Picture Frame Corners: What's Your Secret??
Terry King
gift, of course.. Last minute, of course.
Made some 3/4 by 1-1/4 inch moulding stock from cherry,
with two edges rounded over (1/4 and 3/8) and a rabbet
inside for the usual picture / glass mounting, all with
the router / fence / table. Worked well.
I cut 4 pieces carefully on the radial arm saw with a fine
blade, 45 degree corners. Got my 8 1/2 by 11 inside
dimension right on. Setting up the 4 pieces, the mitered
joints looked quite good, and tight. I used 4 corner clamps
and it looked good. THEN I carefully supported the corners
(1 at a time on a metal block, and used typical "wood joiners"
(Those corrugated metal fasteners) to join the back corners, as
I've seen on some frames. Looked good, UNTIL I turned it all
over, and each visible miter joint had widened out, noticeably!
Ratzzz..
What did I do wrong? How do you do this? Can someone give me a few tips
on getting tight miters on picture frames?
I understand there are somewhat different metal fasteners that
are specifically for picture frames. Anyone know about them??
I'm about to try a couple more, and I sure would appreciate some
advice!
Thanks for listening...
--
Regards, Terry King ...In The Woods In Vermont
te...@fredking.us
FOW
your blade is not square to the table or your wood is not square to the
fence or blade.
It happens to me sometimes. I use a Incra 3000 miter gauge on the tablesaw
to cut my frames. Even have a Lion miter trimmer. Do a crosscut on some wood
about 3 inches wide. Then flip one cutoff over and butt them together and
they should be tight, on face and bottom. If not ,check the blade to table
squareness.
Test on wood parts to be sure.
The proof is in the pudding.
"Terry King" <te...@fredking.us> wrote in message
news:MPG.18742ce2...@news.newsguy.com...
Andy Engle
out of whack?
Frank K.
tendency to spread the other side of the joint if not driven equally across
their surface. I use brads driven and set in the top and bottom of the
joint, followed by wood putty. On small frames, I use only glue. I used to
use a glue called "corner lock", but I haven't been able to find it lately.
Here is a site that can help. Just found it.
http://www.diynet.com/DIY/article/0,2058,6803,00.html
Good luck.
Frank
"Terry King" <te...@fredking.us> wrote in message
news:MPG.18742ce2...@news.newsguy.com...
zl
better off just drilling and popping a brad in each corner. But, really,
the fastener is only there initially as something to hold the frame together
until the glue dries, and afterward, as a "just in case" the glue joint
fails. So, get yourself a good corner clamp for framing, costs about 50
bucks, glue a corner a day, let it dry, drill and fill, and you'll be okay.
Only use that corrugated fastener crap in 2x4's.
Steve
Terry,
Your best bet is using a miter clamp that will let you drill and drive
brads into the sides of the miter. Countersink and fill the nail
holes with a bit of matching putty. First make two L's with the clamp
and then put the L's together. It won't hurt but I don't use glue (I
once tried just glueing a little 8x10 cherry frame with yellow
carpenter's glue but it promptly came apart) since end grain glueing
has very little strength and I'd rather not deal with the squeeze out.
The brads hold it all together tightly.
Also, check out the picture framing shops in your area. I used to
sell art I make at various local galleries. I'd to go to a picture
framing shop that let do-it-yourselfers make their own frames. They
would sell you rather pricey molding, glass, mats, etc. all cut to
your specs. They have pro equipment and would cut perfect, sharp
miters and let you use their table mounted miter vises to put your own
frames together (or do it for you for a fee). I would make my own
moldings, get my own glass cut at the hardware store (much cheaper
then the glass they sold), get mats cut at an art supply store (again
much cheaper) and bring everything in to their shop. They would then
cut miters for $1 per corner and let me use their equipment for free
to put my frames together and mount my pictures. For about $20 and my
time to make moldings I could mount a large picture that would cost
well over $100 if done by the shop. But the shop recently decided
that you need to buy all the material from them in order to use their
shop. So I'm now in the market for a good table mounted miter clamp
and trying to figure out the best way to build a picture frame miter
jig for my table saw.
Steve
GerryG
frame that size, I'd glue it and add brads on the edge to lock it. While
the glue will be weaker than a long grain joint, that angle will still
allow for some strength. As an alternative, I use some wood joiners that
require a slot and are just tapped in place. I think Veritas carries
them. Another type has two angled teeth at each end of a flat strap, and
pulls the joint together as you tap them in. On smaller frames, I find a
proper glue joint is plenty strong.
Gerry
Mark S. Stiegel
with just glue. So, on larger ones that are heavy, I've used a dowel
(driven in horizontally) for added strength at the corners.
But, as a result of these notes, I got to thinking, I have about 8 picture
frames that I made about 27 years ago when I knew very little about
woodworking (not that I'm an expert by any stretch of the imagination now),
they are all holding together just fine...I believe I used white glue back
then and nothing else to hold the mitered ends together.
Maybe I'm just lucky, but these frames have been moved three times over the
past 25 years....and some of them have been discarded to the basement pile
of things we don't want to pitch, but don't want to be displayed.
So, glue seemed to have worked for me, and that's all I use unless the frame
is going to be large and heavy....and then that calls for a little added
strength in the mitered joint.
Mark
--
Mark
"GerryG" <ger...@cisco.com> wrote in message
news:1040934005.602781@sj-nntpcache-5...
keith nuttle
and strongest joints that I have made are biscuited. I use the small
biscuits from Lee valley and their biscuit cutting blade on my router
and router table.
