Chris Fournier
07-20-2014, 11:20 AM
Making picture frames can be quite easy and productive on the home front - "grunt grunt, I made this for you". Always the provider...
I thought that I'd document the process that I use and perhaps inspire some others to consider this low cost/high impact project in their shop.
I use a larger European combo machine - Minimax CU410 Elite S but a table saw will perform much of the profiling if you do not have a shaper or prefer not to make up auxilliary planer tables. Simply put, anyone can create processes with what they have to make frame stock. That being said my MiniMax machine is a priviledge to own and use, their smaller machines are also excellent and really help the craftsperson create fine work. The main thing is to create the frame stock in a sequence that provides unmarred ready for finish faces. I like to reference all of my machining operations off the back and an edge of the stock.
I start with Sketchup, creating cross sections of frame profile and pulling them into being. I then like to mitre up 90 degree sections in Sketchup to get an idea of what a finished frame would look like. Once I settle on a design I use Sketch up to create a cross section with dimensions and angles of faces etc.293373 The design in this image is crisp and low profile for the prints that I wanted to, or rather was told to frame. I can't say enough good things about Sketchup, it is an amazing design tool for any craftsperson and it is worth every moment that you take to climb up the learning curve.
As far a wood selection goes, that's a matter of taste. I wanted an open grain that I could highlight with a glaze and I wanted a deep colour that set off the images I had to frame. I love to use white ash, dye it deep brown, seal this colour and then use a shop made black glaze to fill the pores, topcoat and done. I think it looks pretty rich and the materials are easy to work with and very inexpensive.
Simple break out procedures yield blank strips a bit over final dimension - say 0.625". This way I can come to final dimension while creating the profile, makes life easy. As you can see I like to make an auxilliary table for my planer and I plane the facets of the frame stock. It's important to always think of bearing surfaces, you need the stock to be supported in the cut. Of course you could make these cuts on a table saw and clean them up with a handplane too. Sharp knives and slow feed rate means a finished surface for me and that's a time saver when you are making a few hundred feet of stock.293379
Now I use a shaper to cut the groove that the picture, mat, and glass will sit in. It is deeper than these components so that I can secure them in the frame with little metal darts.293385A table saw and a dado blade would also make quick work of this operation and I have done so in the past, but when you have a shaper and tooling the staccato sound of the knives removing material is my siren call.
So now you have lengths of stock and you are ready to cut, trim and assemble frames. Be sure to measure "in the groove" and dry fit to ensure that you have the right sized frame. I cut mitres on my combo machine and then fine tune on a shooting board with a handplane for pefect mitres. Off the saw the pieces are likely 0.03125" over long. This is a very shop friendly time in the project, a little music and some hand work with a fine sharp plane my LN #9.
293387293388In the second photo you can see that I place the frame sections back to back and this helps me get them to be as close in size as possible which gives me a trouble free and square glue up.
I really like my Collins spring clamps for gluing up frames. They leave a tiny bite mark which all but disappears once the frame is finished, at least on an open grained wood. There is simply no need to fortify the mitres mechanically, none at all, PVA glue will make a mitre that you can't easily break. I do apply glue to both mitre faces and this helps with strength a lot rather than one wet face and a dry face. I use an artist's brush to apply the glue because it is very tidy and reduces squeeze out clean up and it makes me feel like a real craftsman! I always pencil in the time of assembly so that I can pull the clamps as soon as I see fit.
Finishing is: clean up any corners with a sharp chisel, dye brown, spray sanding sealer, semi fill pores with a black shop made glaze, lacquer. I have a friend who cuts mat and glass and wires up the pictures fo me, many thanks to Tony!293390293389Crisp design that relys on light to play off the frame facets for interest and the deep coloured open grained wood underpins a custom made frame which in my opinion augments the framed image.
Sorry for the poor layout of my post I am not a terribly clever v-bulletin image user.
I thought that I'd document the process that I use and perhaps inspire some others to consider this low cost/high impact project in their shop.
I use a larger European combo machine - Minimax CU410 Elite S but a table saw will perform much of the profiling if you do not have a shaper or prefer not to make up auxilliary planer tables. Simply put, anyone can create processes with what they have to make frame stock. That being said my MiniMax machine is a priviledge to own and use, their smaller machines are also excellent and really help the craftsperson create fine work. The main thing is to create the frame stock in a sequence that provides unmarred ready for finish faces. I like to reference all of my machining operations off the back and an edge of the stock.
I start with Sketchup, creating cross sections of frame profile and pulling them into being. I then like to mitre up 90 degree sections in Sketchup to get an idea of what a finished frame would look like. Once I settle on a design I use Sketch up to create a cross section with dimensions and angles of faces etc.293373 The design in this image is crisp and low profile for the prints that I wanted to, or rather was told to frame. I can't say enough good things about Sketchup, it is an amazing design tool for any craftsperson and it is worth every moment that you take to climb up the learning curve.
As far a wood selection goes, that's a matter of taste. I wanted an open grain that I could highlight with a glaze and I wanted a deep colour that set off the images I had to frame. I love to use white ash, dye it deep brown, seal this colour and then use a shop made black glaze to fill the pores, topcoat and done. I think it looks pretty rich and the materials are easy to work with and very inexpensive.
Simple break out procedures yield blank strips a bit over final dimension - say 0.625". This way I can come to final dimension while creating the profile, makes life easy. As you can see I like to make an auxilliary table for my planer and I plane the facets of the frame stock. It's important to always think of bearing surfaces, you need the stock to be supported in the cut. Of course you could make these cuts on a table saw and clean them up with a handplane too. Sharp knives and slow feed rate means a finished surface for me and that's a time saver when you are making a few hundred feet of stock.293379
Now I use a shaper to cut the groove that the picture, mat, and glass will sit in. It is deeper than these components so that I can secure them in the frame with little metal darts.293385A table saw and a dado blade would also make quick work of this operation and I have done so in the past, but when you have a shaper and tooling the staccato sound of the knives removing material is my siren call.
So now you have lengths of stock and you are ready to cut, trim and assemble frames. Be sure to measure "in the groove" and dry fit to ensure that you have the right sized frame. I cut mitres on my combo machine and then fine tune on a shooting board with a handplane for pefect mitres. Off the saw the pieces are likely 0.03125" over long. This is a very shop friendly time in the project, a little music and some hand work with a fine sharp plane my LN #9.
293387293388In the second photo you can see that I place the frame sections back to back and this helps me get them to be as close in size as possible which gives me a trouble free and square glue up.
I really like my Collins spring clamps for gluing up frames. They leave a tiny bite mark which all but disappears once the frame is finished, at least on an open grained wood. There is simply no need to fortify the mitres mechanically, none at all, PVA glue will make a mitre that you can't easily break. I do apply glue to both mitre faces and this helps with strength a lot rather than one wet face and a dry face. I use an artist's brush to apply the glue because it is very tidy and reduces squeeze out clean up and it makes me feel like a real craftsman! I always pencil in the time of assembly so that I can pull the clamps as soon as I see fit.
Finishing is: clean up any corners with a sharp chisel, dye brown, spray sanding sealer, semi fill pores with a black shop made glaze, lacquer. I have a friend who cuts mat and glass and wires up the pictures fo me, many thanks to Tony!293390293389Crisp design that relys on light to play off the frame facets for interest and the deep coloured open grained wood underpins a custom made frame which in my opinion augments the framed image.
Sorry for the poor layout of my post I am not a terribly clever v-bulletin image user.