Question Moulding corner decorations or covers?

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Hi all,

My boss and I recently received several moulding samples from Larson-Juhl. Most of them are elaborately carved (and in my opinion, gorgeous, but I like gaudy things). Problem is, the designs don't "sync up" at the corner joints. We are a smaller framing department in an art supply store, so we don't have access to any saws. We have to order pre-cut chops instead of lengths of moulding. Therefore we can't cut the moulding so the corners meet up. I saw a few corner decorations in the LJ catalogue, but their selection looked a tad sparse. Do you know of any suppliers who have a wide range of corner decorations? I'd love to be able to suggest these mouldings to customers without having to compromise on the corners.

Thanks!
 

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To get a ornate moulding with a repeating pattern to match up at all corners is mathematically impossible in most cases. Think of the math. If you have a moulding that has a repeating pattern every four inches, the the only way you will get 4 corners to exactly match is to cut the outside dimensions of the moulding in intervals of exactly 4 inches. You can do it with a 16x20 outside dimension (with no allowances) or an 8 by 12 outside for example. Now try calculating what the inside measurements will be. Or try calculating the outside dimensions form a given art dimension.

But if you want a 9x14 outside dimensions it won't work. For the 9" side you will have 2 1/4 repeats of the pattern and 3 1/2 repeats for the 14" side. You can get the two opposite corners to match, but just two.

For an 8x14, you can get two top or bottoms corners to match but not the other two. Again with no allowances.

Some try to match where they can, others don't try. Most let the chips (or pattern) fall where they may.
 
Amen, Larry. I have tried this and another factor is the kerf of the saw. Those few millimetres of waste often make a big difference.
 
No stock corner ornaments (overlay) would be possible for most mouldings. What you describe are "Closed Corner Frames" and retail prices for your customers in most cases would be in the thousands rather than hundreds. If your customer base is willing to pay in excess of a thousand dollars per frame job there are a large number of fine closed corner frame manufacturers available to you.
 
In most cases like this everything tends to blend together visually if not physically when all put together. A little judicious sanding and touching up can help conceal any sharp edges. Depends how deep the carvings are. Sometimes little refinements increase the time/labor factor dramatically and quite honestly it's probably only a rabid picture framer that would appreciate or even notice them.

Corner ornaments are very appealing to some folks until they hear the price. Had a request from a gallery recently - they sold four paintings in modern-ish style frames and the customer was taken by a big ornate frame with corner ornaments on another painting on display. I could do a good frame with a running pattern for $X. To do one with corner ornaments would mean me having one made by a company I use occasionally who specialise in such things. This increases the cost roughly by a factor of 3. No way round it.

Sometimes I do the sneaky trick of using an imported readymade frame with fancy corners.
This is quite handy as the actual structure of this type of frame is basically good. Once the horrible brassy finish is removed and a nicer finish applied you have a classy frame. These frames are cheap. The problem is that these frames are in standard sizes so anything else needs a custom job.

I have in the past experimented with pre-cast ornaments, even trying to cast them myself. I had some good results, but all-in-all apart from gaining a bit of insight it's just not practical or economic unless you have a dedicated set up and do a lot of this type of frame.
 
We do what prospero suggests, carve, sand, fill and touch up, with a bit of practice this can be very quick a couple of minutes per corner and it improves the look of the corner substantially.
 
Munn Frameworks will chop those expensive ornate frames symmetrically - about the best you can do without going to a finished corner supplier.
 
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