How much is too much warp?

matart

Grumbler in Training
Joined
Mar 14, 2005
Posts
3
Loc
Eugene, OR
I have worked for a number of employers who have expected the framer to pull out minor warps in frames. The employer I work for now expects me to send back all moulding that is warped or bowed in any way. To him a major warp is 1/8 inch in 3 feet. I consider this a minor warp. I understand his feeling about giving the customer a perfect frame, but isn't this excessive?

What is the normal expectations on warpage?

I also got chewed out for one leg not as shiny as the other legs when they where from the same moulding length. I could not tell the difference until he pointed it out.

Can some one set me staight?
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It's wood; it warps. Some days more, some days less. Here we deal with it.

BEWARE! Your company could end up like my friend's. One day she tried to place an order and was told that she had no account (which she knew she did). The manager told her that they canceled her account because she was too picky...
 
I would say that you've got too much warp if you can't build a frame with perfect corners. If the warp would affect the finished product, send it back. However, if you're building a small frame, it takes much less of a warp to affect the corners. If you're building a large one, you can pull out some warp when you join the corners, and once you insert glass, etc, that straightens it out more.

I wouldn't pay for a stick of moulding that I couldn't actually use to build a frame. Other than that, as long as the warp is minor enough that it doesn't affect the finished product, keep it. It is an organic substance, so it isn't going to be perfectly straight.
 
Just a note to add, my employer believes that if you can look down the wall and the frame is not straight with the wall, then the customer will not have a perfect frame. He's really afraid of customers not retuning. But this makes my job difficult as I have to face this problem or similar problems daily. I have been working for him for the last 2 years and I thought I loved working in the framing field. Now I'm just looking forward to get out.I have been framing sense 1992.
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I guess I just needed a place to grumble ;)
 
Hope you're not sticking around expecting to get a good reference from this person! Get out while the getting's good!

If you decide to stay with this job, then keep coming here and grumbling, we'll support you and commiserate with your pain.

Regarding too much warpage, if it bows out so far that it can't hold the glass then you got a problem. If the plexi gets buckled then you got a problem. I was one stick that twisted around so much that it was almost 90 degrees off. Needless to say I did complain about that one!
 
The good thing out of this you'll have a great sense of your expectations of quality.
I see nothing wrong with the owner expecting perfect frames but as Ellen pointed out, he could eventually have no suppliers left.

Hang in there matart and get those resumes mailed.
 
Hey Matart!

I just wanted to add that I feel for you, having the perfectionist boss. However, as puttyboy says, you'll gain high expectations of quality for your next job! I know because I had the most perfectionist boss ever. For the first two months I worked for her, she'd go over my corners, glass, etc., with a magnifying glass, and if there were ONE tiny speck of dust in there, she'd make me open it all back up and re-clean the glass entirely!

Luckily, she was a WONDERFUL person, and we got along really well. She could make perfectionist demands and still not offend her employees. As a result of having worked for her, I am now a perfectionist when it comes to framing. I now force myself to open the job back up and clean just for one speck of dust.

She always sent any warped molding back, any with nicks, too, instead of trying to get useful pieces out of it. She also got credit for any piece of glass with the slightest bubble or scratch. As a result of all this, most of the professional, respected artists ($$$makers) in town came to us and NOT the other galleries for both framing and selling their art. They knew they could trust us to do as near a perfect job as possible. They'd even trust us to do the designing without their input.

I don't know how she got along with the distributors, but they definitely couldn't afford to lose her business!
 
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