Framing a Mirror

dwerthe

Grumbler in Training
Joined
May 28, 2002
Posts
1
Loc
Los Angeles, CA
I have this 4'X5' mirror and this beautiful molding that I purchased and cannot seem to get the corners to come togeather to form the miter joint. Do I have to put a different sort of angle on the miter other than the 45 degree? It seems pretty simple but I can't seem to get the joint to look right.
 
You should have no problems. We frame heaps and just do it the same as an ordinary frame. Maybe you just have a dud lot of frame. Regards Alan
 
HI dw, and welcome to the Grumble.

I see by your profile that you are an "explorer"?

I am going to throw out an educated guess and say that you are not a framer by the question you asked. That's OK.

A 90&#186 angle is a 90&#186 angle no matter what you cut it with. Changing the cut will only change the angle of your corner and throw something off. I suspect that you bought or were given some "moulding" to build your mirror frame from and it isn't lining up correctly after you cut the corners.

What kind of moulding are you using?

Is there any markings on the back of the moulding to identify it?

What did you use to cut the corners?

How are you trying to assemble the corners, vise, little corner clamps, your hands?

Have you ensured that all your cutting/joining equipment is calibrated correctly?

Supply some more information about your project and one of us will be able to come up with some answers to help you along.

Framerguy
 
Originally posted by dwerthe:
I have this 4'X5' mirror and this beautiful molding that I purchased and cannot seem to get the corners to come togeather to form the miter joint. Do I have to put a different sort of angle on the miter other than the 45 degree? It seems pretty simple but I can't seem to get the joint to look right.
A common problem with big beautiful moldings is that they are prone to rocking when you cut them.
This changes the angle of your cut on a vertical axis. You get gaps at the top or bottom, rather than on the inside or outside.
Your molding may also be warped, so that the perfectly cut corners just don't want to talk to each other, or, if you are using a chopper, the wide molding may be slipping backward out from under the blade as you cut.
The pattern in ornate molding doesn't always match at the cut ends, and you may have to do a little creative filing and filling to get a really nice look.

You might also want to check to see that your mirror is squarely cut.

Can you post a picture of your molding? Just plop a bit of it on the scanner! Anyhow, good luck with your mirror.
 
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