The Framers Forum

If it is a hand finished moulding then you could get close by taking some bare-wood oak and drenching the surface with very hot water. Keep doing it a few times so as to soften the fibres. Then go at it with a wire brush, along the length of the grain. This should create that raised grain effect. An...

A cheap basic compressor like the one you mentioned on Toolstation will give you lots of compressed air but will rattle like hell when running. You could put it in the loo, out of the way and that could help. All compressor fittings are universal and you can run the air hose as long a distance as yo...

As already said, - a compressor.
£150 should do it.

You've probably heard this from me before but I too once had to frame 12 large antique silk scarves. And they were very valuable too. I gave them to a local 'stitching and bitching' group who sewed them onto sheets of plain calico. I think they charged a few hundred pounds but was money well spent. ...

Good point but looking at the frame, I doubt it had any value relative to the cost of framing the original. It's obviously some sort of design device that museums and curators are well used to using. I've seen it before but never remarked on it. I'm just curious if any knows the thinking behind it. ...

I think you should make a sturdy sub-frame and fix the mirror to it with blobs of silicone. 4mm mirror that size will show reflection distortions if not fully supported and flat. 12mm mdf will be unnecessarily heavy and with no guarantee that it remains flat. The surrounding frame profile should onl...

Thanks, John, for pointing out the YouTube video. I understand your point about standardising the frame sizes to accommodate different art works, but I'm not sure if that was what was happening in the example I've shown, In the video, at 6.15m in, they show a set of three frames displayed on a slope...

Fullscreen capture 20012024 123533 PM.bmp.jpg This is a screen-shot from an Instagram post about an exhibition of Turner's art, being held in Munich. The painting is a small watercolour and is being exhibited alongside several of the artist's larger oil paintings. I would imagine that this might be...

20 years is fine for a good quality masking tape - maybe. My own experience of opening up packages that were from a lot earlier age is that the tape had baked in hard and was a real labour to remove from the glass. And that was an issue because I always wanted to re-use the original crown glass. On ...

If you can allow the time in your work schedule to do it then why not? It's a good thing to do and it certainly doesn't do any harm. There's always the chance the there's a bit of dust hidden in the frame rebates and these can drop down into the glass /board sandwich. Sealing the sides will obviousl...

There is no kind way to save them and it does seem a shame but other than breaking them open and stringing them along like a sort of picture-rail around your studio, their most effective use is to have them as kindling for the fire.

Here's my contribution -

The cutting block holding the blades, slides on the two rails shown in this photo.


Check there's no wood chips or other stuck inside either of those channels.

You could try -
Brick House Fine Art
Messums Wiltshire
Grant Ford Ltd
Devonshire Fine Art
Everett Fine Art

Maybe one of them could do or at least sign-post to someone of might.

On re-reading your original post, I'm reminded that you want to achieve a black polished finish. Well to get there quickly, you could stain the obeche black with either a water or spirit stain. Then rub in two applications of Black grain filler. You can buy this stuff from a luthier supplies. Fullsc...

Good point.
But maybe the profile is only available in obeche.

Of course, you could just use the epoxy wood filler. Just smear it on and spread it out as far as needed. Then when set, use 180 grit to sand back to the timber, then 320 grit to finish up. My original method would give you a woody effect, the epoxy might be a bit plastic like. Gesso will fill up th...

Yes, obeche grain is pretty horrible. One solution is to rub in some Rustins Grain Filler. Fullscreen capture 09122023 112031 AM.bmp.jpg Rub lots on with a cloth then take as much off again with a cloth. Do it twice when the first coat has dried. It's important to remove as much as possible, across ...

Wise advice from Prospero.
The tanins in oak and ash will react with the wire wool to create a dark staining effect.
And of course my advice was to dull back the wax shine with 0000 wire wool.

But I did say gently dull back the shine.
Don't lay into it and you should be fine.

i second everything Justintime said. If it was a water-based stain then you would need to have sealed it as the stain would come off even if handled with damp fingers. A quick sealant is to wet a cotton pad with a little shellac and rub it over the wood. It will dry in a couple of minutes. Then you ...

It's good to know someone's doing on the Forum.
I agree it would be a little 'anal' perhaps to see it as a primary method of securing the mitres but it certainly adds interest and maybe a way of giving identity to your frames.
And at least they are your frames.