making a picture frame

[shinzam]

Hi All

I am trying to make a picture frame for some portraits that I have made.
I can't seem to cut the 45 degree angle accurately. I have a dewalt power mitre rip saw and a belt and disc sander with table for angle sanding, but none of these cut or sand an accurate 45 degree angle.
I am using picture framing clamps to join the frame together but nothing seem to fit (the wood lengths are correct). I am thinking of getting a hand mitre saw would this help me.
can anyone advise me on making a picture frame, does anyone know if there is a tutorial?

Thanks Graham.

[JohnB]

G'day Graham,
I'm not sure what you mean by a mitre rip saw
I find that I still go back to using my hand mitre saw for framing, especially when only doing 1 or 2 pieces.
When doing a few at the same size I set up stops and use my drop saw.

It is crucial that the pieces opposite each other are exactly the same length as well as the mitres being 45o.

A little trick for clamping the frames is to glue them up face down, shoot a staple across the corner to hold the pieces in place and flip them the right way up.
Tie a piece of sting around the the frame as tight as you can and then slip a small piece of wood (8 pieces) between the sting and frame (2 on each side). To apply clamping pressure to the corners just slide the pieces along between the sting and frame towards the corners.

Hope this makes sense and helps a bit (It makes non to me)

regards
John

[Jediscroller]

Here's a copy of the frame tutorial I posted in this thread (which has tips from lots of other members as well).

This is how I make my frames, it's not necessarily the best or only way to do it, but it works for me. I can usually crank out a couple of dozen frames in a couple of hours.
Tools:

* Thickness Planer
* Tablesaw
* Miter Saw
* Belt/Disc Sander
* Router (preferably in a router table)
* Rabbeting Bit Set
* 1/4" Roundover Bit
* Cove Bit or other decorative bits (optional)
* Band Clamps

1. Begin by thicknessing the lumber to your desired thickness. I typically use 3/4 - 7/8 thicknesses
2. Cut all of your strips of wood to size first on the table saw. The straightness of these cuts is critical. I use an auxiliary maple fence and ensure the parralelllism of the blade vs. the fence. Again, this is a personal preference, I usually go with 1 1/4" wide but have done as little as 3/4" and as much as 2" wide.
3. Rabbet the backs of all of your raw frame stock to your desired depth first. I make multiple small passes over the router to sneak up on my depth. OR...Use a rabbeting blade in your tablesaw and rabbet 1/4" by your desired depths. I've found this MUCH faster.
4. I then rout the other side with the decorative inside edging (typically for me it's with a core bit, a 5/32" roman ogee or a cove bit).
5. Set the miter saw up to an exact 45° angle. I do this utilizing a simple miter gage
6. Stack cut 2 pieces at a time. Begin by edging the stock making sure that the rabbet is on the inside edge (the shorter side).
7. Measure the length/width of the piece you're going to be framing.
8. Subtract twice the width of your rabbet + ~1/16 from these dimensions.
9. This is the length of your inside (short side) frames.
10. Cut (again 2 at a time) the sides for your frame on the miter. This insures that your sides are exactly the same lengths and that your corners are nice and tight.
11. Sand all your pieces smooth (I usually only go to 150 grit at this step) and use the disc sander to smooth the edges of your pieces.
12. Glue your frame together on a very flat surface and clamp with a band or miter clamp. I use Titebond II and have never had an issue, I have some stuff glued years ago still holding plenty well together.
13. Once dry, round over the front outside edges of the frame.
14. Voila~! A custom made frame.

I finish most of my frames with Danish Oil and several coats of clear lacquer (sanded to 400 grit between coats of lacquer). I finish sand the frame with 220 grit paper.
Since originally posting this I've added a framemaster (about $30) and use framing points for holding the pieces in the frame, this has been a great addition and time saver as well.
Hope this helps.

[shinzam]

Thanks John & Kevin

It seems that the accuracy of the cut is the most important thing and I must find a way to do this. I will check my mitre saw and sander with a mitre gauge to see how accurate they are and work from there. Thanks for the tips and tutorial

Regards Graham.

[millwab]

Graham,
Another trick to getting 90° corners is to use a sled with your table saw. Set it up so that the sled has bracing for a 90° angle bisected by the saw kerf. If you cut one frame piece from the left side and the mating frame piece from the right side, you'll have a 90° corner even if the saw angle is a hair off.

[Pajaro]

Graham.
I have made a jig for my table saw,(previewed on the New Yankee Workshop show) that works good on large picture frames. But I don't have much luck on 8 x 10 or smaller. I end up cutting the 45's on my scroll saw and tweak them till they fit square. But I don't make many picture frames. Thank goodness.

[Neal Moore]

I tried using a power miter saw (chop saw) for making picture frames but was never able to achieve perfect 45 degree cuts. I found that the preset indents are not exactly at 45 degrees and that a chop saw is too agressive unless you use a blade designed to make precision cuts. I'm sure there are lots of folks out there who can use them successfully but I just never could. I bought a miter box and back saw from Woodcraft for about 80 bucks that clamps the wood in position and allows for perfect positioning of the blade at any angle desired. It takes a little longer to build a frame but the joints are virtually invisible when assembled. Just a tip....Remember to allow for the width of the blade when making your cuts. If you don't, each side of the frame will be slightly longer/shorter than the others and it will never be square and the miters won't "close". When you consider that there are actually two cuts per corner then you have eight chances to do it wrong....LOL!!!

[Jediscroller]

Neal,
That's why I stack cut them. There's only 4 cuts doing it that way and it doesn't matter if I'm a little off on the length as the sides are exactly the same as they were cut at the same time. If there's little gaps in the corners, that's what saw-dust and glue are for, hehehe.
Of course, I'm typically in production mode so I'm usually making 20+ frames at a time when I set things up.
One other tool that looks interesting that I have no experience with is also sold by woodcraft. It's a press-type frame cutter.

[Mick Walker]

Graham, I have a Delta miter saw and could never get accurate 45° cuts with it until I got a Freud, 80 tooth miter blade. Now I get perfect 45° cuts. Place the back side of your wood against the fence, never turn it the other way. Like John said, make sure the opposing pieces are EXACTLY the same length. You can cut perfect 45's and if the opposing sides are a fraction off the whole frame will be off. I use the threaded rods with the plastic 90° corners to glue the corners, always apply a layer of glue, let it dry for a few minutes then apply a second coat as the end grain soaks up the glue. When dry if there is a tiny opening in the joint thin some white wood glue with water and apply it to the joint with a tiny paint brush then sand the joint filling the tiny gap with saw dust. Let it dry good. Good luck.

[Pajaro]

Thats why Kevin is the "Jediscroller" Teach us master.