I am having a difficulty

Create a Post
P

peteroc

Grumbler in Training
Joined
Aug 28, 2002
Posts
2
Loc
Naperville, IL
I am making frames in a home shop. I am getting
frustrated because as careful as I am - I still
get mitred joints that don't fit snugly (ok
I don't even know if i could measure the gap...)
But, I see frames that are so SNUG. My son tells
me there is a thing called a Lion cutter that
is like a plane edge - it makes perfect 45deg
angles perfectly. What is this and where can i
find one?

He also says that he uses a air powered device
like a stapler to join the rails together - it
holds them together and shoots a 'v' into the
two rails - what is this and how much?

I guess I need advice... I use a powered compound mitre saw, corner brackets (that hold the rails
in a 45 while i glue and nail them) and that is
where I'm at right now. I want to make frames
for photos I shoot and matte. I think I want to
make about 50-100 frames a year. I have been
making them out of molding I get at the lumber yard - wainscot cap is the best so far (oak)
it looks great stained and clear coated.

Any advice appreciated - post here or email me
peteroc@ameritech.net

Thanks,

Peter
 
Peter,

No offense intended, but you need some major education. ;) There are some great framing schools out there that could give you a good base to build on. Have you considered working in a frame shop to see how things work? Coming up in January there is a trade in show in Las Vegas with the best education in the industry available. That would be a very cost effective way to go. You can probably find out about it on the PFM (Picture Framing Magazine) web site. I don't know the address. It may be listed in the Grumbles "Links" section.

I'm not familiar with the equipment you are using, but if you search the G for saws, underpinners, disc sanders, mat cutters and things like that you'll find a lot of information that will get you headed in the right direction. The brands may not be the same, but much of the info will be helpful.

Good luck.
 
Hey thanks!

I need a major education... I want to work in
the shop my son works in in Santa Barbara - it
is a shop that specializes in old world, fine-art
frames. He has all the stuff.

I on the other hand am a photographer. I would
love to focus on my pictures and presenting them
in a way that is different. So, I think I will
will be a amateur framer at best!

Where are classes? I have looked at the community
colleges around here and have never seen a class.
When I wen to Photography school - I learned all
about matting and mounting prints. Frameshops
that I see all are pretty small operations. I do
go to see what knd of equipment they have.

Thanks again!

Peter
 
Peter,

Why not concentrate on doing what you do best? Yes, most frame shops are small operations, but the investment in equipment is not small.
We have several photographers in our area (good ones) that mat their own photos. The overcut on each corner is about 1/4 - 1/3 of an inch. To me this distracts sooooo much from the photograph. But I digress. My point is - you may be taking great photographs but devaluing them with bad matting and poorly constructed framing. Find a framer that you can work with.
 
MaryAnn, I started a reply saying this very thing this morning only to realize it was time to leave for the school bus! I just closed everything and left. Now I see you've read my mind.

Peter, what I was going to say was when you consider the cost in terms of equipment, inventory, and time, perhaps you would be better off cultivating a relationship with a framer near you. (I do this for a couple of artists in the area.) Unless you just really enjoy doing the matting and framing of your work. But remember, if you're going to do it, you need to charge for the framing accordingly. Any frame you complete is time away from photos you would have taken.

While my husband and I are extreme "do-it-yourselfers" (read: near self-sufficient ) we have finally learned to do what we do best, and pay someone else to do the rest.

Betty
 
I agree with Betty. Find yourself a good framer that you can work with. At my part-time job, we have a photographer who works with us sometimes. He also has a pretty good frameshop in his home, but he has finally given up most of his framing, because he finally realized that it was taking up too much of his photo time. He also has another full time job, and just so much free time. Photography is his love, and he is a great framer, but would rather take pictures. He says he wishes he had realized this prior to buying all of the framing equipment. The money could have been better spent on camera equipment. He was trying to spread himself much too thin doing it all, and just about wore himself out. Something had to go, and it was the framing. Think twice before you take that plunge. Good framing really takes a lot of time, patience, education, and practice. If you're not willing to put all of that into it, you don't have good framing. If you don't have good framing, you have junk. Do you really want to do that to your photos?

Susan :confused:
 
We use a hand operated disc sander. I got it as
a premium for buying an underpinner from M&M. I think its about 300 buck to buy. Anyway, it works like magic. No more gaps. We use all chops and I sand all of them.

Fred
Framing by MaryAnn
 
Fred:

I have a Lion Trimmer and find it to be superior to any type miter box or cutter. Go to google and type in Lion Trimmer and you'll have a good picture along with the cost.

vonb
 
Create a Post
Back
Top