Mick4412 17th December 2002, 09:17 AM Any clues on a jig or otherwise for clamping the mitre corners of picture frames when gluing the pieces together.
Picture frames I have in mind will be about 1000 x 800mm.
Just did one yesterday - fitted perfectly together during the dry fit - but when I clamped it using sah clamps, it moved a mm or two.
Thanks
Mick
Stuart 17th December 2002, 11:11 AM Band Clamp.
Number of varieties available, from as simple as the webbing strap used to hold down a trailor load, to custom made ones which can hold multiple sided frames (3, 4, 8 etc)
Carbatec have one for $20 - webbing version. part no 96601. Check out www.carbatec.com.au (http://www.carbatec.com.au) and click on "clamps & vices"
You will find a couple of solutions there, one being the band clamp, another specifically for framing & mitring clamps.
DPB 17th December 2002, 04:38 PM There are essentially two problems when trying to make perfect mitre joints. The first is the accuracy of the cuts, and the second is cramping the joint.
Both of these are addressed in this web site. I found this some time ago, and it made perfect sense to me. Haven't tried it yet, but plan to do so.
http://www2.fwi.com/%7Ekrumy/picture/picture.htm
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Woodchuck Canuck
Good luck is the residue of good planning!
Mick4412 17th December 2002, 05:51 PM Stuart & Woodchuck,
Thanks for the advice
Mick
Mick4412 19th December 2002, 08:42 PM Woodchuck,
Sometimes I don't see the wood for the trees.
The Clamping method that Steve K uses for his mitre joints is so obvious - doing one mitred corner at a time with the uncut ends of the picture frames still in place, enables the use of ordinary sash clamps. The mitred corner with its biscuit join can then easily be clamped and adjusted to 90 degrees .
Thanks again
Mick
Sarrey 19th December 2002, 11:00 PM Mick
If you are planning to do a few, there are some DIY framing tools available at reasonable cost (less than $100) which will make things a lot easier in the end. Look under Picture Framers in the yellow pages and you'll probably find someone advertising DIY supplies. If you have no luck email me direct (I'm a professional framer) and I will happily give you more info/advice.
Good luck
Matt
Dennis Hill 20th December 2002, 06:26 AM I had no end of fun with frames until I built a jig thing out of a scrap bit of 25mm kitchen top. I screwed 2 bits of 50x25 on one corner at 90 degrees with a slight gap in the corner for glue to escape, then clamp the frame up starting in that corner. Glue cleans off the melamine easily, the melamine covered board is dead flat and you can screw blocks and such to it if needed.
You can also take it off the bench and stand it against the wall while the glue dries.
Take care over Chrissy,
Hilly.
Johnno 20th December 2002, 03:57 PM Mick, have a look at this website:
<http://www.clubframeco.com/index.html>
You may have to type it in - I don't know if the link works...
I've been framing with both commercial mouldings and recycled timber that I rout myself. Cutting accurate mitres has been a bugger (I have an antique Triton Mk3). I've made several jigs, none of which have been wholly successful. Now I use an el cheapo plastic mitre box with a good backsaw to rough cut frame pieces, and have invested in a 'Precision Mitre Trimmer' (CarbaTec catalogue page 79) and a good framers clamp - again have a look at C-Tec catalogue page 78. Well worth the investment, and by using good glue and V-nails, there's no need for biscuit joints.
Happy Christmas - and happy framing!
John Adams
Johnno 20th December 2002, 03:59 PM Sorry Mick, the URL obviously didn't work!
Try again: www.clubframeco.com. (http://www.clubframeco.com.)
I hope that stays in!
Mick4412 20th December 2002, 05:42 PM Thanks to all for the advice.
Johnno, what are v-nails ??
Also folks.
In your experience, will the same methods work for mitred corners on larger pieces, say, a bookcase ??
mick
[This message has been edited by Mick4412 (edited 20 December 2002).]
[This message has been edited by Mick4412 (edited 20 December 2002).]
RETIRED 20th December 2002, 10:38 PM Gooday. Mick, V nails are as their name suggests. Get a flat piece of tin and bend it to the shape of a V. They are generally pressed, not hammered in by profressional framers.
Mitre joints on a book case is asking for trouble. Mitres are for face joints not structural unless you want to learn about lock mitres.
