Equipment advice

[Jack5504]

Good morning,
My wife has recently taken up framing as a hobby but is having some difficulty with the mitres. Currently she is using a hand mitre saw but she's struggling to get them perfect. Is it worth buying her a bench top guillotine (Axminster) or a mitre sander from Logan
Shes not quite in the market for a Morso yet.
Any advice would be much appriciated

[prospero]

I started with a hand mitre saw and yes, it is difficult to get a clean mitre.
It might just cope with narrow mouldings with a bit of filling, but once you get to stuff that is 2"+ wide it's gong to struggle.
Also makes your arm ache.

Using a mitre trimmer will give better results but will take much longer. Also there is no provision to set the length, so a lot of
tweaking and shaving is required. I've never been a fan of sanding mitres. It can make them worse if you aren't very careful.

For the cost of a trimmer and sander you could almost get a decent secondhand Morso. Worth thinking about. If you want
professional result then you need professional equipment. Also bear in mind that you can ruin ££££s worth of moulding with hobby kit.

[Not your average framer]

I also started with a hand saw and it how how many of us originally got started, but it places a major limitation on how long it takes to produced your work. It is more than possible, that this will be a substantial limit to what it takes to earn a living from framing, if this is what you are intending. Also it's not just that, but what you are using to join the corners, can not only affect the speed of your production, but also the neatness and presentation of your framing.

I think that this may be a good time to define your objectives and consider how far you want to go with getting in to framing, with particular awareness of what level of budgetary commitment, that you are prepared to put in to this. I am not saying that you have to commit more money in to this, but there is a choice at what level you wish to take this to and it's probably helpful to know how far you want to take this at an early stage, instead of slowly drifting in to spending more that you intended.

There are a lot of forum members operating at various different levels, who are often more than willing to answer any questions, which you may wish to ask, so feel free to ask any questions as necessary. I might be helpful for some of use to know, what equipment you are operating with at this time and also how you are hoping to go with this, so that we can keep our answers relevant to your requirements.

Best wishes,
Mark