Making Your Own Frame

Harlequin565

Harlequin565

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Ian
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Well @MrDrizz got me prompted to start this as it's something I've been wanting to have a go at for a while...

I've been wanting to see how easy it is to make my own frames, and have been watching a couple of tutorials on float frames to see how it all works, but was always worried about a no-glass front. So when Mark posted his resin image (which I'd not heard of before) it fired me up this weekend. So whilst I was running a power cable out to the garage, I had a go at making my frame with the intent to resin coat it once complete.

This was a test piece, as I want to do a really big one of the grand canyon and needed a tester to begin with.

After a trip to B&Q for a couple of strips of wood, I got cracking....

My image was printed on A3+ from LR to 400x265mm (15.7" x 10")

Tips:
- I can't cut MDF straight. Need a proper tool (jigsaw with guide or table saw)
- Cheap nail gun is a waste of time. Won't punch the nail right through. Had to rely on glue only. May add proper kinetic nails later.
- Mitre saw was a cheapy one from B&Q I got to do some decking with. Did the job fine.
- Drawing the outline of your print on the reverse helps enormously with positioning the MDF backing board. (I did read of someone that punched pinholes through the print to mark it on the reverse but I wanted a border, so without going back into PS and creating an image with a marked border this wasn't going to work.)

Problems:
- Trying to save wood by "estimating" lengths before a proper measured cut was really stupid. Ended up having to reduce the overall image size by about 5mm around the edges because of idiot Ian.
- No clamps made the whole thing far more difficult than it needed to be.
- When you screw up the MDF cut because you can't cut straight by hand, deciding to use foam board is a mistake as it's not flat and you end up needing to stick the foam board to the dodgy MDF anyway. Am currently curious to see what happens with resin on foam board.
- 3M Spray mount is hella-fast "fixing" with almost no time to reposition.

Base frame was made of 4 bits of 10mm x 33mm pine stripwood (£4 for a 2.4m length at B&Q) with 15 x 15mm "batons" inserted inside the frame to hold the float. Photo is mounted on foam board, then on MDF - although a professional could probably skip the foam board which then (current plan) sits on two bits of off cut 15x15 "risers" to lift the photo flush with the 35mm frame depth. My wife reckons I should spray the frame silver, but I'm thinking of a dark wood stain to add to the moodiness of the photo. As it may end up going up in the house I'll probably go silver (it's a test piece and proving her wrong is fun) just to see if she's right.

Still got the resin coating to do (need a blowtorch), risers to attach, nails to tap in for strength, sanding, and staining/painting, but I have to say I really like how it looks. I'm no handyman, but YouTube was awesome for giving me the impetus to try it out. If I can manage the resin coating without glueing myself to the workbench, I'm done with pre-bought frames.


Home Made Float Frame (part 1) by Ian, on Flickr
 
Those frame mitres are excruciatingly bad (they're ragged & don't line up), and that white print border at the top is in the wrong place since it's wider than the others - the only place for a wider border (unless you have superior artistic intent) is at the bottom.

The trouble with cheap tools is ... well, guess. It also helps to have the right ones. But even they are no solution if your technique's wrong.

I know, it's a minefield, & budget comes into it. And to Google mounting and framing can provide too much information at once. Sometimes it's better to job it out.

Framing is on a finer scale than decking. So workwise, you need to adjust your focus!
 
Have to agree with droj, practice makes perfect so on to the next one.

Cut my own mounts, but charity shops are the source for frames, woodworking is definitely not my thing
 
droj said:
Those frame mitres are excruciatingly bad (they're ragged & don't line up), and that white print border at the top is in the wrong place since it's wider than the others - the only place for a wider border (unless you have superior artistic intent) is at the bottom.

The trouble with cheap tools is ... well, guess. It also helps to have the right ones. But even they are no solution if your technique's wrong.

