How to Make a Carpentry Picture Frame From Wood

Carpentry picture frames, often large, add character to a room.

It's not difficult to make a carpentry picture frame. In its simple form, a picture frame can be made with a router, a miter saw, a strap clamp and a few nails. Typically, a carpentry picture frame is a large frame enhancing a wall or hallway. It can be several feet across, or multiple frames lined up in a row for architectural enhancement to give character to a room. Either way, a picture frame is nothing more than four pieces of wood joined together.

Things You'll Need

• 4 pieces of poplar, 3 by 48 by 3/4 inches
• Miter saw
• Hand router
• 1/4-by-3/8-inch cutter bit with bearing on bottom
• 1/4-inch cove bit
• 1/4-inch bull nose bit
• 100-grit sandpaper
• 8 spline or corrugated nails
• Hammer
• Glue
• Strap clamp
• 8 finish nails, 1 1/4 inches
• Nail set
• Putty

Instructions

1. Put the 3/8-inch cutter bit in the router and route a 1/4-by-3/8-inch dado along one side, down the length of each piece of poplar. This is the back where the glass, cork board, mirror or artwork will install. Turn the board over. Place the 1/4-inch cove bit in the router and route the length of the board on this side above the dado cut. Put the 1/4-inch bull nose in the router next, and route the outside edge of the board.

2. Tear off a quarter of the sandpaper, and hand-sand along all the routed edges until smooth.

3. Set the miter saw at 45 degrees, set a board on the saw with the bull nose facing out, and miter the corners. Measure from long point to long point, and cut all four pieces at that length.

4. Lay out the frame on a large table, making sure that it lies flat. Apply glue to all four mitered corners. Circle the frame with a large nylon strap clamp, tighten down until glue squeezes out of the top, and wipe off the glue. Lift up the frame gently, and wipe the glue off the bottom.

5. Take off the clamp after an hour. Carefully hammer a 1 1/4-inch finish nail into each corner, angling it down into the other side of the miter on the opposing board. Set each nail with the nail set, and putty the hole. Flip the board over, and hammer one 1/2-inch spline nail into the center of each miter. Finish by hand-sanding with sandpaper.

References

• Knotty Plans: How to Make Your Own Custom Wooden Frames For Your Artwork, Portraits and Photographs

Resources

• "Making Picture Frames in Wood"; Manly Banister; 1982