New Albany Framer
CGF, Certified Grumble Framer
I am a novice framer who is framing my own photographs for the convenience of it and in an attempt to save money. I have no aspirations to frame for money. I am fairly proficient at matting, but my initial experiments with framing have to say the least been a challenge. I have found my first attempt to put a frame together in a vice cumbersome and awkward at best. A wholesale framer suggested that the thumbnail master would be ideal for me. It is a machine that cuts a slot in each end of the frame in which plastic pegs are inserted to join the frame together. Glue is still needed, but he said that you can handle the frame more quickly than you can with a vice. He also said that assembling the frame is less awkward than a vice, and the joints are very stable. Finally, he said that buying any of the entry level v nailers was a waste of money as they do not produce joints anyhwhere near the quality of the more expensive machines. What is the consensus of those who have had experience with the two type of frame joining methods?