Gluing up a picture frame

[Michael O'Sullivan]

Is there any reason not to use epoxy on the miter joints in a picture frame? I would rather not use splines or staples, and I suspect regular TB would be too weak, especially since you are supposed to expand the painting stretchers into the frame itself for a tight fit.

[Guy Roland]

Is there any reason not to use epoxy on the miter joints in a picture frame? I would rather not use splines or staples, and I suspect regular TB would be too weak, especially since you are supposed to expand the painting stretchers into the frame itself for a tight fit.

Michael, Any good glue should work. What I would like to comment on is your "tight fit" comment. I've been making picture frames professionally for 25 years and I never fit anything tight into a frame rabbet. always allow for expansion and contraction. If your doing a stretched canvas you need to allow for the eventual loosening of the canvas 3/16" will allow a canvas to be tweaked twice in the same frame. I even cut my glass 1/8" short, as a tight fitting glass will break easier if the frame is accidentally bumped than one with a little play in it..

[Michael O'Sullivan]

Michael, Any good glue should work. What I would like to comment on is your "tight fit" comment. I've been making picture frames professionally for 25 years and I never fit anything tight into a frame rabbet. always allow for expansion and contraction. If your doing a stretched canvas you need to allow for the eventual loosening of the canvas 3/16" will allow a canvas to be tweaked twice in the same frame. I even cut my glass 1/8" short, as a tight fitting glass will break easier if the frame is accidentally bumped than one with a little play in it.

Guy-

Thanks so much for the reply. I epoxied it and all seems well thus far.

How do you secure the painting in the frame? I am looking as some that we had "professionally" done, and I do not see anything holding the paintings in. Note -- there is no glass either, just the frame and a wire attached to the back of the frame for hanging on the wall.

[Lee Schierer]

Regular wood glue is plenty strong, but you have to make sure you use plenty of glue. You are gluing an endgrain joint and it will suck the glue right out of the joint. Some people "size" their wood with a dilute mixture of glue and water before actually gluing. I just make sure there is glue on both surfaces before I put two corners together. On wide frames you can use pocket hole screws for added strength if you want.

You also need to have tight fitting corners. Any gaps due to sawing error will reduce the strength of the joint.

[Chris Padilla]

I like to use biscuits in mitered frames if I can fit them in but the PVA (white and yellow) glues are quite strong. The biscuits (a floating tenon) will help with the pesky end grain to end grain situation that Lee spoke of.

I've got an MDF frame, mitered, with biscuits, and TB-II, holding quite a heavy mirror in my wife's sewing room. Been fine for 2 years so far....