For many years, I have cut and joined my own frames, but had always purchased premade frame molding. This is a cost effective option for those who like DIY, but the result always left me wanting. (Not that there is anything wrong with standard frames!) In the past , I have used a Nobex Proman handsaw for the job. It is a very good saw, but it’s a handsaw, so lots of cuts take a long time. Recently I purchased a circular drop saw. Here’s my first try.
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Here’s a set of 3 indigenous artist paintings some friends asked me to frame. We decided on mounted in a floating manner, all painted black to contrast with the bright colours of the artworks.
Since attending an exhibition of Byzantine iconography five or six years ago, my ideas on art have changed a great deal, I have become enamored with the idea of a frame being ‘part’ of the artwork, and not just something that is interchangeable. Specifically the monks would travel with their icons, often the paintings were created inside a carved out piece of timber or a very sturdy hand carved frame. Over years of travel and use, the frames would become beaten up, scratched, repaired, added to. The purpose of a frame is to protect, but these frames also tell a story of their journeys together!
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Previously, I have made some of my own custom frames from recycled items, but always wanted more variety. Recently I decided to purchase some more tools to allow the creation of frames using regular timber. For these frames I used a table router the create the rebate for the plywood backing board and an electric miter drop saw. You can see in the images the rebate for the backing board is only slightly deeper than the plywood I would later use.
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The joins were made using a Frameco Pushmaster and corner staples with some PVA glue. I was not happy with the drop saw experience for this. Although it is faster (initially) to cut with a drop saw, my saw was simply not cutting straight no matter what I did. I ended up laying the timber flat and tilting the saw to 45deg instead of cutting the miter upright. The results were better, but nowhere near as accurate as I would have liked. To get a perfect 45deg angle on these cuts, I had to spend some time on the sander or risk wasting it all. Yes, I tested the joins, but there was definitely some drift in the saw. My old miter handsaw did a better job, but that’s a lot of cutting! In another episode I will discuss my solution to the saw problem.
These artworks were purchased from some women artists in NT and were straight cut (torn) pieces of canvas, so we left the edges rough to retain the story of how the works were acquired originally. They are fastened with archival (reversible) EVA glue and I gave them a layer of reversible varnish to protect the artworks for many years to come. The frames are painted in a textured black to contrast with the bright soft flowing colours of the works. Overall, I am happy with the result, but it was more work than it needed to be. Next time, I aim at taking a lot less time to cut the joins.
(The dog doesn’t seem too concerned about the frames and is likely wondering if it’s walk time now the frames are complete.)
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