In the traditional sense and more common place, a 'Fret Saw'
is a versatile saw with a thin, elongated D-shaped frame and a very
thin blade designed for cutting very fine, very intricate, curvey
cuts and outlines.
The replaceable blade is clipped taut to either end of the frame to
give the blade strength.
There is also a
'Guitar Saw'
used for cutting Frets on a guitar which is sometimes referred to as
a 'Fret Saw'; this type of saw is not for this article.
The design of the 'Fret Saw' has a special feature of allowing the
saw to make internal cuts to a workpiece by drilling a hole in the
workpiece and then threading the blade through the hole as the starting
point of the internal cut. The internal cuts are limited by the size
of the frame.
'Fret Saws' are used for cutting shapes (both internal and external) in thin workpieces such as:
The very thin blade means it must be used delicately on finer pieces
of work. It is not intended to cut big, thick workpieces or any heavy
duty rough work which would almost certainly result in the blade snapping.
A very common maker of the Fret Saw for many years is Eclipse.
Eclipse Fret Saws
and Fret Saw blades are still a popular make today.
The 'Coping Saw' has a family member called the 'Fret Saw' which is a very similar saw in appearance and function. The main difference between the 'Coping Saw' and the 'Fret Saw' is the 'Fret Saw' has a more elongated frame and is capable of even more intricate cuts than the 'Coping Saw'.
A 'Fret Saw' typically has a thinner, more maneuverable blade compared
to the usually thicker 'Coping Saw' blade, as a result the Fret saw
typically can cut more intricate curvey cuts.
The frame of the 'Fret Saw' is longer so allows cuts further from the
edge of the workpiece.
There are various toothed replacement blades available for 'Fret Saw'
which typically range from 16 TPI - 32 TPI.
The Eclipse Fret Saw is usually sold with a 16 TPI blade as standard.
Eclipse offer additional replacement 18 TPI, 22 TPI and 32 TPI Fret
Saw blades.
The teeth should face backwards towards the handle to allow the 'Fret Saw' to cut on the pull stroke.
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