# Picture Frames Part 2



## dmc_md (Feb 7, 2011)

Well, I have spent the last week and half trying to figure out how to make picture frames. It's not as easy as I thought it would be.

First, I made a frame clamp similar to the clampmate frame clamp. This was a disaster. I have not included a picture of this. It's embarrassing.

I came upon some plans for wedged frame clamps. They work really well. I made 8 of them. I can now clamp frames of any size.

Then I tried to cut 45 degree angles. Not as easy as I thought it would be. I spent an entire evening micro-adjusting my compound miter saw, but I could never get it exact enough. So I gave in and bought a hand-plane (it's true -- I didn't own one) and built a shooting board.

I spent another evening sanding the shooting board edge until it was exactly 45 degrees. I tried to make a 90 degree angle as you can see in the photo, but I just couldn't get it right (pun intended). Now that it's exactly 45 degrees, my joints look pretty good.

I've clamped and glued the corners together, and it holds pretty well, but I'm sure it's not strong enough yet.

So here's my next question: what do you all do to strengthen your miter joints? For now, I'm thinking about adding corner splines. Are these going to be easier to cut on my table saw after I make a 45 degree jig or am I better off using a slot cutter on my router table? Or should I clamp the piece down and make a jig to run my router across the joint with a slot cutter?

I'd really like to learn how to do a hidden spline or biscuit. How would you approach this?

What do you guys do to reinforce these joints? 

I appreciate all the advice I can get.

Thank you,
Darren


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## walowan (Jan 21, 2011)

WOW! nice looking stuff. but do you really feel you need to be so exact when wood movment will make the joints open up with time anyway? I have a friend that owns a framing shop, he has a nice set of pro corner clamps and uses a pin nailer and glue to secure the joints.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi dmc

Nice job on the frame clamp setup BUT you are making to hard, a biscuit on the corners and the clamp below will get the job done in a heart beat. 

You can use your router table to put the biscuit slots in place.

Merle Band Clamp with Self Adjusting Jaws

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/graphics2/TM56-merleclamp.pdf

http://www.routerforums.com/table-mounted-routing/23364-mitered-raised-panel-doors.html


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dmc_md said:


> Well, I have spent the last week and half trying to figure out how to make picture frames. It's not as easy as I thought it would be.
> 
> First, I made a frame clamp similar to the clampmate frame clamp. This was a disaster. I have not included a picture of this. It's embarrassing.
> 
> ...


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## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

FWIW, Darren, I think the relative strength of the frame depends on how large it is, and what is going in the frame. For small frames, a simple glue joint may be sufficient; for medium-sized frames, adding a biscuit may work; for others, a stronger spline may be a better choice. Then, there comes a point at which an attached back panel may be needed to provide enough strength for the weight of the content of the frame (e.g. large mirrors). 

Exposed splines of contrasting wood look nice for "modern" frame designs, but less so for more complex moulded frames, I think. If the frame material is wide enough, you might consider a stopped (hidden) spline for larger frames with light-weight contents.


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## TomE (Dec 17, 2010)

walowan said:


> .. I have a friend that owns a framing shop, he has a nice set of pro corner clamps and uses a pin nailer and glue to secure the joints....



I've seen many a frame fastened with glue and V nails, as well.


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

I try to avoid metal fasteners in a picture frame if at all possible, within my skill set anyway. Probably no good reason, just one of my quirks. 
Lately I have been using biscuits or blind splines. I cut the slot free hand on the router table. Been meaning to make a jig for this as it isn't all that consistant. I stop the slot before the corner but allow it to come through the rabbet and trim the spline with a chisel after glue up. I cut the splines on the table saw and shape them to the curvature of the slot on a belt sander. Not a high production system but I'm not being charged for my time either.


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## TomE (Dec 17, 2010)

jschaben said:


> I try to avoid metal fasteners in a picture frame if at all possible, within my skill set anyway. Probably no good reason, just one of my quirks.


Understood.... just doesn't seem to fit into the "code" of woodworking, does it.

The V nails I mentioned actually bind the miters together while the glue sets. They're pressed into the backside of a clamped frame and are hidden by the dust cover (if one chooses to apply one). Primarily for the prefinished stock used by production framers.


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## derek willis (Jan 21, 2009)

Look at this method for putting splines into frames
http://flic.kr/p/5W84D6
http://flic.kr/p/5W84D6
http://flic.kr/p/5WcnV1
Derek.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi 

Just one more way to do it on the router table  your frames will always come out just right, the spline will do all the work.. 

http://www.routerforums.com/jigs-fixtures/2482-deep-spline-slot-jigs.html

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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

The last frames I made I splined and used the router table to do with a slotting bit. Better on the table. I have also biscuited the ends together depending on frame width. Has to be wide enough. Works well. When I worked at a mantel shop a few years ago they bought an Italian made machine which is supposed to be the framing industry standard. Cost $25,000. It used spring steel V nails to hold the joints together, from 1-3 nails, and they would pull the two sides together, no glue required. I think Lee Valley sells the nails. Not sure how they work with a hand driver. 
I also had trouble cutting mitres with a chop saw until I added some blade stiffeners. Mine are made by Dimar, about $25.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Amazon.com: Logan STUDIO JOINER Logan Framing Tool Hardware: Kitchen & Dining

http://www.google.com/search?q=Logan+STUDIO+JOINER+Logan+Framing+Tool+&tbs=shop:1&aq=f

http://compare.ebay.com/like/180630...fbdc13f&itemid=180630482691&ff4=263602_309572

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQr3NYTLXpQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1YMUfwEmSk&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZwXhS4L0iU&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcuwrFcYVOU&feature=relmfu

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## Potowner1 (Feb 17, 2011)

Hi Darren,
I had an Art Gallery & Framing business for 19 years and cut and assembled many thousands of frames, most of them using pre made moulding for the industry. I had an underpinner (another name for a Vee nailer) and used it on a lot of the smaller mouldings but mostly we shot nails into the joints to keep them tight until the glue dried. That led to another process of filling the holes with either purchased or hand made putty, after a while we got very good at hiding the nails.

On anything larger then 20 x 24 inches we used biscuit joints, and if the final product was a mirror or anything that needed to carry a lot of weight, we used 1/4 in. blind splines. I had two dedicated biscuit cutters set up on jigs to produce 45 degree cuts and it worked beautiful, I wish I had taken some pictures to share with everyone, but that was in another life.

Hope there is some helpful information here.


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## dmc_md (Feb 7, 2011)

Thank you guys for all of the advice. I like the idea of a small slitting saw on the router. I may get around to ordering some arbors for that.

I want to do my best to make it as elegant and artful as possible, so I'm not planning on using any nails. The way I see it, if I just want to be utilitarian, I'll glue some wood strips across the joints in the back. No one will ever see them because they're in the back, but I would know they're there.

My ultimate goal is to do blind splines or biscuits. I need to figure out how to do that.

Thanks again,
Darren


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