Picture frames

[ROY DICK]

I need some advice as to magazines/links or advise on building some picture frames.

Thanks in advance for sharing any knowledge you may have.

Roy

[Joe Scharle]

The Internet is likely full of info, but what I've found to work for me is:
1. repeatability in cut length is vital. All sides exactly same length.
2. Miters, whatever the angle, on the nose. A good sled makes this a joy. I use an adjustable Right Triangle to set my fence angles.
3. Keep the back side flat until you absolutely are ready for the rabbet. Depending on the frame, you may have to cut the rabbet after glue up and chisel out the corners. A dry fit will usually help mke that decision.
4. Plan to allow for a finishing back (climb) cut for each router bit. Sanding these profiles is NOT fun!
5. After 50 years of using combinations of store bought and shop made clamping jigs, the clear winner for me are Merle steel band clamps.

And finally, common sense; use sharp cutters!

Good luck,
Joe

[John Grossi]

Roy, I am almost finished with a frame. I took a length of maple and planed it down to about .875. I then ripped 3” wide lengths. I took a length of door casing 3.5” wide. The .500 makes the rabbet for the painting to sit in. I glued and nailed the casing to the maple and then mitered them. (this frame will be painted thus my nail holes will be filled Also, I bought the casing off a builder who had a supply on hand prestained. My wife plans on painting it to accent her painting). I did build a station for my power miter box. It is dead on. Two techniques will make for perfect miters. One is clamping the wood so it doesn’t move during the cut. The other is setting a stop so your sides are perfectly matched lengths. I am far from an expert on this subject, but this seems like it works well for me. John

[Jim Becker]

The Internet is likely full of info, but what I've found to work for me is:
1. repeatability in cut length is vital. All sides exactly same length.
2. Miters, whatever the angle, on the nose. A good sled makes this a joy. I use an adjustable Right Triangle to set my fence angles.
3. Keep the back side flat until you absolutely are ready for the rabbet. Depending on the frame, you may have to cut the rabbet after glue up and chisel out the corners. A dry fit will usually help mke that decision.
4. Plan to allow for a finishing back (climb) cut for each router bit. Sanding these profiles is NOT fun!
5. After 50 years of using combinations of store bought and shop made clamping jigs, the clear winner for me are Merle steel band clamps.

And finally, common sense; use sharp cutters!

Good luck,
Joe

I like a lot of what Joe mentions, especially about the importance of repeatability. I always prefer to use a miter sled on the TS for cutting frame components, too, so that the opposing pieces in a joint can be cut from opposite sides of the blade, resulting in a complimentary angles, even if one side isn't a "perfect" 90º joint.

[Lee Schierer]

The Internet is likely full of info, but what I've found to work for me is:
1. repeatability in cut length is vital. All sides exactly same length.
2. Miters, whatever the angle, on the nose. A good sled makes this a joy. I use an adjustable Right Triangle to set my fence angles.
3. Keep the back side flat until you absolutely are ready for the rabbet. Depending on the frame, you may have to cut the rabbet after glue up and chisel out the corners. A dry fit will usually help mke that decision.
4. Plan to allow for a finishing back (climb) cut for each router bit. Sanding these profiles is NOT fun!
5. After 50 years of using combinations of store bought and shop made clamping jigs, the clear winner for me are Merle steel band clamps.


I mostly agree with Joe with the following modifications:
1. repeatability in cut length is vital. Opposite sides exactly same length.
2. Miters, The opposite sides of every corner do not have to be exactly 45 degrees, but their sum has to equal 90 degrees. You can do this with a good miter guage like a Kreg, Incra or others. You can also make a home made jig that has a left and right side that are each as close to 90 as you can get them. Set one side as close to 45 as you can get it, then set and anchor the second side at 90 degrees to teh first. Then always cut one part left and the mating side right on the jig. A 44 and 46 degree miter will still make 90. It will look much better if it is 45 and 45.
3. I cut the rabbet when it makes sense in the process. I usually make a sample piece first to figure out what setups need to go when before I cut my self into a corner or dangerous cutting situation.
4. Plan to allow for a finishing back (climb) cut for each router bit. Sanding these profiles is NOT fun!
5. After 30 years of using combinations of store bought and shop made clamping jigs, the clear is a corner style clamp like this.http://images.rockler.com/rockler/images/62674-01-200.jpg

[Paul Steiner]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Picture-Framing-an-easy-and-economical-guide/

[ROY DICK]

Thanks everyone for your opinions, links and pictures.

Have a Great and safe weekend.

Roy :)