Picture Framing BASICS

Create elegant frames with simple tools and techniques

- Asa Christiana

As a woodworker, it's tough to buy pre-made picture A picture frame puts them on full display, so they need to be frames or shell out big bucks at the custom-framing dead-accurate and chip-free. To make that happen, you'll need shop-especially when you have so much nice wood a reliable way to cut and assemble them. lying around. Making frames yourself not only saves money but also lets you personalize your pictures.

Despite the seemingly simple joinery, however, picture framing can be intimidating in its own way. The decorative aspect is easy, as there are lots of wonderful details you can create on a router table, table saw, or even bandsaw, and the miter joints carry them beautifully around the frame. But perfect miters are trickier to make than they might look.

A picture frame puts them on full display, so they need to be dead-accurate and chip-free. To make that happen, you'll need a reliable way to cut and assemble them.

Then there's the contents of the frame. Everyone knows what they want to display, but may be less familiar with how to incorporate the mat board and glass, how much room to allow for them in their rabbet, and how to hold them in place. Last, there is a variety of ways to hang the finished frame. Not to worry; in this article, I'll provide some straightforward solutions using basic tools, ensuring perfect picture frames that can be made by any woodworker.

Rip and rabbet at the table saw

Rip stock that will be long enough to wrap around your artwork and mat, making all the parts from the same board for the best look. After milling the stock to size, rabbet the back edge. The fastest way to do this is using a dado head on the table saw, as shown. You'll need to attach a sacrificial facing to the rip fence using clamps or double-stick tape, and then raise the spinning dado head into the facing, being careful to avoid your rip fence.