Cutting floater frames

[VixSA]

Hi there,
I've been struggling with cutting floater frames and i don't know if it's my relative inexperience or quality issues with my supplier that are at fault.

I have a set of 4 small canvases to put into float frames. Got 2 lengths of moulding from my supplier. There were small inconsistencies in the height of the moulding lengths which meant i could not "mix and match". All 4 sides for a particular frame had to come from one length of moulding or they just wouldn't join well. I also struggled with one of the lengths not sitting flush to the fence and base of the morso. I assume this means that the L of the moulding isn't at 90 degrees. Even though i tried the hold the moulding firmly in place my cut wasn't 100% square.

I eventually managed to get 4 frames done but they aren't as consistent as I'd like. Please give me some hints if how you deal with a floater frame that's not square (doesn't sit on the base and against the fence nicely). Or should I just have chucked it back at my supplier??
Vickie

 

[wpfay]

With the initial discovery of the 2 stick's profile depth not matching a call to the supplier would have been in order.
In attempting to make good of bad product the responsibility transferred to you.

The issue of the two pieces of the floater not being at 90 degrees to one another is something I've had issues with mass produced products, but not with domestically made hardwood floaters. Probably a non-starter with a guillotine style mitering machine, but keeping the back of the vertical part of the moulding flush to the fence is important for a good join. I can do this with my saw, but the downward forces that push the foot of the moulding to the bed of the Morso are much greater than those forces generated by a saw. Accurate cuts on a Morso require the moulding profiles are accurately made.

Going forward, perhaps order the frames chopped and joined, and see if they can do it to your liking.
Other than that, a succession of pitch that sample up to pitch that supplier are options.

 

[Rick Granick]

There is no shame in ordering a joined frame. Although it will cost you more, the time you aren't wasting trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear has value. LJ does a nice job with their joins, and they only charge the cost of 1 foot of the moulding over the cost of a chop.
Rick

 

[VixSA]

With the initial discovery of the 2 stick's profile depth not matching a call to the supplier would have been in order.
In attempting to make good of bad product the responsibility transferred to you.

The issue of the two pieces of the floater not being at 90 degrees to one another is something I've had issues with mass produced products, but not with domestically made hardwood floaters. Probably a non-starter with a guillotine style mitering machine, but keeping the back of the vertical part of the moulding flush to the fence is important for a good join. I can do this with my saw, but the downward forces that push the foot of the moulding to the bed of the Morso are much greater than those forces generated by a saw. Accurate cuts on a Morso require the moulding profiles are accurately made.

Going forward, perhaps order the frames chopped and joined, and see if they can do it to your liking.
Other than that, a succession of pitch that sample up to pitch that supplier are options.

I only noticed that there was a variation in height when I'd cut some of the lengths, at which point my supplier would not have accepted them back as they have been cut. I'm going to check all lengths much more carefully in future!

 

[VixSA]

There is no shame in ordering a joined frame. Although it will cost you more, the time you aren't wasting trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear has value. LJ does a nice job with their joins, and they only charge the cost of 1 foot of the moulding over the cost of a chop.
Rick

Unfortunately not all suppliers in South Africa offer a chop service. This particular one only offers it for very large mouldings. I'm going to give them feedback though on the issues I encountered.

 

[Scott Lewis]

I wouldn’t automatically assume that the supplier won’t make good on cut bad product. I worked for a distributor for several years and we routinely replaced product that customers had trouble with. Of course if we noticed a pattern of abuse we would have to be more strict, but that was a point we worked up to. As a supplier, I would think that if a good customer tried to make something work and couldn’t because of inferior quality, I would go out of my way to make the customer happy.

 

[nickbatz]

If you do this a lot, a chop saw with a woodworking blade rather than a construction one - or if you're one of the Cool People, a sliding compound miter saw - makes this trivial. In Los Angeles you can find used ones (with unknown blades) for maybe $75 on Craigslist.

Pencil marks are as accurate as the width of the pencil lines. So after cutting the pieces, if I need to shave one piece a fraction of a hair to make it a 100% match with the opposite one, I lower the saw blade, push one end of the piece against it, and then start the saw on on and raise the blade - in other words, the side of the blade takes off a tiny amount each time.

I wouldn't recommend a cheap used saw if you're going to use it for other things, but for cutting molding you don't need anything fancy.

 

[aaframes]

Dear Vickie,
The solution is so easy it will make your hair fall out.

Mitre True Sander

United Mfrs Supplies has been the industry source for picture and frame supplies for over 100 years. We are your one source for all of your framing needs. No one else in the industry has the extensive selection of quality framing equipment, products, and supplies. From Supplies to Equipment, we...

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