I may say that this system has been put to practical test, and some of the very best examples of handrailing have been done by it with the very best results. But it was found to be a great advantage to use a machine gig-saw: they can be bought the same as any other saw, and if it is fixed into a bow-saw frame, or a frame made for it, no difficulty will be experienced in sawing out any wreath shown in this book.
1. The tangents are made to conform to the falling line of rail, instead of the falling line having to conform to the tangents, as is the case in most systems.
2. The wreath being sawn out to the section lines instead of vertical, as is the case with cylindrical wreaths, saves more than half the time in squaring.
3. The wreath being straight across on the inside and outside in the direction of the section line, instead of concave on the inside and convex on the outside, as is the case with a cylindrical wreath, is much easier to mould, and has a much better appearance by far when finished.
4. It has all the advantages of falling moulds without the trouble of getting them out, and it can always be ascertained what any part of the falling line is out of the centre of the plank.
5. It takes the minimum thickness of stuff, as it can always be seen exactly what thickness will be required.
6. The system of bevelled joints does away with the short ramps, and thereby saves both labour and material; besides there is only one joint instead of three.
It will be seen that in no case in this book is extra thickness of stuff required.
If the surface of a solid is neither horizontal or perpendicular it is oblique.
Thus, if we place a box on the table, the top of the table represents the horizontal plane and the side of the box the vertical plane, and the intersection of the box and the table is the ground line, or X Y. Draw a line out square from the box on the table, marked N N, Fig. 1. Hold the end of a book on this line, with its edge against the side of the box in an inclined position; mark a line on the side of the box: this line is the vertical trace, because the oblique plane has cut the vertical plane on this line. Before moving the book mark a line on the table: this is the horizontal trace, for the same reason that the oblique plane has cut the horizontal plane on this line.