Router Forums banner

Alternative miter corner clamp jig

6.3K views 11 replies 7 participants last post by  Stokestack  
#1 · (Edited)
Just noticed a new item from Woodpecker for clamping mitered corners. This was mildly interesting since I make frames for my wife, the artist. Today, she and her daughter decided to start selling her work, and so my interest increased. The picture below shows their aluminum jigs. The drawing is of the shop made version. Eight are required. The 45 degree V cut allows you to put clamping pressure on the opposing sides of the miter cut. Clamping miters is a pain.

Since she's also going to need canvas stretchers, I decided to make a simple version of the clamping jig. Commercial frame stretchers are fairly complex, but the same thing can be done by making a simple 5/8ths frame, then cutting a spline in the corner to reinforce it. Then I can make larger canvases for her rather than buying them already made up.

So the drawing is a design I'll be making out of some nice birch I have laying around. I'll use small Bessy clamps to hold it together, they're very inexpensive at HD.

Thought some of y'all might find it handy to make a set of these for your shop. I'll be applying a little sandpaper to the side up against the frame
 

Attachments

#5 ·
Thanks Stick, I'll poke around and see what they have at HD. If I do it in BB, I'll wax the heck out of it, don't want any glue sticking to it. Just can't wax the edge where the sandpaper goes.
 
#7 ·
Tom, I just finished making two sets of single Vchamps yesterday. One set for me and one for my son. Then I check the RF an here is the set of doubles from Woodpecker. The pic they show is using three clamps, that is pretty expensive. I made mine from some strips of pine that I had left over form making some frames for my wife. I tried them out on some scrap pieces of frame and they worked great. If your miters are good it does't take a lot if pressure. Of course you have a guillotine so no problem. I'm sure Woodpecker hope you will buy their quick clamps also, but any ones quick clamps will work.
 
#8 ·
Digging around for alternatives, I found this much simpler design. Don, Marlin and Hal, glad someone else around here is making frames or stuff with miter joints. Nothing like the miter trimmer though. The quality of the cut is terrific, the angle is exact and it doesn't take much glue to hold it together for the spline. Only problem I still have occasionally is with a warp or twist in the stock. So I always buy extra stock. Getting into using multiple pieces, cuts, fancy trim, to make stock that fits the picture. For example, rope trim for nautical paintings. I use some hardwood sometimes, but often make frames from 1x4 pine I carefully pick at HD.

Anyway, here's the alternative. I'd still put a little sandpaper on it to make shure it doesn't slip. It's a pain when the corner slips and the glue has set.
 

Attachments