Picture Frames? Where To Start?

[Cooler]

I had a picture frame shop.  I mitered and joined pre-finished moldings.  The easiest and most cost-effective way to start framing is to use a chop service. You choose one of their mouldings and specify the size.  They will either ship to you assembled frames or frames with thumbnails, which you will glue and assemble when they arrive.

Do NOT try to chop your own prefinished mouldings.  The blades we used for that cost vastly more than your typical chop saw blade. 

Many chops services will not sell retail.  But here is the search:  https://www.google.com/search?q=+mouldin...s-wiz-serp

Most will come with "thumbnails" which take the place of clamps (but you do need to glue the joints).

I still have my dedicated sliding table miter saw.  The replacement blades are about $200.00 the last time I checked.  The miter angles are preset at the factory. And the miters are cut on complimentary sides of the blade.  You cannot get that precision or quality of cut from a chop saw or a sled.

[barnowl]

And what can be done there from elementary materials that can be bought not separately but in batches? My brother did this while he was in college; he worked part-time in a warehouse where he processed wood, and there, his boss allowed him to take the remains of the tree home for his frames. Or buy glass somewhere cheap and make something like frames that can be ordered on the website SPAM_LINK_DELETED/canvas-prints. I think these are the two simplest and most affordable options for frames. By the way, I would like to express my respect for what you and your wife are doing for these people. I think that people always need to be helped, no matter what kind of wealth you have and how you live

SPAMMER DISPACHED

[tablesawtom]

Look up Dubby sleds from an-line industries on the internet. He has YouTube videos that may help you. Also has a book or how to do frame sizing. I have both the right and left hand sled. If one is going to buy both, get them from him especially so the heights match, his book or polygons and DVDs are included. He is the originator and he sells on Amazon and the such

Tom

[Philip1231]

So here is a super-fancy table saw jig I made years ago to make picture frames. I clamp stop blocks on the each wing to give me parts that are exactly the same length. The placement of the wings is as close to 90 degrees as I could get it. It worked just fine and gave me miters that were very respectable. All made from scraps, as any good jig should be.

   

[Cooler]

An accurate short cut for that sled is to use an aluminum framing square.  The first cut slices through the square (with carbide teeth, the aluminum is not a  problem).  If the square was accurate, your cuts will be too. 

The rabbet on a picture frame is small.  Mount the square on fairly thick washers.  It will allow you to blow away any saw dust that might interfere with accuracy. 

I made one for my radial arm saw and it worked fine.  But the cuts on my dedicated sliding table saw were cleaner.  No doubt because of the expensive blade.

[Eurekan]

I have one simple tip you may find helpful. When I make picture frames I go to Dollar Tree and buy an appropriately sized plastic frame and use the glass. Can't get it any cheaper.

[Cooler]

The problem with stock frames is that if you are using a mat board, the sizes do not work out. 

For example, if you have a 8" x 10" image and you want a 2½" mat all around, then you need a 13" x 15" frame, which is not a standard size.  So you end up with awkward mat proportions.

If you by an 11" x 14" frame you end up with borders on two sides of 1.5" and on the other two sides of 2".  It would look out of balance. 

You would have to buy a 16" x 20" frame and cut the glass.  I don't know what piece of glass costs anymore, but the labor would be the same either way.

But if he buys a larger frame with a molding that he likes, then cutting the molding and the glass down to size will make economic sense.