Do picture frames need splines?

[Vince Shriver]

• I've used these, perpendicular to the miter cut.
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[Bill Dufour]

They even make special nail guns to shoot those wavy corrugated joining pieces of metal.
Bil lD

[Tony Leonard]

I was just thinking the same thing. I haven't used it, but I saw it in a book on making clocks. It was the method used for a school marm octagon.


Looks like a good idea and fairly easy to do. Might have to try it next time.

Tony

[Robin Dobbie]

It's my opinion that splines, half-laps, or some kind of inter-piece joint that attaches each piece with glue across the majority, if not the entire joint, is non-negotiable. You could even just glue a piece behind the frame across the miter. Although, that's not as good as something inside.

Splines are pretty easy on the table saw. A jig isn't even necessary. The trickiest part is getting the spline thickness just right. If you don't have a thickness planer it's perhaps trickier, but not impossible. With a thickness planer it's easier to utilize scraps too thin to run though the table saw.

Last time I was at the craft store, well over half their frames had miter joint gaps. Seriously. Some were using those corrugated things. We can assume rough handling was a factor, but also it's possible that there was a wood movement issue. I imagine the miters were cut correctly at the factory. Some of the cracked frames were coated with a plastic molded into a tacky baroque imitation that was also cracked. If joint gaps were impossible(had they used splines or half-laps), I firmly believe most of those frames would have survived.

The mirror frames in my house had miter gaps, and they were MDF. Also had those corrugated fasteners.

[Chris Fournier]

I have made about 60 picture frames for myself. Some have very small cross sectional profiles. I have splined about 4. All of the others are straight glue ups. Had them for up to twenty years. Some required a solid push to get the "art" in place. Not one single failure.

I have found that brushing glue (PVA in my case) on both of the joint faces makes for a stronger joint. I use an acrylic artist's brush and apply a consistent but thin film of glue to both faces twice in an unhurried process. Then I spring clamp the joints and let them sit 30 minutes. Clean up the minimal squeeze out and move on...

Splines are absolutely not necessary in my experience, plenty of frames in the 24" to 36" scale I should mention.

[Jerry Wright]

As long as your frames are in an environment that has reasonable swings in temperature or humidity, one can get away without splined joints. However, I have seen many un-splined corners open up when stored in out buildings. I have built about 300 frames for a pro photographer and am speaking from personal experience. I now spline or securely brad nail all mitered joints. It is a shortcut that I am unwilling to take, now.