The Framers Forum

Good evening.

I have been framing today and have a couple of questions:

1) My join at the front of the frame is perfect (well, quite good for me anyay ), but there are small gaps in the join at the back of the frame. Am I doing something wrong or is the moulding a bit rubbbish?

2) What would you say is the best for filling these gaps? I could do with a white and a black specifically

Many thanks in advance for your responses, I really do appreciate it.

John

Hi John ( not another John on the forum surely!)

some questions for you.

what profile is your moulding, is it flat or is it scooped?, or slightly domed?

what do you use to cut your wood?

Not sure what you mean by scooped, sorry, the mouling is thin (somewhere between a 1/4 and a 1/2 inch) across the top (and the same deep) and is flat on top but for a slight dip at the glass edge.

Hope that helps.

I use a Morso.

'Scooped' would be a concave profile.

Assuming you are using an underpinner, then on such a skinny moulding the wedge ('V' Nail) could be displacing the mitre, you should be using a 7 or even a 5mm wedge.

I will check tomorrow, thanks.

Any thoughts on a black filler?

John

John, check out Lion Picture Framing Supplies, AMACO wax cream fillers.
Here

You're a good man.

Thanks

Hi (and Welcome ) John.

Sounds like a classic case of not enough pressure, or pressure in the wrong place.

Hard wood moulding needs more holding down or the wedge will tend to lift and separate the join at the back as it starts to penetrate.

Another factor is the shape of the profile. If the pressure pad is bearing on a high point on the profile that is offset from the insertion point of the wedge, you get the same effect. There are all sorts of cunning gizmos you can make to help pin some awkward mouldings. Some reverse sections can be tricky.

Thanks Prospero, sound advice

Are you using the right V nail's there are both hard & softwood one's also is the surface of the moulding above or below the "corner guide" of the underpinner, as if wood is too low not enough presure to join properly, other problem sometime's causing this is rebate supports on morso or other guiotine set a fraction high or low or small bit's of wood debris under the moulding when cutting are a few of the other thing's that may cause this problem