I’m struggling right now.

[sy_woodworking]

I’ve only been making frames since September, and only as a “side hustle” for family and friends right now and I started off on a high, tight corners, sharp edges… I felt like King Frames of Framistan!

But now I’m struggling.

I’ve hit a bit of a trough where nothing I make is up to the standard I would like, I’m not just doing simple window mounted A4 prints from the local tourist shop any more, I’m stretching myself and trying more complex projects. Football shirts mainly. The moulding is rather large and the morso struggled to cut it without really bad tear out on the outside corners. I tried my mitre saw but there’s so much slop in it at 45 I don’t think it really was. I ended up with huge gaps in some of the frames, there’s only so much a black sharpie will hide!

I cleaned the morso this morning and took the blades off to clean them too and make sure they were seated properly as it felt like they weren’t cutting at 90 to the bed. When underpinning them while they would come together at 45, vertically they didn't seem to meet up unless I twisted them.

Looking at the way the blades were fitted to the Morso, there is, and still is after cleaning & re-fitting them. a gap at the top of the blades, but they meet as they should for most of the length. To be honest the blades look pretty battered and while the cutting egde might be OK, the rest looks in pretty poor condition.

I went to frame a christmas present for the family, this morning and the white frame I'd chosen for it was incredibly frustrating to cut. I've already used it for another frame and it was fine for that, probably one of my best bits of work to date but this time the rebate cracked a couple of time and the 2 supports for it kept sticking. I set them up and as I brought the blades further forward to make a 2nd & third cut the 2 supports wouldn't move back unless I pushed them by hand. I'm used to them just moving on their own. I'd only just cleaned & lubricated them that morning too.

I guess I'm at the stage where I'm at the edge of my skill level and I need to push through it in order to improve, like anything worth having, it won't come easy. I'm not going back to the workshop now till after Christmas so maybe a little break is what I need.

[Justintime]

I feel your pain. You seem to have the right thought processes for the issues.
I cannot stress enough what a relief it can be to invest in a brand new set of morso blades.
Are you inspecting the mouldings for warps and twists prior to cutting? Some of the "cheap" prefinished obeche mouldings can be really quite fragile in terms of rebates breaking. The morso rebates can often stick in my experience, patience and dropping them a fraction can help but ultimately moving them by hand when required is sadly normal.
Have a break, come back fresh and keep approaching each project with the same thoughtfulness as you obviously have been and these wrinkles will get ironed out.
Finding a more experienced friendly local or not so local Framer to talk things over with face to face can be a game changer. I've picked up so many things from these sort of meet-ups. Talking about it here is a great start!

[Justintime]

Just one word of warning. There are right ways and very wrong ways to approach jobs like sports shirt framing. What might appear to be a quick and easy way to mount a shirt can do irreperable and ireversible damage to a treasured trophy. If you haven't been taught the correct way yet then perhaps have a look at the Framers Equipment website. They are not that far from you, relatively speaking, in Northampton. Jan runs a day course on shirts memorabilia etc and it's very good value.

[JonathanB]

Second vote for Jan’s course. Even though I’d been framing for quite a few years I went on his course and learned lots of really useful tips and tricks to make the process easier. He’s also got a really strong emphasis on using methods that safeguard items that need framing. Good luck!

[prospero]

This gizmo helps with the issue of binding rebate supports.

[vintage frames]

Regarding the rebate supports.
Take them off and clean out the channels thoroughly with white spirit and 0000 wire wool. When dry, dust off any wire residue.
Now spray some PTFE, only onto the bases of the supports and let that dry.
They should now move quite freely.
As regards the blades - just replace them.

[sy_woodworking]

Thanks for all the replies, I'm definitely going to do a more in depth course at some point when I have the money. After inesting in a couple of machines to make things easier the whole thing needs to wash it's own face as it were, anything I buy has to come out of the money I make from making frames ... as a side hustle. I'll get there just not at a rapid pace.

The blades fall into the same category, I'll replace them when I can afford to.

As for cleaning, the way you described is pretty much what I did, white spirit, wire wool & a scotch pad, followed by some PTFE spray, I added it to the track though, not the bottom of the supports.

Does temperature play a part in their movement It's bloody cold in my workshop!

[JKX]

Ref the Morso, all moving parts and sliding/pivot points should be cleaned and lubricated regularly, and there's not that many of them.

If the rebate supports are not sliding easily in their channels then that is extreme neglect, they would have to be full of crap! But you have paid attention to them, so that's not what it is. What it probably is, is a part that is overlooked as a sliding part, and that is the actual rebate supports, the bits that actually make contact with the moulding. Soft wood, hard steel, steel which over time can accumulate residue from the wood and any finishes applied to it.

Do the same thing, white spirit, etc, to the top and edges of those supports, and then, take off sharp edges and corners with an oilstone, to prvent them from digging in. Soft wood may still be a problem though, and you do have to do this very regularly. One good-sounding tip I once read, but never tried, is to put teflon tape on the supports.

Cut flat mouldings uoside down where possible, no rebate supports required.

I'd get a second opinion on the blades not meeting up properly at the front, and at lesst one spare pair.

[NTG999]

In my opinion a Morso is a great machine but blades are an unknown quantity, new blades can solve many cutting issues that otherwise won't be solved. I have one brand new set (year old, sharpened once) and 2 sets of blades, bought 2nd hand with the Morso, sharpened multiple times so quite narrow. The new blades cut much better and for reasons I can't understand I have to adjust the cutting fence quite a bit when swapped on to the old blades when new blades away for sharpening then revert on return, a 2nd new set is on the shopping list.
As Vintage Frames suggests - buy new genuine blades

[sy_woodworking]

Here’s a photo of the blades. They were stored unused for years in a basement and a garage.

There’s a lot of what looks like staining on the blades that the white spirit, steel wool and scotch pads couldn’t shift.

Is it worth having them sharpened or just skip straight to a new pair?

[Justintime]

Tbh they look a bit fcuked. I wouldn't let them near a Morso.
Buy yourself/your business a Christmas present! If that isn't exciting you're in the wrong game

[pramsay13]

Here’s a photo of the blades. They were stored unused for years in a basement and a garage.

There’s a lot of what looks like staining on the blades that the white spirit, steel wool and scotch pads couldn’t shift.

Is it worth having them sharpened or just skip straight to a new pair?

If you only have one pair anyway definitely worth getting a new pair. Normally while framing you would put the new set on the morso, and then send the old pair off for sharpening which takes a few weeks, that way you aren't without blades for that length of time.
Once you have your new pair you will be able to decide if you think the old ones are worth sharpening.

[sy_woodworking]

Does the temperature of the room and blades make any difference?

[Justintime]

Only in the sense that temperature and humidity can affect the wood that you're cutting. It's not going to affect the sharpness of the blades. It looks to me like those blades have some chips in them and I'm sure if you compared them in length to new ones you will find they are at the end of their days. It's not to say that a carpenter doing joinery couldn't make use of them, but picture framing joints have to be very precise and the cuts very clean. There are so many possible issues that can arise with making a frame. Warped and twisted wood, bad blades, morso fences not set right, scales being off, before you even start on underpinning.