I know, it's a minefield, & budget comes into it. And to Google mounting and framing can provide too much information at once. Sometimes it's better to job it out.

Framing is on a finer scale than decking. So workwise, you need to adjust your focus!
Click to expand...

I agree, but most people probably won't notice if the photo is more interesting bthan the frame. ;)
 
Well, for a first go and with the tools you have, in my opinion, it's not bad. I'm a framer, been doing it since 2010 and it's about having the right tools for sure but every frame you build will teach you something new. Some of the points here are valid ones too but given the circumstances, I have actually seen worse frames.

I'd point you in the way of DIY Framing, I did my course with them over 3 days and it was worth every penny. They run courses countrywide. I then bought some tools that I had been using on the course and I haven't looked back. The main tool to have is amitre finishing tool, I have the guillotine version and it gives a mirror finish to the rough mitres that come off the saw. Any mitre saw will give you a mitre but it will be too rough for framing purposes and you really need a finishing tool of some sort to give you the mirror finish and perfect mitres. With the proper glass cutting tool, cutting glass is a doddle. You don't actually cut it, you score it then snap it. The tools weren't cheap but were still cheaper than a decent camera body.

Good luck, keep trying. (y)
 
Thanks everyone. I did learn a lot, and my wife likes the finished product so that's a plus. The silver finish killed it for me, but that just goes to show that everyone has different tastes. Will probably stick to charity shop frames for normal house hanging.

droj said:
that white print border at the top is in the wrong place
Click to expand...
Yep. I ended up reprinting borderless. The resin job was poor on this first attempt so it's hanging unmounted in the garage at the moment as a reminder...

tijuana taxi said:
woodworking is definitely not my thing
Click to expand...
It's not mine either. I'm no good at drawing/painting too - hence photography. I still get satisfaction from doing it though, so it was a win for me, even if the finished product isn't up to scratch.

ancient_mariner said:
most people probably won't notice if the photo is more interesting than the frame
Click to expand...
Agreed, but now looking at it on the wall, I got the sizes all wrong as the frame looks way too tight. I think this would only work as a really big print. It looks far batter at the same size, sitting in a plain white mat with a 3" border.

And @Dale. these kinds of constructive feedback posts are great - so thankyou. I was using tools I had laying around, didn't know what I was doing, and making all the mistakes a noob would. However I got a decent result which gives me faith in my ability to do it again (given the right tools) should I decide to. For me - I think cost of tools & time would outweigh the cost of going charity shop, but with big pano prints I'd like to try something myself again in the future. I'll be sure to contact a local framer first though to see if (s)he could make what I wanted for less than the cost of the tools.
 
Mitres are usually cut with a mitre Guillotine for frames. A saw is just not neat and true enough. Unless finished with a shooting plane and board.
A full kit of specialist tools for making frames and cutting mounts and matts, is not really worth it for an amateur.
Frame profiles are available wholesale in an extraordinary range of materials styles and finishes.
A basic kit would include Guillotine, Under-pinner, heavy duty Mount and matt cutter, triangular stapler. and various corner clamps and accessories.
By the time you have that lot and are proficient at frame making you might as well start a business to use pay for it.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuWVP3X5Nkw

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n2ossog5Ns

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr7ESL9b8A8
 
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Terrywoodenpic said:
..is not really worth it for an amateur
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For me, mat cutting was extremely cheap and easy to get into. For the amount I do, it's a perfect balance of outlay vs results.

But you're spot on re: framing.
 
Harlequin565 said:
For me, mat cutting was extremely cheap and easy to get into. For the amount I do, it's a perfect balance of outlay vs results.

But you're spot on re: framing.
Click to expand...

It is amazing how computerised a modern picture mounting business is today
They have computerised cutters for everything. Though it still takes a high degree of skill to do as the putting together and settings are down to the skill of the framer.
They bring down the entire process to mount an image in a high quality bespoke frame and matt to a matter of a few minutes.
 
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