Picture Frame

This weeks project is about making a picture frame. I have been wanting a place to display one of my favorite pictures of my little girl from when she was about 15 months old.  This is my first frame iv'e ever made and I really had fun making it. I had a cheapo 8x10 frame lying around the house that was made of painted mdf that I decided to re purpose. I have plenty of scraps lying around that I knew I could use to make a much better looking frame.

I decided on a piece of oak to make the frame with. I had to start by jointing and planing it to the size I wanted. I then tore apart the cheap frame (which came apart way too easily) and used the dimensions from it to make the rabbet to accept the frame and matting. I used my feather boards to keep the stock pushed up against the fence while making the cuts.

The next step was to cut the miters, I used a cut-off sled I had bought some years back from rockler. The fence on this particular sled pivots on one end to cut the desired angle needed. I used my speed square to set the angle with. I'm not sure if that was the best idea because my miters didn't line up perfectly, there is actually a small gap in one corner. I think in the future i'm gonna make myself a proper picture framing jig.

I glued the mitered corners and got to use my Bessey band clamp for the first time, which is really handy. I had to slightly adjust all the corners by hand to make sure they lined up properly and then cleaned the excess glue with a damp rag before it dried.

Once I un-clamped the frame it was time for a little sanding. I sanded with 180 and then 220 before wiping on two coats of wipe on poly (sanding between coats with 320). I really like the ease of use that comes with using wipe on poly, it's a quick easy finish.

Then all that's left is to install the glass matting, and your picture of course. Next it's time to find a nice place to display your handy work, I chose the desk where our computer sits.

I hope you get out there and make one of these frames yourself. It's a really simple project that you can finish in a weekend, especially if you already have an old frame to re-purpose like I did.