Making Picture Frames

[Moses Yoder]

I normally make my glass rabbet 3/8" x 3/8", the picture sets behind a step in the frame, and there is a 1/4" x 1/2" rabbet for the backer. This is all very basic addition and subtraction that most children in the US learn by fifth grade.

Crescent Moon Dragon - blue ribbon winner.jpgback of Crescent Moon Dragon.jpg

[glenn bradley]

For standard size prints I add an 1/8" to the receiving area so 5-1/8" x 7-1/8" for a 5x7. Thisis the dimension of the internal recess. Depth will vary with your mounting method. You don't want the image to touch the glass so you would calculate your stand-off (usually an 1.8: for me), your media thickness (picture plus what it is mounted to as a backer if anything), thickness of your back 'plate' (I use hardboard in 1/8" or 1/4" depending on size of print) and your retaining method (clips, turns, nails, whatever).

HTH

[Stan Calow]

Joe I use my miter saw to get the "rough" cut of the pieces, but always trim them with a Lion miter trimmer which gives a smooth clean accurate miter. You can also use that tool to adjust the length if you didn't get them exactly the same length. Its not so much that the miter saw is inaccurate when set up right, it is just easy for your workpiece to go slightly out of alignment when that relatively big heavy blade blade is going down & through it. You really need to clamp the workpiece down on both sides. The thing I don't like about sleds for the table saw, is having to calculate the extra length needed to account for the kerf. I dont do them often enough to have the process engrained in memory. Things that are helpful to me are a solid heavy 45-degree reference to set up the saw angles, and a small trim plane that lets me adjust the rabbets if I cut the pieces slightly short. Eagle-America makes a couple of router bits for framing that cut two rabbets at once, you might be interested in.