measuring

[5th corner]

In a high end shop with a lot of work coming thru

and three quarters of commercil frames being chopped and the rest made in house from raw timber

is it important to measure art or matted art before frames are assembled or does one just double check the measurments on the job sheet are close enough and hope the frame fits when made

and should the glass/plexi be cut to the frame size or the job sheet dimentions?

and when the glass and or mats are fitted should they be tight or loose and if tight is it ok to jam them in and if loose hope the pins holds it in place so it doesn't move around?

 

[Rick Granick]

Measure twice, cut once.
Why would one double check the figures on the work order then not measure the physical materials? Those few extra seconds are time well spent. Cutting mistakes are common enough. One could adjust the mat border width a little to accommodate a miscut chop if need be, but this would be a lot easier before everything in the package is completed.
If your materials are too tight they will not allow for expansion/contraction and will eventually cause problems. If the package is too loose in the frame it may be possible to make 4-ply mat strips as spacers to center the package. This would have the added feature of providing a bit of barrier between the frame's wood and the contents.
Rick

 

[Framerguy]

and three quarters of commercil frames being chopped and the rest made in house from raw timber

is it important to measure art or matted art before frames are assembled or does one just double check the measurments on the job sheet are close enough and hope the frame fits when made

How many people are involved in the layout with the customer, the actual typing up (or printing out on a POS program) of the work order, and the actual work done on the materials that are sized to create the customer's finished frame package?? It seems that the more people involved in the layout process and cutting of the materials, the more opportunities there are for either a mismeasurement or a wrong number being entered or something being misread creating a wrong measurement in the end. Therefore it is imperative that you measure the art work yourself to ensure that everything is now on paper in the same dimensions as it started out. I would NEVER depend on someone else's measurements if I weren't the one who personally measured and made up that work order and, even THEN, I would rarely trust myself!

and should the glass/plexi be cut to the frame size or the job sheet dimentions?

Now we are getting into the questions of "the chicken or the egg"! Are the job sheet dimensions correct?? If you are personally convinced of this, then the frame has also been ordered correctly and the measurements won't change on that item. In this case use either the job sheet (work order) measurements or the frame to cut your glass/plexi, backing board, mount (mat) board, et al. If the frame was ordered to the same dimensions as the job sheet dimensions AND you have already ensured that the dimensions ARE correct, it really doesn't matter which you use (frame dimension or job sheet) to cut the glass to fit, does it??

and when the glass and or mats are fitted should they be tight or loose and if tight is it ok to jam them in and if loose hope the pins holds it in place so it doesn't move around?

Over here frames are traditionally cut with a 1/8" allowance (1/8" bigger than the actual dimensions) to allow for expansion and contraction of the contents of the assembled frame. If your chop facility isn't doing this you can request that they do or simply add a small allowance to each dimension to give some wiggle room in the frame. I would never jam the contents into a finished frame!! You are simply asking for trouble doing that. Follow Rick's advice and you will have very few times when you will have to shim up a frame package.

As Rick stated, measure twice, cut once. That may be a clich&#233 but it is a good guide for minimizing mistakes when more than one person is involved in the process. I have operated a one shop for many years and I still made many mistakes all on my own without anybody else involved!!

Framerguy

 

[RoboFramer]

I don't trust measurements taken at the counter, even my own. Re-measure in the workshop and cut, or if chop, order. I only use chop for metal frames, when I order I am asked if the size is 'glass' or 'exact' size - i.e. do I want them to leave some play or have I acounted for it.

Any time we order glass cut to size we frame THAT before cutting mats/ backing.

 

[Val]

I don't even go by the work order measurement that I myself have taken. Always measure first, then check the paperwork and make the adjustment JUST IN CASE they're different. Rare, but it happens. And when it does, if I don't measure first, it never fails that it was my last matbd that color, etc.

I get teased, but I even go so far as to put a piece of masking tape on the back of my hand with the exact frame measurement (that I have measured myself) to go to the cutter for mat and/or glass, because if I get distracted on the way, or because sometimes I have short-term memory loss (ha!), I could (will!) transpose, forget the 1/4", etc. Sometimes I forget to pull it off and walk around with tape on my hand. Could be worse....could be my name on the inside of my shirt in case I get lost!!

 

[JPete]

...always cut the long side first.