--
From: Raleigh, North Carolina
GerryG
design, regarding the actual amount of surface available for the glue. I
did a number of tests with scrap, and put them under stress until they
broke. That's probably the only way to get a good feel for it. I was
thinking of using mini-biscuits, but it was easier to put in a small
dowell, if you didn't want to use brads.
Of course, you could always make a rabitted-miter joint, if you have
time on your hands. One day I'll find that time:-)
Gerry
Connie Junction
I have been making gilded frames for a long time.
Make sure the corners are 90 degrees and the lengths exact.
I find that I can get by with a 36 tooth combo blade with a
90 degree miter sled and a stop block.
In the old days, we drilled each leg for brads, now I use
biscuits or splines.
Use a band clamp. I use the Merle and it really tightens the
joints; the Pony and Stanley miter clamps merely hold the
legs at 90 degrees without putting the needed pressure on
the joints.
After the glue is set, I rout a dado on the back for a 3/8"
spline across each corner, and glue and screw it in place.
It might be overkill, but it helps to keep the joints from
cracking.
If worst comes to worst, you can always apply an appliqué of
some sort over the miters on the face of the frame to cover
the joints.
Eventually all frames will crack somewhat due to expansion
and contraction; some my stuff shows an imperceptible
hairline on the inside of the miter, but it doesn't go
anywhere near the outer edge.
I use traditional rabbit skin glue gesso and clay bole under
the goldleaf, and a poor join would show up pretty quickly
with that sort of finish.
The key is to clamp under pressure with a band clamp, or a
clamping board with wedges.
CJ
"Steve" <sl...@pla-net.net> wrote in message
news:adb191b1.02122...@posting.google.com...
[...]
Gary DeWitt
I have used splines on a box recently with great success, and have
seen them on commercial picture frames, in both the same and
contrasting woods. It's a little more work, but that frame will NEVER
come apart.
Here's a link to what it looks like, perhaps someone else knows a link
to a "how to"?
http://www.pictureframingmagazine.com/pdfs/framingdesign/oversizedframes.pdf
Gary
NOSPAMBOB
kerf with T nuts so they pivot and blocks of 1Xs glued to the slab with T nuts
greater than 45°. I used playing cars stock for shims to achieve a GOOD 45°.
Another ply slab with a good 90° corner using sections of 1Xs, leave a gap in
the corner, and another pair of 1X sections about 90° larger than frame size.
Couple pair of tapered wedges to bring joints together, some waxed paper in
corners to stop joints from sticking and glue them up.
In article <adb191b1.02122...@posting.google.com>, sl...@pla-net.net
(Steve) writes:
>So I'm now in the market for a good table mounted miter clamp
>and trying to figure out the best way to build a picture frame miter
>jig for my table saw.
Name works for E-mail
Mike Reed
clever, and uses wedges to hold the frame in place, while actually
tightening the miter. I'll try to describe it:
-On a 2'x2' sheet of scrap plywood, attach two 1x2 lengths to make a
right
angle on two adjacent edges, with the flat sides of the boards down.
-In the center of the plywood, prepare (but don't attach yet) another
right angle with two more 1x2s. This will be congruent, to the other
right angle.
-Using a taper jig, cut these two 1x2s into matching wedges, and
attach one side of each pair to the plywood.
-Lay two of your frame parts on the inside of the outer right angle.
-Put the wedges in place, and tap tight. If they are oriented
properly, the wedges will push the joint tight while clamping against
the outer right angle.
Did I write that confusingly enough for you? :P
Anyway, you'll have to experiment to find what spacings/lengths to use
for the 1x2s and wedges. It will need to be smaller than the inside of
the frame you are building.
-Mike
Terry King <te...@fredking.us> wrote in message news:<MPG.18742ce2...@news.newsguy.com>...
NOSPAMBOB
In article <7KQO9.970$aD3....@newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net>, "Connie
Junction" <conniej...@removeyahoo.com> writes:
>After the glue is set, I rout a dado on the back for a 3/8"
>spline across each corner, and glue and screw it in place.
>It might be overkill, but it helps to keep the joints from
>cracking.
Name works for E-mail
eugen...@aol.com
I made four frames for some Native American artwork SWMBO and I bought
in Arizona. All frames came out perfect, I used my rail and stile bit
set for doors to make the frames and removed the back lip that holds
the panel after the glue was dry. Somewhat unconventional but they
look nice, they are square, strong and were easy to make. Scrap works
well...
Gene
Terry King
to travel out of town... Frank, Connie, Gerry,
Jerry, and many others.. I have this all saved..
It's pretty clear those corrugated fasteners were
overkill and I was overly worried about the corners
staying together! I DID have a good joint to start
with. I like the dowel, or spline, or biscuit ideas..
maybe I'm still hung up on strength. But I could
do the biscuit cuts with the router fence I made
recently. Hmmm.. Lots of good ideas on jigs, too.
Re: glass. I went to "Portland Glass" (Northeast
specific, I think), and bought 60 inches by 36
inches of 3/32 'picture frame' glass for $20. They
were nice and cut it in half to fit in my back seat.
I can cut a lot of 8 by 10 to 11 by 14's out of
that, at a lot less than hardware store prices...
Thanks for all the information, and experiences and
suggestions. Now I know I will get it to work out with
some thought and care.
Andrew Barss
if the frame is wide enough, use splines or mini-biscuits (Ryobi makes a
small biscuit jointer for using these).
If not, or in addition, try this item from Woodcraft:
It works really well. Clamp the joint securely and then drive these in,
and the inset metal piece actually draws the joint together.
-- Andy Barss