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Thread: Simple picture frame

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    SE Michigan
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    3,222

    Simple picture frame

    In the spirit of hoping folks will post more completed projects, I present to you this simple picture frame. My son purchased this at an art fair and of course I offered to frame it. I thought Cypress was a nice complementary color...never used it before, but turned out to be nice to work. The banding is satinwood and ebony. It got a wash coat of shellac followed up with three coats of semi-gloss ArmRSeal. Finished with steel wool and wax.

    31CFE99D-C55C-4AB6-A324-0DBB240F1F7D.jpg

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    NE Florida
    Posts
    299
    Very nice....when I first saw the picture, I thought the banding was actually a beading detail with some glazing to highlight it. Then I read the description of the banding.
    Chris

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Clarks Summit PA
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    1,733
    Phil, well done. On the rare day my miters turn out as tight as those I usually sleep well that evening.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Lewiston, Idaho
    Posts
    28,504
    Nicely done Phil!
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Marshall, Michigan
    Posts
    204
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    1
    Is the banding difficult to apply? I only ask because it looks like a nice tight 45 degree miter would be easy to do until you try it.
    Last edited by Thomas L Carpenter; 02-10-2020 at 4:56 PM.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    SE Michigan
    Posts
    3,222
    Thanks all. Yes, Mark, you could say some days I’m luckier than others. I cut them a bit long on a miter box, then use a donkeys ear shooting board to fine tune.

    Thomas, I would say it’s not difficult, just takes some patience when fitting the miters. Couple of tips maybe; I use a wide chisel with a nice polished back to make the initial cut. You can get pretty close both in the 45 angle and the 90 vertical by looking at the reflection. This is just a quick pic...as you can see it’s not at 45 yet.

    8EC694F6-5536-423E-AD2C-0E5094EE416B.jpg

    I then fine tune it on a 45 degree shooting board and a sanding block.

    9481D8A0-9117-4CCC-8503-DB9D24AFC3A0.jpg

    After sanding, remove any “fuzzies” with an Xacto knife.

    One thing I’ve found is that I now glue in each piece as I go, fitting the next piece to the glued in piece. If for some reason where the grooves meet isn’t an exact 45, I shim the piece with a piece of paper (or several pieces if necessary) in the shooting board (front or back depending on where the gap is) and go through a few back and forths until it meets up well.

    CA3767B4-BC66-4A58-8E35-817B9816F1FC.jpg

    Why wouldn’t they match up when they are all a “perfect” 45? Well, because I reference the outside frame edge when cutting the groove, and I’ve yet to produce a perfectly square outer frame...even a degree or so off will mess with the groove’s mitered corners.


    In reality, the first three corners aren’t too bad. It’s the last piece where you need to be especially careful. You fit the first side of the last piece then cut the other side fat. Then try the fat side against the existing glued in corner. Because it’s a bit fat, you can make small adjustments to the final angle on the shooting board. Get it to where it matches up with the final corner. It’s ok if it stays a bit fat, bowed up about a 1/32nd to 1/16th above the groove and it can be compressed in when glued. Too fat though, and when you press it in, the miter corners will compress and cause it to slip out of alignment. In other words the miter would be nice, but the “stripes” wouldn’t align.

    All of this is more necessary when it’s a piece of banding that has “stripes” or a pattern to it. A solid piece of stringing can be butt jointed, but even mitered is more forgiving.

    Order some banding, make some grooves and give it a try...it’s actually a lot of fun and something I look forward to doing.

    Hope this helped some.

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