Picture Frame - Mahogany with Simple Curly Maple Inlay - Done

glenn bradley

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Last minute surprise; LOML has a picture to give to her SIL for Christmas. I have been bound and determined to make something useful out of a piece of rough, oddly figured mahogany that hides in my "interesting" stock area. No real plan here so you'll just have to trust me on the action shots and wait to see what I am trying to do till the end. Why not? Its not like you should be out in the shop working on your Christmas gifts or anything, right?

I want some thin strips off the side of this curly maple board. Its a nice piece of stock so I don't want to mill the whole thing down for the few small pieces I want but, I do want them from the side and need them a specific width.

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I rip off a couple of 1/8" slices on the bandsaw and then rip them to rough width. Its kind of like resawing in miniature.

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Here's the odd piece of mahogany.

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cont'd
 
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To finish milling the thin strips to the width I want I grab a piece of plywood. I am going to use this for a 'carrier' which is one of the methods I use for handling small or delicate stock. I install a flat top grind blade and cut a groove that is just wide enough for the two strips to fit snug.

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I then run the rig through the drum sander; first smoothing one set of edges and then I flip the pieces within the carrier and do the opposite edge. This gets me to the width I want.

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I mill the mahogany stock square and cut some of it to width. This will make up the main part of the frame. I could just glue the inlay in as one long strip. To get the figure going the direction I want I inlay the curly maple in four pieces. a bit of trouble but, both of these materials are pretty "loud" figure-wise and I need things going a certain way or they will fight each other.

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I lay some glue in the shallow dado, position the maple and then place them face to face for clamping. This makes each half work like a caul for the other half and it doesn't take up so much room :rolleyes:

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Things should start to take shape tomorrow and this whole thread will start to make more sense.
 
Man, when I saw the 1/8" x 1/16" maple lumber milled up, I was thinking this must be some tiny little picture frame. Glad I kept reading. :D

Looking forward to seeing how this one comes out, Glenn. I'm sure you won't disappoint. :thumb:

/no pressure
 
I just use my Incra miter gauge for frames anymore (after all the gadgets I've tried). Its just an old model V-27 that's been slightly Bradleyized.

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I don't want to distract from the photo that is to be framed so the profile is very simple.

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I don't mean to bombard you with pics of this thing but, the chatoyance in the mahogany is pretty trippy.

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I glue these up in my usual way. One pair of parts and then the other. Once dry, I glue the two assemblies together. Its an extra step but, seems to assure me success (and I can use all the help I can get).

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I'l be hitting this with an oil / varnish blend that should soak in and warm up the look of the mahogany pretty well. We'll see.
 
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You guys (and gals) do such a great job of documenting your projects during constructions. I never seem to remember to take photos until I am nearly done.

Rob
 
I shellac the curly maple so it wont take the oil very well then flood the surfaces. Let stand about 15 minutes and then wipe off. This is one treatment and I think it may be enough. I will let this cure for 2 or 3 days and then decide to hit it again or go ahead and top coat it.

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As always, sorry for my "excellent" camera work ;-)
 
Sorry gang. I never did get back to show you how this came out. That weird mahogany really shifts in the light as you pass by.

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every project you share here has flair. No matter how simple, or difficult, your craftsmanship shines through on each and every thing you create out of wood.

I hate to ask you, how do you hold the glass in from the back? (just a nail tapped in, or something store bought?)
 
Thanks so much Allen. My 'usual' on picture frames is glass, a spacer mat (so the picture doesn't touch the glass), picture mounted to a mat (for stiffness so it doesn't sag) and then a hardboard backer held in with "turns". I have various sizes and finishes but, here's an example. The reason for the extra effort is that I generally don't know what people are going to put into a frame. I do put an example print in them when I deliver them so that folks can see how they go together. I also put hanging options for 'portrait' and 'landscape' since hanging orientation is also often unknown. This flexibility also assures the frame an extended life for the owner.

Sorry about the bad phone pics but they were taken at the location where these were delivered:

frame-1.JPG . frame-2.JPG
 
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The end result is gorgeous, Glenn. The photos hint at the chatoyance of the mahogany...I can only imagine how sweet it looks in person.
 
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