Straight - line cutting across the grain and with the grain takes practice also a couple of factors have to be taken into consideration . first almost all scroll saw and fret saw blades dont cut straight or cut parallel to the blade they often cut a few degrees more towards one side than the other . When you stand facing the direct front of the saw you will note that the angle of normal feed is off approximately 2 to 4 degrees to compensate You can verify this for yourself Draw some lines across a board with a square now cut each line you will soon determine that its easiest to follow the line with the work feed slightly angled into the saw blade Straight line ripping is done in essentially the same way However be alert because the blade may follow the grain rather than the layout as you expect. in such cases slow the feed and compensate by changing the angle slightly more in the appropriate direction . with some pratice straight line sawing freehand is surprisingly easy even when using very narrow blades . Joe
