Chris Padilla
09-09-2006, 4:31 PM
So the LOML comissioned me to make a frame for a mirror we removed from a bathroom remodel 3 years ago. We've just been moving it around not quite sure what to do with it.
Well, in the midst of a whirlwind of repainting 2 upstairs bedrooms (the Guest room and the Sewing room), we picked up some new base molding (borg) for the Sewing room and she found some molding there that she liked and wondered if I could make into a frame.
Well after thinking for less than a millisecond (that is 0.001 seconds), I proclaimed, "Sure!"
Well, here it is:
The first two pics are of this 1/2" MDF molding going for $1.09/ft at Home Depot. So I sawed down a 16' into rough dimensions and we took it home.
Problem #1: This is MDF...and it is only a 1/2" thick.
Problem #2: The old bathroom mirror is beveled a good 1/2" around its perimeter.
How do I put rabbets on 1/2" thick molding to hold a 20 lb mirror that is 1/8" thick itself?
My answer was to glue some 1/8" thick hardboard on the edges of the molding. You can see the "end grain" shot in Pic#2. Pic#3 provides a close up of the result of the glue-up along with some trimming on the TS to make everything square 'cause the hardboard swam around a bit during the glue-up but I expected this and made everything wider than I wanted. I ould have pinned the piece during glue-up but I didn't have short enough nails/brads.
Pic#4 shows the first mock-up after cutting everything down to size. Instead of using the same piece of molding for the top, the LOML wanted a bit of a "headboard" to the mirror. I'm sure there is a fancy name for a piece like this but it is lost on me. I decided, for strength, to use 2 #0 biscuits in each miter and 1 #20 biscuit in each of the connection points to the "headboard." Even if some disagree about the strength, they also served to keep things aligned...which was pretty critical for this frame. Those miters don't have much surface area so I'm hoping my Titbond II and biscuits do the trick for a long, long time.
Well, as you might have surmised, that piece of poplar was much thicker than the 1/2" molding (about 7/8" IIRC) but I liked that as the molding terminated into it with just a hair above its profile. Next was to cut some rabbets into the poplar to match the molding's rabbets. No problem on the router table and PRL (precision router lift from Woodpeckers...god, I love this thing) and Incra Twin-Linear fence system (got, I love this thing, too! :D ). I cleaned up the corner with a chisel. Next....will the mirror fit??? :confused: :confused: :eek:
Well, in the midst of a whirlwind of repainting 2 upstairs bedrooms (the Guest room and the Sewing room), we picked up some new base molding (borg) for the Sewing room and she found some molding there that she liked and wondered if I could make into a frame.
Well after thinking for less than a millisecond (that is 0.001 seconds), I proclaimed, "Sure!"
Well, here it is:
The first two pics are of this 1/2" MDF molding going for $1.09/ft at Home Depot. So I sawed down a 16' into rough dimensions and we took it home.
Problem #1: This is MDF...and it is only a 1/2" thick.
Problem #2: The old bathroom mirror is beveled a good 1/2" around its perimeter.
How do I put rabbets on 1/2" thick molding to hold a 20 lb mirror that is 1/8" thick itself?
My answer was to glue some 1/8" thick hardboard on the edges of the molding. You can see the "end grain" shot in Pic#2. Pic#3 provides a close up of the result of the glue-up along with some trimming on the TS to make everything square 'cause the hardboard swam around a bit during the glue-up but I expected this and made everything wider than I wanted. I ould have pinned the piece during glue-up but I didn't have short enough nails/brads.
Pic#4 shows the first mock-up after cutting everything down to size. Instead of using the same piece of molding for the top, the LOML wanted a bit of a "headboard" to the mirror. I'm sure there is a fancy name for a piece like this but it is lost on me. I decided, for strength, to use 2 #0 biscuits in each miter and 1 #20 biscuit in each of the connection points to the "headboard." Even if some disagree about the strength, they also served to keep things aligned...which was pretty critical for this frame. Those miters don't have much surface area so I'm hoping my Titbond II and biscuits do the trick for a long, long time.
Well, as you might have surmised, that piece of poplar was much thicker than the 1/2" molding (about 7/8" IIRC) but I liked that as the molding terminated into it with just a hair above its profile. Next was to cut some rabbets into the poplar to match the molding's rabbets. No problem on the router table and PRL (precision router lift from Woodpeckers...god, I love this thing) and Incra Twin-Linear fence system (got, I love this thing, too! :D ). I cleaned up the corner with a chisel. Next....will the mirror fit??? :confused: :confused: :eek: