Another odd tool my wife bought for me to make picture frames is this Grizzly Lyon style miter trimmer.
![Tool Wood Saw Machine Bumper]()
It is a horizontal guillotine with incredibly sharp, low angle blades. You precut your frame pieces about 1/16 oversize, place it in this precision cutter and use the lever to shave about 1/32 nd off the ends. It is not only an EXACT 45 or 90, but it produces a glass smooth end cut that fits perfectly when assembling the frame.
After considerable research, I found that every frame shop has one of these or something similarly precise. This tool was invented back in the 1800s, and is still the go to tool for frames.
Clamping a frame in place while the glue sets is a royal pain. This little tool has been the best way I've found to hold it square. Squeeze the handles and that spreads the wire clamps. They leave a sharp indent, but I always use a corner spline to reinforce the corners.
![Outerwear Sleeve Tie Collar Dress shirt]()
Since the 45 miters are perfect, when you put four of these little clamps in place the frame is perfectly squared. (Coat the cut ends with glue first, then again just before clamping them up. I lay down the glossy side of butcher paper so I don't glue the frame to the bench.
Last little specialty item for frames I just love is this little Logan framing points gun. It inserts a pointed little metal tab to hold the picture and backing in place. For pictures painted on canvas, I will often add a 1x1 pine framework to the back of the frame material so I can put in these little retaining tabs. Most pre-milled wood for frames is too thin to make a rabbet deep enough to hold a painting without that pine framework. No glass on oil paintings. The tab comes out of the black spot on the lower left corner. Sure beats trying to hammer in a brad.
![Tool Bicycle part Musical instrument accessory Font Auto part]()
Here's one of my favorite paintings and frames, made with this process. Not bad, huh.
![Bird Vertebrate Paint Rectangle Beak]()
It is a horizontal guillotine with incredibly sharp, low angle blades. You precut your frame pieces about 1/16 oversize, place it in this precision cutter and use the lever to shave about 1/32 nd off the ends. It is not only an EXACT 45 or 90, but it produces a glass smooth end cut that fits perfectly when assembling the frame.
After considerable research, I found that every frame shop has one of these or something similarly precise. This tool was invented back in the 1800s, and is still the go to tool for frames.
Clamping a frame in place while the glue sets is a royal pain. This little tool has been the best way I've found to hold it square. Squeeze the handles and that spreads the wire clamps. They leave a sharp indent, but I always use a corner spline to reinforce the corners.
Since the 45 miters are perfect, when you put four of these little clamps in place the frame is perfectly squared. (Coat the cut ends with glue first, then again just before clamping them up. I lay down the glossy side of butcher paper so I don't glue the frame to the bench.
Last little specialty item for frames I just love is this little Logan framing points gun. It inserts a pointed little metal tab to hold the picture and backing in place. For pictures painted on canvas, I will often add a 1x1 pine framework to the back of the frame material so I can put in these little retaining tabs. Most pre-milled wood for frames is too thin to make a rabbet deep enough to hold a painting without that pine framework. No glass on oil paintings. The tab comes out of the black spot on the lower left corner. Sure beats trying to hammer in a brad.
Here's one of my favorite paintings and frames, made with this process. Not bad, huh.
