Picture frame advice for a novice.

[Pietrach]

Hi

First of all I would like to say hello as this is my first post on this forum. I am new to woodworking with no experience whatsoever except for normal house involving cutting drilling and sanding.
However I was always fascinated by quality solid wood furniture and general woodworking. Now I want to make the first step into making things, and decided to start with a picture frame.
I have no tools beyond a wood saw, a drill and sand paper, and I would like to keep it this was until I realise what really I need ( saw table, router etc).

I watched various frame making techniques on youtube and I have a pretty good Idea what I want to start with, but I would be grateful if you could help me with the following:

1) Not having a saw table I need to work with wood widths I have unless… is there any other cheaper way of getting a long straight cut?
2) The biggest issue I have is how to make the recess for a glass and artwork. Normally I think this could be done with the router or simply by cutting into the strip wood as shown below.
Can I do this with mounting a drill onto a drill stand vertically, and then attaching a router bit to a drill? I would end up with a sort of upside down router.

Thanks for your help and please please use a layman’s language with me as I am not good with the woodworking terminology just yet.

Thank you

 

[marcros]

i think that i would just buy picture framing moulding. A router bit in a drill wont work. for the odd frame or two, you could end up spending far more than it might cost to have them framed.

A frame sounds an easy project, but unless the joints are spot on, it will look a dog. the pros use a guillotine, a handtool amateur might use a shooting board and hand plane. Using a mitre box is unlikely to yield good enough results. Even a sizable investment into power tools is unlikely to give picture frame quality results.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Greetings. A router bit in a drill won't be successful, the drill is not fast enough. You can however put a 43mm collar router in a drill stand. You could build your moulding up from two pieces to give the rebate. You would do better initially to get some good hand tools than worry about machine tools, a plane, some chisels and marking tools. As Marcross says picture frames are pigs to make.

 

[RogerP]

It's surprisingly difficult to make a perfect picture frame without at least some equipment. As Marcos and Phil say you'd be better buying a ready made frame.

However, if you intend making many then with some kit and practise it can be done.

I rout out the rebate on a router table and the use a mitre shooting board for the corners.http://www.cornishworkshop.co.uk/wwmitreshootingboard.html. I join the corners with glue and dowels.

Not realistic for a one off.

You could get a kit like this http://www.axminster.co.uk/picture-framing-kit but even then it's difficult to get near to a professional result

 

[dickm]

Agreed picture frames are a pig to get right, but with minimal investment in a mitre box and a few lengths of whatever moulding is cheaply available, would be very good practice for the OP in accurate sawing. Just add a block plane for fine adjusting and then practice, practice, practice. It'll be frustrating at first, but the learning could be invaluable.

 

[Fat ferret]

Or you could make picture frames like this one https://flic.kr/p/rzWYtL I knocked up with a tenon saw and a rebate plane, just lap jointed corners. No need for mitred corners but might not suit your pictures.

The mitred ones are tricky to cut and clamp.

 

[Racers]

I hate making picture frames, you need the two opposite sides the exact same length and the angles exactly 45 deg, even half a degree times eight cuts adds up to 4 degrees out.
Get them made!

Pete

 

[Logger]

I have my own picture framing business and joined this forum to learn more about other woodworking techniques.

I use a morso to cut my mitres. These cut with blades rather than saws so you get a perfect mitre every time. It also has a vernier scale to get the right size and also 2opposite sides exactly thd same size.

They are then joined using an underpinner. Both these machines cost loads.

However, you can get good mitre saws for about £50 and can be joined by strap clamps.

I always buy my mouldings in 3m lengths and you can get a good range of woods.

I am happy to provide more details and help in any way. I can. I am learning so much from other forum members so when it is my area of expertise, i am glad to help.

Nick

 

[Mar_mite]

I've made a few mirrors and it isn't easy. I'd try the half lap joint first. At least it will give you a taste for marking out accurately. Using a square and marking gauge. Good luck with it.

 

[bugbear]

i think that i would just buy picture framing moulding. A router bit in a drill wont work. for the odd frame or two, you could end up spending far more than it might cost to have them framed.

A frame sounds an easy project, but unless the joints are spot on, it will look a dog. the pros use a guillotine, a handtool amateur might use a shooting board and hand plane. Using a mitre box is unlikely to yield good enough results. Even a sizable investment into power tools is unlikely to give picture frame quality results.

My uncle used to own and run a hardware store, he did framing as part of the trade (amongst much else). He had no guillotine, just a mitre saw.

BugBear

 

[Logger]

The nobex proman is an excellent hand mitre saw, very accurate. Electric mitre saws are never accurate enough unless you are going to be painting the frame in which case filler can hide the gaps.

You can make good frames without spending the big bucks on professional gear if time is not an issue. The pro gear means you can make perfect frames every time quickly.

 

[Logger]

Forgot to mention that you can get a good range of mouldings from Lion framing supplies or wessex framing supplies. Lion requires you to purchase a minimum of £50 of mouldings but wessex have no minimum order. They both have a good range of natural wood mouldings although i would suggest obeche as a good starting point. It will be easier to get a good finish with that than going for oak or ash.

Both companies are very helpful, they both helped me out when i started, but are equally helpful to customers just needing small amounts of materials for small projects.

There are other suppliers who i understand to be equally good, but these are the 2 i use so can recommend. Alternatively, i am sure your local picture framers would be more than happy to sell you a stick or 2 of moulding. Most framers are helpful. When i started out, a local framer who supplied materials as well spent loads of time teaching me the correct conservation methods for framing so i would always offer to do the same.

Cheers

Nick

 

[cgarry]

I hate making picture frames, you need the two opposite sides the exact same length and the angles exactly 45 deg, even half a degree times eight cuts adds up to 4 degrees out.
Get them made!

Pete

That is not quite true, what is required is that each pair of angles adds up to exactly 90 degrees. This is very easy to achieve if you have a table saw by by building a simple mitre sled and cut pairs of joints on either side. This is my mitre sled that makes use of the factory corner of some MDF for its 90 degree corner.

Using this I have made several mirror and picture frames that all fitted together perfectly first time. If I can do it then it cannot be that difficult!

 

[Racers]

Good jig, could do with some guarding, but the op hasn't got a table saw, and you still need to get the opposite sides the same length.

Pete

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Yes. My grandmother years ago had a footstool that started life as a bar stool. She had gone around it cutting one leg at a time to try to stop it rocking. The OP could do the same and end up with a frame for a postcard.

 

[cgarry]

Good jig, could do with some guarding, but the op hasn't got a table saw, and you still need to get the opposite sides the same length.

Pete

Yes, I agree the jig screaming out for some guarding. Failing that, it might well be me that is screaming out...

I plan on adding some sort of stop block to the back which catches the edge of the table and prevents the jig from being pushed further onto the blade than required. Plus I shall add a guard of some sort over the area that the blade has to cut into the jig to keep fingers away from that area. Actually I might rebuild the jig from scratch now that I have a complete idea how I want it to work.

 

[Racers]

Some adjustable stops would be useful as well.

Pete