Picture Frame help

[Greg Labacz]

My brother is doing a painting for our cousin and asked me to make a frame for it, it will be roughly 14" x 18". Since i have never made a picture frame before what type of wood is best?, should I use splines on the mitered corners? any advice , help would be appreciated.:eek::eek::eek::eek:

[Von Bickley]

I think the type of wood that you use will be determined by the look that you want. A more elegant look may require walnut or cherry, while a more country look would need oak.

I'm finishing up a picture frame now that is made of red oak with a cherry stain. I also have walnut splines on the corners for extra strength and a little touch of class.

[Bill Huber]

As Von said it depends a lot on the look you want. I have not made a lot of frames but I did make one with walnut and use some blood wood for the splines and that really did look classy.

[Troy Turner]

Greg - How wide of boards are you using? I've seen some folks use pocket screws to hold them together. Never ventured into the splines use myself, but certainly see where it adds strength and detail to a frame. My wife likes the country/rustic look. I've made them out of knotty pine as well as weathered cedar. They were only about 2" wide and mostly 8x10s. I just glued them up. A couple I used a brad nailer in the corners and never had any problems.

Good luck!

[Sean Nagle]

I've made half a dozen or so picture frames using cherry, figured maple and purpleheart. I always reinforce the corners with splines. Not only do the splines make the frame extremely robust, they are attractive and is something not found on commercial frames. If the painting on canvas, there is typically no mat [and no glass] to separate the painting from the artwork. In this case choose a wood to compliment the painting. If the painting is watercolor, a mat will help buffer the artwork from the frame and almost any artwork will look good with any wood by selecting the right color mat(s).

[Lee Schierer]

There is no need for splines on the corners. You must remember that miter joints are essentially end grain and will soak up the glue. Use lots of glue and coat both sides before assembly. Some folks even recommend sizing the joint first with diluted glue before applying the final glue for the joint. If you make a tight joint (no visible gaps) and size the joint you will have truoble breaking the glue joint on purpose.

I've made frames from maple, oak, poplar, hickory, cherry walnut and pine.
http://mysite.verizon.net/us71na/kevinjohnprint.jpg

[Matt Day]

I've made a number of picture frames and just finished a little more complicated big picture frame - a jersey diplay case.

In any event, I'd suggest using splines at the miters and using a different type of hardwood for contrast. My wife and I like plane maple frames - no routing of fancy shapes or anything - with splines such as walnut or cherry. We think it gives a classy but modern look, and let's the focus be on the art rather than the frame. For a frame that size I'd usually make the frame about 1 1/2" wide and 3/4" deep, with a 3/8" x 3/8" rabbet in the back for the mat/glass/backer.

To make the splines, I use a 45* jig on the TS and use a full kerf flat bottom blade. This is key, as most blades don't leave a flat bottom. I did recently see an article for making them with a biscuit joiner if you have one - basically mount a 45* stop to the bottom of the BJ so it lines up parallel with the miter. I thought that was a good idea, and assume BJ's leave a flat bottom.

You'll also need to have a glass cutter and be ready to cut some mats which usually you'll use a special cutter for too (check your local art store).

Good luck!

[Jim Tobias]

If it is an oil painting on a stretched canvas, you will need to make a deeper than normal frame. This can be done by either using very thick stock or glueing stock together at at 90 degree angle to create depth to cover the sides of the stretched canvas. The frame below is cherry and is about 2" wide and 2" deep. I did not use splines on it(although I usually use splines on most frames) either in a matching wood just for strength or in a contrasting wood for appeal.

Jim

[Greg Labacz]

Thanks everyone for your help. The painting will be on stretched canvas and I never thought of making the frame deep to handle the depth of the canvas ( thanks Jim, how deep did you make the rabits?). In leiu of splines would using a slot cutter router bit work for strenghtening the miter joint??

[Jim Tobias]

Greg,
The rabbets on my frame were 1/2" deep. That left a 1/4" reveal on the front where the canvas painting shows. The frame pictured was 3/4" material on the face and more 3/4" material on the sides (with face grain out) which created the 90 degree for the frame depth. I hope I am explainng this well enough to understand. You will need to come up with something to keep the canvas frame in place. I screwed some diagonal strips across the corners of the canvas frame from the back to hold it tight in the rabbet.

Jim

[Alan Lilly]

Walnut is gorgeous, simple and quick when finished with shellac. You don't need splines, but it doesnt hurt either. Here are some frames I recently finished... www.panofish.net/satin-french-polish/ (http://www.panofish.net/satin-french-polish/)