If a hand jig-saw is the only tool available the metal should be held in a vise. With very thin lead the dressing is best done by laying the metal on a hard-wood block and cutting out with small chisels and a light mallet.
Three or four small wood-carving chisels, straight-edges, and gouges will be found admirable tools for this work, and, as the lead does not dull them, they will keep an edge for a long time. A wood-carving chisel is ground on both sides, which makes it better for this work than a carpenter’s chisel, which is ground only on one side. A light mallet, a hard-wood block, a coarse file or two, and a knife with a small, sharp blade will be the only other tools required.
Escutcheons
The term escutcheon, as applied to hardware, means the ornamental metal plate that is placed over a key-hole, and through which the key has to pass in order to reach the lock. The name is applied also to the plate behind a knocker, or that to which a ring or handle is attached.
In Fig. 1 a few designs for small escutcheons are shown. Their actual size should be in proportion to that of the drawer or door to which they are to be attached.
The design should be drawn to the proper size on a piece of brown paper, then cut out with scissors and laid on a piece of metal, the outline being scratched with a pin or drawn on with pen and ink.
If the metal is sawed the edges will be rough, but they may be dressed down with the files. If the lead is cut out the edges can be finished with a knife-blade, as lead cuts easily and is pleasant to work in. It sometimes happens that in cutting out the more delicate parts of the design that the chisels will distort the metal or force it out of shape. In this case the trueness may be restored by tapping the edges with a small hammer.
A small hand-drill will be found useful for boring holes in the metal, through which screws or nails pass to secure the escutcheons to the wood. If a drill cannot be had, a small awl will answer very well.
Be careful that you do not make the key-hole too large.