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Ian () Robertson
"We do good turns every day"
Dennis Hill 21st December 2002, 06:06 AM Mick, I have a gadget called a "Veezy-Nailer" that has a magnetized end to hold the v-nails while you gently tap them into the corners of your frame, cheap and a bit slow but unless you are in a production situation this is not a worry.
I use a "Nobex" hand powered mitre saw and seem to get perfect mitres almost evry time.There are cheap lookalikes in the mitre saw department, but the Nobex is the only one that I have come across that lives up to its name as a mitre saw.
Merry christmas.
Hilly
Dennis Hill 21st December 2002, 02:58 PM Allo' again mes Amis,
Mick, I was in the news agents and had a look through a copy of American Woodworker. They had a decent size article on picture frames as well as a great jig for clamping things up square. It would be worth a read, and heck, you may even make the agent happy and BUY the mag to read at home.
Hilly.
Mick4412 21st December 2002, 08:15 PM Hilly,
Wash your mouth. Why buy something when I have a great source of info here ?
Thanks for the tip and will visit local N/agent Monday
Cheers Mick
Dennis Hill 22nd December 2002, 06:29 AM Well, it is Christmas and I thought that instead of trying to remember all the details in the article you may wish to save wear and tear on brain cells AND make the newsagent happy, but I must admit that it does go "against the grain" to buy something for just a few pages of info.
Merrrry Chrissy!!!!!!
Johnno 22nd December 2002, 09:55 PM Hilly, can you tell me which issue of American Woodworker you were looking at?
Canberra may be the 'Capital of Australia', but it sure doesn't have the greatest newsagents - I've tried seven major shops, and none of them has a current issue of the mag in stock - they all tell me they 'may' be able to get back issues, but which one please? I'm an avid collector of anything to do with picture frames, so if anyone else can come up with useful information I'd appreciate it - and no, I don't have a table saw, and my Mk3 Triton with an old Makita just isn't accurate enough!
Merry Christmas to all,
John Adams
Dennis Hill 23rd December 2002, 05:56 AM Dear Johnno,,,
Um, er, um, what didya say? next time I go to town I'll have a look at the newsagent and check it out.
It is more likely that we have the older copies up here, the Hastings Valley just moving into the 20th century and all.
I'll see what I can do,
Johnno 23rd December 2002, 05:35 PM Thanks Hilly, but don't bother - I found a copy of October American Woodworker in a newsagent on the other side of town. I guess that's the one you refer to, as it has an article describing a couple of jigs for making frames for photos. The principle looks reasonable, but they're for smaller frames than I usually make and the main jig is for a table saw. My old Triton MK3 isn't accurate enough for a decent mitre - I've been trying for ten years, and have now resorted to a handraulic mitre saw, with which I rough-cut the mitres and then trim them with my beaut little Carba-Tec Mitre Trimmer - best framing tool I ever bought!
I'm also a bit dubious about the clamping jig, which looks far more complicated a job than my band clamps - which do a good job provided that the cutting is accurate!
Never mind - Happy Christmas!
John Adams
Mick4412 23rd December 2002, 08:26 PM Folks, thanks for allthe help.
I posted the following in the Triton Forum for Tony ( Finnster ) who need similar advice
"""Tony,
As the one who started a similar thread under "General Woodworking", and who has benefitted from the advice I got on this BB, here's my conclusion.
I now cut the 4 timbers for the frame roughly to length.
Taking one long and one short, I then use my Makita CSMS to cut the mitres.
I then biscuit join the two pieces and clamp using sash clamps ( as seen in the site to which Woodchuck has referred us). Use a square block to ensure the 90 degrees is maintained while clamping.
Repeat with the other long and short.
Then mitre cut the square ends of your two now joined L shapes. Repeat clamping process.
Currently, as I only have a pair of 900mm and a pair of 1200mm sash clamps, these set the limits of my frame sizes - but these are fairly large.""""
rgds
mick
Dennis Hill 24th December 2002, 06:14 AM Johnno,
I have a copy of American Woodworker (August 2001, No88) that has some more on framing.
I can photocopy that article if you like, as
I have no scanner at the moment.
Hilly.
Johnno 27th December 2002, 05:04 PM Thanks Hilly, but I've emailed AW to get the complete issue. Thanks again for your trouble
Happy New Year!
John Adams
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