized 1/8″ (3.2mm) thick veneer (fig. 1).
Fig. 1. Walnut packers and frets.
Once the corner packers were glued in place, I moistened their faces and the sized faces of the frets and then pressed them in place (fig. 2).
Fig. 2. Blind fretted canted corner.
The hours involved in the work in this post come to 16-1/2.
The total hours involved to-date come to 160-3/4.
Jack Plane
Pegs and 'Tails 
That’s beautiful work Jack. Did you saw the 2 pieces of fretwork separately or resaw them from a single board after fret Sawing?
Congratulations on the Million plus hits and thank you for sharing all of the great, clear information. Much appreciated!
JK
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The frets were sawn from two stacked lengths of veneer.
JP
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Thanks Jack. Makes sense. I’ve heard it done both ways. Always value your experience/ opinion. Getting close to making 2 fretwork stretchers in 1/4″, was going to resaw… believe you’ve saved me some disappointment
JK
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Ah now; if you’re talking about 1/4″ thick stretchers, that’s a different pot of glue. I presume the cross section of any given area of the fretwork would not be less than 1/4″ square.
If that’s the case, then the fretwork would have sufficient cohesion for it to be ripped in two.
1/4″ is fairly thin for stretchers. Are they for a small table?
JP
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Yes, I’m making an interpretation of a Townsend Pembroke (breakfast?) table that is fairly small. The cross section would all be minimum 1/4″. The stretchers look to be about 1/4″ thick by 1&3/4″ tall by ~36″ long. I have a quarter sawn piece that is 9/16″ thick that I was originally planning on cutting the fret work in and then resawing with a fine toothed handsaw. I’ve cut fretwork in 1/4″ stock before and figured I could manage in 1/2″. On the surface resawing seems like less/easier work than cutting the fretwork twice.
JK
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Oh dear. I should have read the comments first. Sorry.
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No worries.
JP
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Could you elaborate on the method of attaching the frets. I always thought sizing was a thin coat for sealing. Is the sizing hide glue?
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Yes, size, in the context of woodworking, is thinned glue.
With the rear face of the fretwork sized and dry (to allow the veneer to return to a flat state), the ground (in this instance, the corner packer) is swiftly brushed with hot water and then the wet brush is lightly wafted over the sized face of the fretwork.
The fretwork is then aligned with the ground and pressed down firmly.
JP
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You’re work continues to be inspiring. Thank you.
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If the veneers were sawn stacked, what differentiates right from left? Fitting?
Thanks,
Mike
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I habitually mark stuff, though in this case, while trial fitting the un-fretted veneers, one required a thin shaving removed from one of the bottom corners.
Other than that, there’s absolutely no difference in them.
JP
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There are two problems with ripping a length of [thin] fretwork in two: The first is, with the additional allowance for the saw kerf, unless you are adept at keeping the fret saw perpendicular at all times, when ripped in two, the good (outer) face of the ‘lower’ section would be unlikely to resemble the ‘top’ section.
The second issue, in this instance, is that the tracery is so fine that unless a really fine-toothed ripping saw was used, the fretwork would simply disintegrate.
JP
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I like the trick about sizing the fretwork and then wetting the packer and fretwork to stick the fret in place – no glue excess to clean up afterwards. How did you think of that one ?
David
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I’m not being flippant, but it just seemed obvious to me. I normally encourage squeeze-out as it guarantees a good bond. However, whilst an oozing mess could be cleaned up with hot water and a toothbrush afterwards, all that tracery end grain would be likely to swell and possibly break its bond and crack upon drying.
JP
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I do really appreciate your skill, jp!
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Jack,
As always I am amazed by your work (and in this case how few hours it takes).
Did you saw the fretwork by hand with a fretsaw?
For the size on the fretwork, would that work with liquid hid glue or only hot?
Thanks!
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Yes, the frets were cut traditionally on a wooden fretting board using a piercing saw – simply because the frets are narrow and a fret saw (with its deeper gullet) can be somewhat unwieldy in such circumstances.
I always have a pot of hot glue at the ready, but I don’t see why cold glue wouldn’t work.
JP
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Would you please describe the “fretting board”? I’ve use a bird’s mouth jig like jewelers use in the past. Is it similar to that?
JK
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They are one and the same.
JP
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