When I started learning marquetry in the early 1990s, we were required to make our own piercing saw blades. We could have bought them but school rules were that we learn the old-fashioned way! Additionally, at the time, the commercial blades then available were considerably poorer than those manufactured today. Starting with a good-quality flat steel wire, we filed each individual tooth then took a punch to set one tooth one way, the next the other way before eventually sharpening and, where necessary, tempering the blade. After months of experience, and on a good day, each blade would take between

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