Fretwork is an interlaced decorative design that is either carved in low relief on a solid background, or cut out with a fretsaw, jigsaw or scrollsaw. Most fretwork patterns are geometric in design. The materials most commonly used are wood and metal. Fretwork is used to adorn furniture and musical instruments. The term is also used for tracery on glazed windows and doors. Fretwork is also used to adorn/decorate architecture, where specific elements of decor are named according to thier use. eg. Eave Bracket, Gable Fretwork, Baluster Fretwork. Any item that is cut out is considered fretwork, an exception to this rule is when the architectural element is not actually physically cut out, for example plastic moulded reproduction fretwork is not considered as fretwork, mainly because it was not 'cut out' with a fretsaw, jigsaw or scrollsaw. A Bosch power jigsaw This article is about the power tool, for other uses see Jigsaw (disambiguation). ... A scroll saw is a small electric or pedal operated saw useful for cutting intricate curves where a jigsaw or coping saw is not appropriate. ... A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood derives from woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs. ... Hot metal work from a blacksmith Look up Metal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Furniture is the collective term for the movable objects which support the human body (seating furniture and beds), provide storage, and hold objects on horizontal surfaces above the ground. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... Tracery is implementation of net-like decorations in a building used especially in Gothic architecture. ... A Bosch power jigsaw This article is about the power tool, for other uses see Jigsaw (disambiguation). ... A scroll saw is a small electric or pedal operated saw useful for cutting intricate curves where a jigsaw or coping saw is not appropriate. ...

The CNC machine (Computer Numerical Controlled) has brought about change with which the method of true timber fretwork is manufactured. Lasers or Router/Milling cutting implements can now fashion timber and other various materials, with the aid of the CNC into flat and even 3-Dimensional decorative items. The draw back to this technology when trying to mimick neatly hand drawn artistic fretwork is the CNC operator lacks the artistic talents to draw/machine aesthetically appealing decor. The result is that a large proportion of recently built/decorated homes and architectural buildings end up looking distorted or had hoc when mass manufactured decorative elements are used.