Exotic Wood picture frame

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I got some examples of Papua New Guinea Rosewood (also known as Sandalwood) from a hardwood supplier in Longview, Texas last month. He has some beautiful stock!

I just finished a cabinet door style picture frame (sounds weird huh?) for a wedding reception picture of ours...

The outer frame trim is made from Mahogany and the wood color matched exactly until I stained it. Now the wife has nothing for me to do this month...she's happy!!

http://www.hannawoodworks.com/bubblespic.jpg

http://www.hannawoodworks.com/bubblespic2.jpg

[Ted Calver]

Nice work kelly! Now to start those cabinet doors....

[Jim Becker]

Looks great, Kelly!

Picture frames are a great place to use exotics. A friend of mine, Andy London up in Halifax has a whole business based on just that and does a few thousand frames a year...all custom. His website (http://www.picframer.ca/) is a great resource for information about a wide variety of species, too. Check out the section labled "woods" for a whole bunch of good reading and some interesting pictures.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Thanks for the link Jim! And thanks for the kind words from the both of you. I sure had fun with that project and the wife loves it.

I have a sneaky feeling this will not be the last frame I do. I will have to really scope out Andy's site for tips on making real frames.

[Andy London]

If you ever have any questions Kelly, feel free to ask away. As Jim mentioned I make quite a few hundred in the run of the year using (at the moment) 74 domestic and exotic woods......sure is a lot of fun!

By the way, I really like all the pictures the posters place of their work on this forum, I drop by almost daily to see what people are making, really nice stuff!

Andy

[Dave Hammelef]

Ok a few questions for you picture frame makers.

1) Where do you get the glass and whats the cost?

2) how deep do you make the recess for the glass / frame / and backer to sit in.

3) what do you use for a backer.

Thanks
Dave

[Andy London]

Ok a few questions for you picture frame makers.

1) Where do you get the glass and whats the cost?

2) how deep do you make the recess for the glass / frame / and backer to sit in.

3) what do you use for a backer.

Thanks
Dave

Hi Dave:

I buy and cut my own glass by the case, 10 sheets in a case, of 32 X 40", Non-Glare, Tru-View runs $285. a case. Glass is very, very easy to cut with the proper tools, here is a link on my site on cutting glass: 99% of my work is convervation certified which is why I use Tru-View, you can't even tell there is glass in the frame unless you touch it.

http://www.picframer.ca/cutting_glass.htm

You make the recess as a rabbit when you make the molding, I have a seperate TS set up for this purpose only.

Backers can be purchased, IMO one of the best spots on the net is Presto.

http://www.framingsupplies.com/

Andy

[Dale Thompson]

Hi Dave:

I buy and cut my own glass by the case, 10 sheets in a case, of 32 X 40", Non-Glare, Tru-View runs $285. a case. Glass is very, very easy to cut with the proper tools, here is a link on my site on cutting glass: 99% of my work is convervation certified which is why I use Tru-View, you can't even tell there is glass in the frame unless you touch it.

http://www.picframer.ca/cutting_glass.htm

You make the recess as a rabbit when you make the molding, I have a seperate TS set up for this purpose only.

Backers can be purchased, IMO one of the best spots on the net is Presto.

http://www.framingsupplies.com/

Andy

Andy,
Since I have an expert on the line, I'd like to ask a question. About a year ago, my wife bought a fairly expensive picture for our cabin. She paid quite a bit more for non-glare glass. The problem is that the "glare" is so bad that the picture is hard to see during the daytime. There is a window about five feet to the right of the picture and that is where the "glare" seems to come from. Is there a solution to this such as moving the picture closer to the glass or is it just "one of those things"?

Thanks for your answer - either way.

Dale T.

[Andy London]

Andy,
Since I have an expert on the line, I'd like to ask a question. About a year ago, my wife bought a fairly expensive picture for our cabin. She paid quite a bit more for non-glare glass. The problem is that the "glare" is so bad that the picture is hard to see during the daytime. There is a window about five feet to the right of the picture and that is where the "glare" seems to come from. Is there a solution to this such as moving the picture closer to the glass or is it just "one of those things"?

Thanks for your answer - either way.

Dale T.

Hi Dale:

There are two types of non-glare glass used by professional framers, one has the reflective product on both sides of the glass, this is the most popular and the one people quite often complain about, it tends to distort the image, especially with double matte's.

The second is a product I use called Tru View, it's a bit more money (than non-glare) however it is non glare on one side, clear on the other. The clear side should go towards the image. It is "Very" easy to get the glass backwards when putting items together (clear side out), if one does then everything reflects off the glass almost like a mirror. It may be that your glass is in backwards.

I would suggest you return it to the shop where it was purchased, they can tell you the type of glass and why you are seeing so much glare.

Even with non-glare which will remove up to 96% of UV rays, images of value should be out of all direct sunlight, although it can take many years, the image will fade in time.

One thing that troubles me, and one of the main reasons I started framing is the downright gouging I saw in the framing business. The price difference between Clear Glass and Non-Glare is about 15 to 20%, yet most any framing shop I have been in charges double, quite often more.

If you need any further assistance, feel free to ask away.

Andy

[Dale Thompson]

Hi Dale:

There are two types of non-glare glass used by professional framers, one has the reflective product on both sides of the glass, this is the most popular and the one people quite often complain about, it tends to distort the image, especially with double matte's.

The second is a product I use called Tru View, it's a bit more money (than non-glare) however it is non glare on one side, clear on the other. The clear side should go towards the image. It is "Very" easy to get the glass backwards when putting items together (clear side out), if one does then everything reflects off the glass almost like a mirror. It may be that your glass is in backwards.

I would suggest you return it to the shop where it was purchased, they can tell you the type of glass and why you are seeing so much glare.

Even with non-glare which will remove up to 96% of UV rays, images of value should be out of all direct sunlight, although it can take many years, the image will fade in time.

One thing that troubles me, and one of the main reasons I started framing is the downright gouging I saw in the framing business. The price difference between Clear Glass and Non-Glare is about 15 to 20%, yet most any framing shop I have been in charges double, quite often more.

If you need any further assistance, feel free to ask away.

Andy


Andy,
Thanks a million!! I have a hunch that I will do a bit of glass flipping the next time we go up to the cabin. In fact, I might go up there tonight. :)

Thanks again!!

Dale T.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Thanks Andy! I really appreciate it...I do want to frame a few mnore pictures down the road and you can bet I'll have a question or two!