Woodgrain direction and results when underpinning

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Not your average framer
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Woodgrain direction and results when underpinning

Post by Not your average framer »

I wonder if anyone knows anything about the orientation of woodgrain in flat pine mouldings. I am cutting and joining a flat pine moulding on it's side, which has always been successful in the past. (I produce regular large batches using this moulding for one particular customer over the last two to three years). But on this particular batch, I have been getting quite a substantial level of wastage when joining the moulding.

After examining the failed joints, I discover that the woodgrain on the face when the wedges are inserted into is consistently much more widely spaced than on the successful joints. I am wondering if the grain is normally oriented according to the direction that the manufacturer expects the wedges to be inserted.

These frames are made to a tight price to ensure that the customer can sell these at a price which is viable for his business and therefore a pine moulding was chosen to keep to budget. I need to solve this problem, or switch to obeche which will no doubt cost more. Any suggestions would be most helpful.
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Steve N
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Re: Woodgrain direction and results when underpinning

Post by Steve N »

I used to get problems with finger jointed pine moulding, the back pin breaking out the back, because it was following the grain, I was told by the moulding suppliers to use hardwood pins , I ask you, hard wood pins in pine :shake: :surprised: :swear:

Some of the grain is extremely hard, so the pin will follow it, also found some would blunt the Morso blades when cutting

my solution --- stop using finger joint pine mouldings
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Not your average framer
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Re: Woodgrain direction and results when underpinning

Post by Not your average framer »

Hi Steve,

This is not finger jointed pine. I get really solid and tight joints in the closer grain wood, but not in the wider grain wood. This does not make much sense to me at all. Previous batches of frames have always been fine. I can't figure out why things should be any different this time! Fortunately, I bought plenty of moulding this time.

It's a batch of eighty frames in four different sizes, I calculated that I needed 140 feet plus a bit for wastage and I bought two hundred feet, because I like to have some of this moulding in stock. It's quite a useful moulding for building out the back of frames to make deep box frames, using the so called cuckoo clock method. After all the problems, there's almost none of this moulding left.
Mark Lacey

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Re: Woodgrain direction and results when underpinning

Post by vintage frames »

I wonder if the problem might lie in the cutting. This is not to denigrate the enormous experience you already have in cutting frames. I always believe that the under-pinner is the great truth-teller! Any slight deviancy or error in the cut will show up mercilessly through the inderpinner.
Can it be that with the wide grained portions of the pine, there is more resin in the wood and that can produce a drag on the blades, so causing a slight movement during the cut? Or is the softer wood compressing slighty during the cut? Perhaps try cutting with the saw to see if that makes a difference.
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Not your average framer
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Re: Woodgrain direction and results when underpinning

Post by Not your average framer »

Hi Dermot,

As far as I can tell the cut looks fine. The wood is noticeably softer when the grain spacing is wider and I can feel that there is considerably less resistance when inserting the wedges on the underpinner. The customer came and collected his frames this afternoon and I discussed the problem with him.

I suggested changing to a Rose and Hollis obeche moulding which was the moulding I originally suggested, when he first started ordering these frames from me quite a number of years ago. It sounds like he may switch to this moulding now, although he would not agree to the extra cost originally. It remains to be seen if he will agree to the better moulding by the time he need to order another batch, but we shall see.
Mark Lacey

“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Experience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer
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