Buying pre-joined frames?

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J

Jon

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Joined
Feb 26, 2002
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22
Loc
South Lake Tahoe, CA
I really need some input. I have been cutting and joining my own frames for a while now. Recently I have become more busy (new gallery), and am losing my mind deeling with not-so-straight moulding. I am joining with thumbnails and seem to really have to fight with some mouldings on the third & fourth corners. This is due to the moulding not being perfectly straight. I am trying to figure out if this is worth the agravation when a customer needs a piece relatively quickly, or when I have a lot to do. Does anyone out there opt to purchase pre-joined frames...at three times the price?

Thanks!- Jon
 
Yes on very wide expensive mouldings. If a mistake is made it is not mine and in the long run may be less expensive.
 
Jon, I do this when I'm busy. I get free weekly delivery from most of my vendors so I'm not paying for extra packing and shipping. I mark up my frames based on the joined price, so I'm not taking a beating.

BTW, I have a couple of chop vendors that charge a fixed price for joining the frames instead of charging an extra 40% compared with the chop price (which is typical.)

When I'm not so busy, I'm more inclined to buy chop and join it here and, if I get really bored, I'll buy more length and cut it.
 
Maybe you have to decide which is more imporatant, your time or the money you maybe save by doing it yourself. I do buy cut and joined frames when I know the frame is going to be difficult and/or take alot of shop time assembling.
 
I've been ordering joined frames for a while now (about 3 months). The time savings and perfect quality that I receive is well worth the few extra dollars in my pocket. I have found that it has not affected turn around times from the order date. All I lose is the 15-20% discount for chop service only (never cut my own frames). This has not affected my retail price as I have always used the joined price charts to price out my framing jobs anyway.

Ted
 
We worked with only joined frames for about three years. Error free, saved lots of time and let us devote our energy and capital to other aspects of our business as we added framing to our product line. Started cutting and joining this year so we could try to marginally reduce price on certain small sizes made with specific mouldings. Also, when we have down time we can make a few shelf frames. We have a photo lab, so when someone buys an enlargement we try to put them into a frame. With our computerized mat cutter we can do a quick mat and sell a package instead of just an enlargement. We still buy most of our frames joined. When we reach the point where I can keep an employee busy for most of the day cutting and joining I'll bring the task in house. But for now, the additional cost for joined frames makes sense. Buying joined doesn't slow us down. We get deliveries twice a week. No waste, no employee injury concerns and we don't have to store materials and make room for a full scale joining operation.
 
We do all chop and I join everything....up until now. LJ has one line I refuse to mess with and that's the Le Cirque group. I have found no way to putty any less-than-perfect joint as there is no proper putty color and the frame finish is a nightmare to work with. But I'm reconsidering on some of the more problematic finishes of other vendors: patience runs out quickly anymore.
 
Thanks for the input. It sounds as though most framers are buying chop moulding...? and joining themselves. Given my problem with crooked length moulding, are there problems with crooked chop moulding? i get nervous to buy chop, or joined, as the cost increases by double/triple. Should I just raise the prices and hope people don't walk out?

Thanks again,

Jon
 
Cathie - My Le Cirque samples came with an instruction sheet for mixing putty colors to match. Let me know if you want a copy.

Kit
 
Kit, there is very little I won't tackle: in fact, one could say it's a personality failing. But Le Cirque is a slam/dunk: I'm not doing it. But it would be kind of fun to know what they recommend.
 
Kit,

I would like to have a copy of the putty mixing instructions if it isn't too much trouble. It is hard to get the colors just right. The pink wasn't too hard, but the red and aqua are tough. I wonder if some of the Framemica putty colors would work.
 
Getting Le Cirque prejoined by L-J is no guarantee. I received some in the yellow finish with orange putty in the corners. (Charles, are you puttying frames for L-J in your spare time?)

I'll be joining my own Le Cirque from now on.
 
In my 30+ years of framing I never bought a frame already joined and seldom buy them chopped. I find buying length usually less expensive even if there is a considerable amout of leftover moulding. Lets say you need 11 feet of LJ 330CG for a job.......you pay a chop price of $4.80 per foot...making your cost $52.80...if you buy length and they ship you 20 feet at $2.76 you paid $55.20. This means you have 9 feet leftover which can be used for a stock (readymade) frame or to frame something to put on the wall of your shop at approx. 27 cents a foot. Of course there are always exceptions ...figure it both ways...consider the usability of any leftover moulding..and go from there
 
When I was framing for the movies, I exclusively used joined frames. With the time frame I was given, I just didn't have the time to do any joining. As for the price, these people were under almost no budget restraints and didn't mind my tacking on an exorbitant rush charge on each and every frame as long as they got what they wanted when they wanted it. (As a matter of fact, the set decorator I worked with told me to never give him prices, he didn't care!)
Other than this, though, I always buy lenght these days.
 
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