Frame for a 3/4 canvas out of 3/4 cherry?

[Justin Florentine]

I'm building a picture frame for a painting. This painting is 24x29 7/8, but it is also 11/16 thick. I don't have any experience in framing paintings, so I could use some advice.

I was thinking I would just double the thickness of each board by gluing the faces together, and then cut the rabbet. If I do this, I'll essentially have 6/4 (maybe 5/4 if I need to plane the boards before gluing the faces together?) so I figured this should be my first step.

Something about this just seems wrong... but I can't put my finger on what. I suppose it just feels weird to face glue expensive cherry boards together.

[NICK BARBOZA]

its not "weird" per say. just less than desierable because it adds steps to the process. if you can, buy some 6/4 stock.

but if you do laminate two pieces, rather than glue and rabbet, i would just make the width of the back board narrower. so when joined, you create the rabbet to hold the picture.

Good luck!
Nick

[John Grossi]

This post came at a good time for me. I do not mean to hijack this post. I am hoping any answers will help Justin's original post. My wife has not painted for over 20 years, recently got back into it. I have been selected as the framer, which is okay after seeing prices on custom framing from a local store. Framing sounds pretty easy, until you go on some web sites talking about the process. One site sells a jig for just under $300.00 that secures the corners and underpins them. This helps close the miters and secures them with pins on the bottom side. Is there anyone out there willing to share info on the process they go thru to make quality frames. I am looking for what type of molding you buy, what blade you use to cut the miters, and do you underpin the frames. Thank you. John

[Mike Cutler]

Justin

There is nothing wrong with what you want to do. In lieu of purchasing new material, laminating two 4/4 boards together would do just fine, and would be easy. The only "gotcha" I know of, from experience, is that when laminating two boards together keeping them from sliding around on the glue when clamping is a kinda "fun":rolleyes:. The way to alleviate this problem is to drill index holes through the back board, and into the front board so that a dowel can be inserted to keep the boards aligned during clamping. Something to consider.

I like Nicks idea about creating the rabbet ledge with the second layer. You may still need to router out some material so that the painting is recessed to the proper depth as it appears from the front. But now the rabbet ledge you create can be the guide for the router bearing.

[Justin Florentine]

Thanks Nick and Mike. I've taken both of those suggestions, and the boards are drying up now.

Good tip on the indexing pins with the dowels. The first set did in fact slide around.

[Michael Weber]

If your worried that the frame must be deep enough so the canvas stretchers are flush with the back of the frame that's not necessary. On many of our oil paintings (and I assume thats what your going to frame) the stretchers stick out the back of the frame by quite a lot. Not visible once hung and viewed from the front assuming a wide enough frame and a painting the size of yours is going to need a fairly wide frame. I assume that is accepted practice since most of our oil paintings were framed by the artists. Lithographs, water colors, etchings are a different matter but they wouldn't be on stretchers.