How to Picture Frame
A Nine Step Tutorial
 

Step Four:  Preparing Your Materials 

When you begin the picture framing process, your frame, matboard, foamboard and glass may not yet be in the size you need them.  Your frame, for example, may be only a single long stick of moulding that needs to be cut into four sections and nailed together, and your matboard and foamboard may be in large 32"x40" sheets that need to be reduced to your frame size.  Let's look at each component in turn and examine what needs to be done to prepare them.
Preparing Your Frame You may start with your frame in one of four stages.  First, the frame may be a ready made frame, which means the frame has already been cut and assembled, in which case nothing needs to be done.  Second, you may have a sectional frame, in which case the frame has already been cut, but still needs to be assembled.  Third, the frame may be a single long stick of moulding - what's called length moulding - that's already stained or painted and needs to be cut and assembled.  Or the frame may be unfinished moulding (meaning unpainted or stained) still in a stick form that needs to be painted, then cut and joined.
Cutting Wood Moulding If you have a stick of moulding and want to cut it quickly and accurately, you will need two tools:  a Miter Saw and a Sander.  To cut picture frame moulding accurately you will need a saw that locks down at 45-degrees and includes a scaled fence extension with the increments laid out at 45-degrees.  The Logan Pro Saw includes both, as does The Framing4Yourself Power Miter Saw Combo.  Other miter saws will lock down at 45-degrees but will not include the proper fence extension.  The Framing4Yourself Saw Fence Extension, however, can be mounted against any miter saw to provide the proper measuring features.  Cutting moulding with a manual saw like the Logan Pro Saw can require some muscle, whereas cutting moulding with a power saw like the Framing4Yourself Power Miter Saw is like cutting butter and is probably worth the difference in price.  Full instructions are provided with the saw to show you how to operate it.  For more information on cutting frames, check out The Complete Guide to Home Picture Framing.	Power Miter Saw Combo    Saw Fence Extension   Sawing the Moulding
Sanding and Touching Up Wood Moulding Sanding is an essential part of frame making.  No matter how accurate your saw is, you will need to sand from time to time to achieve the perfect miters necessary to cleanly close the seams at all four corners.  Having a manual rotary sander like the Logan Sander can make the job easy.  After sanding you may want to mark the edges of each miter to blend the seam with the color of the frame face.  This is particularly desirable with darker frames where the light color of the wood core can contrast with the face color.  Use Frame Touch Up Inks, available in a set of nine, to blend the seam.	Logan Sander   Frame Touch Up Inks
Sizing Matboard and Foamboard Sizing means cutting your matboard and foamboard to size from larger sheets.  Matboard and foamboard are sold in 32”x40” sheets.  Cutting it squarely means reducing it at proper right angles.  A squaring arm makes measuring and sizing easy.  It is perhaps the most important unsung feature on a mat cutter.  Without it, you will be required to measure and mark out your matboard by hand prior to cutting it.  With it, measuring and sizing occur in concert.  Simply align the edge of the matboard on the scale on the squaring arm for the size you want to reduce it to.  Lower the guide rail and pull the cutter.  For more on the differences between mat cutters and their features click here.	Squaring Arm        Measuring on the Squaring Arm                   Cutting on the Squaring Arm
Sizing Glass and Acrylic For many framers it's easier to simply buy glass or acrylic (Plexiglass®) already cut to your frame size.  Most paint & glass stores or home improvement centers will size it for you while you wait, or you can buy it pre-sized in standard sizes from Framing4Yourself.  However, if you wish to size your own glass or acrylic, you will need a glass cutter, or a plastic cutter for acrylic, and a way to measure it accurately prior to sizing it.  Here again, a squaring arm on a mat cutter provides what you need.  Cutting glass or acrylic involves scoring the material and then snapping it along the score. You should use cotton gloves when handling glass.  In addition, you should have an anti-static brush to reduce the static charge that causes dust and lint to cling to the inside of your glass or acrylic when framing.	1.  Using the squaring arm, measure the glass for sizing   2.  Hook the cutter onto the guide rail and score the glass 3.  Align the score along the edge of a table 4.  Snap the glass along the score
With your frame assembled and your matboard, foamboard and glass cut to the frame size, you are ready for the next step - to cut a window in your mat.

Continue on to Step 5, Mat Cutting

Step 1   Step 2   Step 3   Step 4   Step 5   Step 6   Step 7   Step 8   Step 9
 

Click on a link below to Enter the Article Vault and Access Articles About Preparing Your Materials:

Getting and Keeping Your Matboard Square.

How to Maximize the Yield From a 32”x40” Sheet.

The Uses and Advantages of a Squaring Arm.

How to Squarely Reduce Oversize Matboard.



Framing4Yourself Workshops give you hands-on instruction in mat cutting.  To find a workshop location near you, click the link below:

Framing4Yourself Workshops


Click Here to Find Products for Preparing Your Materials:  

Matboard

Foamboard

Frames

Acrylic

Framing4Yourself Power Miter Saw Combo

Pro Saw

Sander

Logan Studio Joiner

Frame Touch Up Inks

Logan Model 750 Simplex Mat Cutter with Squaring Arm

Logan Model 650 Framer's Edge Mat Cutting with Squaring Arm

Continue on to Step 5, Mat Cutting


Back to On Sale Page