Maybe 30 some years ago, when I first got access to the internet, I chose ByHammerAndHand as an email address.  Later, I used it as my company name and web site.   It was a logo of old British guilds for joiners and cabinetmakers, or maybe blacksmiths, according to some.   For Christmas, I got the poster back in stock at LAP and just got it framed.

 

 

 

 

hammer time - can't touch this!!

Very nice Keith

hammered everything back when I started.  Bought all the air nailers and used them some.  Then discovered the true strength of the glues and cut back on the use or metal fasteners unless really needed.

Just a few points about picture framing.

 

I took a class in framing from a master in 1997 or so.  I ended up buying a framing vise, a mat cutter, an ATG gun, and a few little tools.  I concluded that they paid for themselves with the first 3 or 4 framings that I did.

 

He taught us to put nails in the corner from both directions.  I still do that as insurance against glue failures.

 

While  I have used very few premade frame stock, almost all of them I made from lumber.  This one is curly cherry.

 

The biggest I ever made were for an artist and a series of $10-30K paintings.  They ranged from about 3x5 to 5x7 feet, compound miters on the corners with added decoration.  I painted them red and once he got the paintings in, had the painting motifs flow into the frame.

 

After the class I bought a box of 144 sawtooth hangers and some braided wire and D-rings for larger ones.  I've already gone thru the box of hangers, so I guess I'm approaching about 200 frames.

 

Oh, and I also wrote a DIY article on framing for an artists' magazine

i've made a number of frames for my wife's needlework.  she would spend 5-7 months on a piece, and i'd take a week or so to make the frame and then frame the work, i figured i got the better end of that deal.

 

often used maple or red oak, woods you would want to pre-drill for nail/screws. so instead, i'd add a spline to each corner, to increase glue surface and make the miter strong enough to hold the weight of the wood and heavy glass.  i think i only used trim screws on one frame, as it was a dark oak frame that i didn't want the spline to show.

 

after all these years, everyone is still hanging on the walls.

Oh, and I got a point driver.  I can insert the points to hold in the mat in just a few seconds.  I also bought some "glaziers points" (shorter ones), that I've used to do mirror and glass repairs.

 

Man that is fantastic...love the old vintage advertising type stuff, currently working on something for the kid related to the wife's family farm. Great job on the frame. Doin my own frame is on my todo list....would love to see that tutorial if in digital format anywhere. 

https://www.clothpaperscissors.com/diy-picture-framing/   Or use the attached file below.

 

Does not talk about making frames, but basic guides are: 

• Make a rabbet in the back
• Make the front a profile  that you like (generally with a router)
• The two most important things on the miters are 45 degrees and opposite sides are exactly the same length
• The length of the sides is calculated : the size of the mat + twice the distance from the rabbet to the edge + 1/8"   The 1/8" allows for any variance in the glass, warpage in the wood, expansion, measuring errors, etc.

DIY-Picture-Framing.pdf

Edited March 22, 20242 yr by kmealy

19 minutes ago, kmealy said:

https://www.clothpaperscissors.com/diy-picture-framing/   Or use the attached file below.

 

Does not talk about making frames, but basic guides are: 

• Make a rabbet in the back
• Make the front a profile  that you like (generally with a router)
• The two most important things on the miters are 45 degrees and opposite sides are exactly the same length
• The length of the sides is calculated : the size of the mat + twice the distance from the rabbet to the edge + 1/8"   The 1/8" allows for any variance in the glass, warpage in the wood, expansion, measuring errors, etc.

DIY-Picture-Framing.pdf 1.3 MB · 1 download

 

 

 

I'll dig into this.....thank you. 

I'm curious @kmealy on what your saw set up is that you use for picture frames?

And thanks again for the DIY tutorial posted up above.  I've a copy that you likely posted some few years back that I have referred to often. 

Edited March 22, 20242 yr by Cal

2 hours ago, Cal said:

I'm curious @kmealy on what your saw set up is that you use for picture frames?

 

I much prefer sliding tables over miter gauges.  I can pretty much tell where the cut will be based on the kerf in the base.   I rarely use a stop block on this miter jig because I like to have the grain flow around the corner, so I'm cutting long-short-long-short.   When I am done cutting the second piece I stack them back to back and trim the longer one when needed.  (This also helps the 1/8" allowance),

 

Here is a layout sheet I came up with to do cutting of various parts.  The top diagram shows the exposed artwork size and the border size(s) for the mat.picture framing worksheet.pdf

 

and a sample on how to fill it out

 

 

picture framing worksheet for CWC.pdf

pfft, make whatever size frame you have material for, then crudely trim the artwork to size......who's in charge here, you or the artist?!!! 

 

(i'm going to go hide now)....