a source of timber for picture frame mouldings

Hello All

After many years away from a previous occupation as a self employed picture framer, I have in the last few years slowly re-purchased equipment to take up the craft once again. I'm an artist and want to frame and mount my own works. My intention is to purchase a router table and make my own moulding profiles for frames. I'm bit of an amateur in the area of woodworking outside of framing, but am willing to give it a try.

....So, can anyone recommend a good (cheap?) source of timber that I could buy. I do have a small, portable table saw I could use to rip lengths, but would prefer already squared lengths of say max 50 x 50 mm, as I don't have room in my small shed to rip timber without creating havoc! Undressed timber is preferred, as its typically cheaper - I can plane down the sides myself. I live near Hobart, Tasmania.

Thanks
- Tom

If you want species like Huon pine, celery top pine, sassafras, myrtle, figured blackwood, etc, probably the best source is Island Specialty Timber at Geeveston. Give Chris Emmett, a ring on 0419 998 452 then go down and see him. The personal touch with Chris and his staff is worthwhile.

There are still several small timber mills within 50 kms of you, good for green sawn timber, but you will probably need dry.

Other sources that I use are:

• Uptons, Mornington,
• MacKay Timbers, Glenorchy, and
• Timber Wholesale Tasmania, next to the Showground.

With the demise of K&D, Bunnings are probably the most expensive.

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Originally Posted by GraemeCook

If you want species like Huon pine, celery top pine, sassafras, myrtle, figured blackwood, etc, probably the best source is Island Specialty Timber at Geeveston. Give Chris Emmett, a ring on 0419 998 452 then go down and see him. The personal touch with Chris and his staff is worthwhile.

There are still several small timber mills within 50 kms of you, good for green sawn timber, but you will probably need dry.

Other sources that I use are:

• Uptons, Mornington,
• MacKay Timbers, Glenorchy, and
• Timber Wholesale Tasmania, next to the Showground.

With the demise of K&D, Bunnings are probably the most expensive.

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Graeme.....thanks for all that info! Yes, will be wanting dry timber; and as I will be staining the mouldings black or a deep brown, I will not be needing quality timbers that highlight the features of the grain, colour etc.

The priorities are: knot free, soft to medium density but without a tendency to bow. Dense hardwoods can be a pain to cut with a foot operated guillotine and and joined with an underpinner - I could realistically only construct frames with those using a table saw and mortise and tenon (or similar) joins. But I will ring around and visit those suppliers closest to me, to see whats on offer.

Its a shame about Bunnings prices - they are only minutes away from me; and for many things hardware, they are about the only option in my area, excluding Mitre 10, which don't have the variety.

I’m no expert on this but if your staining black Ramin is the stuff to use.
No idea where you’d get that in Tas.
H.

Something to think about is that while natural wood appeals to woodies and a few people, most people will not care much about natural wood frames.

If you want a "budget" sideline for larger painted picture frames, MDF door and window frame architraves can be used.
It takes a bit of effort to make them look interesting but the effect can be very pleasing.
The time spent getting a decent effect is easily offset by the fact that the MDF is already largely profiled.
After a while router profiling becomes pretty boring and very dusty!

This frame was made from a door architrave profile.
White undercoat, forrest green top coat - par sanded back to expose streaks of undercoat, some gold paint trim and then a mat clear coat spray.
Attachment 476359

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Originally Posted by BobL

Something to think about is that while natural wood appeals to woodies and a few people, most people will not care much about natural wood frames.

If you want a "budget" sideline for larger painted picture frames, MDF door and window frame architraves can be used.
It takes a bit of effort to make them look interesting but the effect can be very pleasing.
The time spent getting a decent effect is easily offset by the fact that the MDF is already largely profiled.
After a while router profiling becomes pretty boring and very dusty!

This frame was made from a door architrave profile.
White undercoat, forrest green top coat - par sanded back to expose streaks of undercoat, some gold paint trim and then a mat clear coat spray.

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...thanks for the reply BobL! It seems most architrave profiles are quite wide and not really the look I'm after. I will still look around, though not sure how well a join using an underpinner would be using MDF. 50mm would be the max width for my larger art works, with 30mm being probably the most used width. Most of my art will be under a mat board and glass.

I'm quite used to "boring" and repetitive tasks - done quite a lot of that throughout my life, so I can cope. Yeah - dust is certainly a concern, and wearing a respirator for any length of time is uncomfortable. My profiles will be very simple - mostly slight round overs with the mandatory rebating - hopefully two or three router passes if my Triton can handle it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by clear out

I’m no expert on this but if your staining black Ramin is the stuff to use.
No idea where you’d get that in Tas.
H.

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...thanks for the response clear out. I'm a little concerned about buying timber from S.E. Asia. Not sure how rigorous the certification standards are through the supply chain. I would hate to be using pristine rainforest timbers!