Splines by hand???

[Keri Gollance]

Hello - I have a 24x36 picture frame that is too large to fit on my spline table saw jig. I have low ceilings that are preventing its use. The frame is already glued - or I probably could of done it in pieces on the jig - that would be if I thought it through prior to glueing :). Another lesson learned. Are there any other options to put in splines or another type of join?

This new woodworker would appreciate any feedback.

thanks
keri

[mike holden]

Snarky response would be to use hand tools - a backsaw and a chisel would make the spline slots easily.
Powertool response would be to invert your spline jig in a vise, add a fence (stick of wood) and use a circular saw to make the spline slots.

Mike

[Loren Woirhaye]

Make a jig at 45 degrees and tilt the blade.

Another idea is to mount a circular saw to a board with the blade poking through, remove the extension wing on your table saw, bolt the board on in it's place and use your miter gauge to feed the frame into the circular saw blade.

I've cut spline slots by hand but it requires some cleanup generally to make the sides parallel if you want to slot wider than a single saw kerf, so you'd need to look at if you have chisels that can pare the slot sides, files, etc.

If you have a biscuit joiner, it can be rigged up to cut spline slots. They will have a curved bottom which you can either ignore or pare down so it is flat.

[johnny means]

Why not just push the frame into the ts blade on edge and stop the cut? Your kerfs would be arcs on the inside, but who would ever know.

[Keri Gollance]

Thank you all for the advice - much help and very much appreciated!

[Cora Smith]

Hello - I have a 24x36 picture frame that is too large to fit on my spline table saw jig. I have low ceilings that are preventing its use. The frame is already glued - or I probably could of done it in pieces on the jig - that would be if I thought it through prior to glueing :). Another lesson learned. Are there any other options to put in splines or another type of join?

This new woodworker would appreciate any feedback.

thanks
keri

I think you should try shifting your picture frame into a smaller size or you can also hang it on a ceiling itself in a way that it looks like a particular design in corner and stuff... You can create a wooden corner and this will help in fixing your frame in position, for more ideas on Frame Finish & Material (http://www.arttoframe.com/24x36_picture_frames), you can have a look at the arttoframes.com, as they have been helping me in creating a creative world around me, since a few years now.

[Tom Ewell]

jig up router table, use slot cutter, work the frame flat on the table
slot depth is limited to size of cutter

[John TenEyck]

Use a handsaw and glue in veneer splines. Folks have done it that way for a long time. I've seen some (famous) guys use two of them in each end of a frame and make the saw cuts at opposite angles for a decorative effect.

John

[Peter Quinn]

I'd use a shaper, a router table with a slot cutter should do it too if you can pull the bearing off and go almost to the arbor. A skill saw can do it but that's a pretty thin kerf and lots of careful jigging. You might be able to do it with a freehand router and a jig that clamps to the frames if your space doesn't allow manipulation of a frame that big horizontally either.

[Robert Engel]

+1 to John.

If you're really worried about strength make 3 or 4 cuts.

[Roy Harding]

Depends upon what tools you have available.

As others have noted, a slot cutter in a router table would work just fine (you'd need to make a jig to hold your frame at 45 degrees), a biscuit joiner would work, the circular saw solution would scare me (but that's just me).

If you have none of those tools, a handsaw would do it just fine. If you don't have a handsaw, it is certainly the CHEAPEST solution - just make sure you get a rip saw, as that is the kind of cut you'll be making (a crosscut saw would work if that's all you have, but would probably cause a fair bit of tear out at the bottom of the kerf).

[Brian Tymchak]

If you have a trim router with a downcut spiral bit, I might rig up a platform jig from bits of plywood that fits over the joint and run the spiral bit through the joint.

[william watts]

On the back side of the frame drill a large hole centered on the miter, using forstner bit, part way thru the frame creating a recess. Then glue a circular "spline" cut to fit into the recess. I have done this using a thin piece of plywood for the spline. Your frame needs to be wide enough to accommodate a larger drill bit. This is not a decorative joint, but does add face grain glueing area. Just noticed this thread is an old thread.

[Roy Harding]

On the back side of the frame drill a large hole centered on the miter, using forstner bit, part way thru the frame creating a recess. Then glue a circular "spline" cut to fit into the recess. I have done this using a thin piece of plywood for the spline. Your frame needs to be wide enough to accommodate a larger drill bit. This is not a decorative joint, but does add face grain glueing area. Just noticed this thread is an old thread.

Brilliant suggestion - I hadn't thought of it, but will keep it in mind in the future.

And I hadn't noticed the age of the thread either! Oh well, at least I came away from it with a new technique to use in future.

[Roy Harding]

Now that I've had a few minutes to turn William's idea over in my mind, it occurs to me that a butterfly, or any other type of "face spline" (including William's circular spline) could be affixed on the front - not only strengthening the joint, but possibly enhancing the frame at the same time.