The Framers Forum

Got a customer (artist) who wants some frames made out of L shaped moulding to take canvasses in plain wood for either her or me to add a whitewashed finish to.

Found this one with Wessex Pictures:

and this one with Arqadia:
The Wessex moulding is Obeche at £5.25 per metre and the Arqadia moulding is Ayous at £2.10 per metre trade list prices.

Big price difference! Anyone any experience of the Ayous (Arqadia) moulding.

I am led to understand (from what various people have told me), that Obeche and Ayous are the same type of tree, but the two different names are due to the fact that Obeche is grown in a warmer moist climate in Africa and Ayous is grown in a cooler less moist climate in South America. This results in different growth rates which affect the density (hardness) and also to some degree, the appearance of the wood.

Ayous is generally more dense, due to it's slower growth rate and therefore a little harder than Obeche, but I don't think this is a particularly big deal.

Can you get a sample of each to help you decide? If so see if there is any difference in appearance when white-washing. Both are capable of grubby marks within the grain, so maybe something to check for.

Its a no brainer for me to choose. It would be the one at £2.10/m every time. Then again I was recently asked what was my fovourite wine and to everyones amusement I answered 3 for a tenner..........

O.K., it sounds like a no brainer, but getting some samples before you commit yourself, might be a sensible thing to do. Also, you could also get a quote from Norfolk Mouldings, which might be at a much better price.

Buy the Arqadia and price it on the Wessex!

Do Simons do that profile in plain wood? - Bet it'll be cheaper if they do and if you want to go for 100 ft it'll be 20% cheaper still - and you can still pretend you got it from Wessex!

Think you'll find the Wessex one is substantially bigger than Aqadia one. If the catalogue doesn't lie, the Wessex one is 15mm deeper. Probably involves jumping to the next plank thickness to machine it, hence the leap in price.

I was going to say the Wessex one looked bigger, in an edit - but I was too late. Still, it doesn't look 100% bigger and it's over 100% dearer!

Cough:

It only takes a 40% (approx) increase in the profile dimensions to double the quantity of material in a length of moulding.

I use the Arqadia one all the time with no problems. Width and height are different so you can use it both ways round. Just watch out for the typical black marks in Obeche/Ayous which will show through a liming wax.

Simons now do a pre-finished white version in their new catalogue, REMB/0006 at 98p per foot (About £3.20m) - might be worth considering.

Roboframer wrote:Buy the Arqadia and price it on the Wessex!

Do Simons do that profile in plain wood? - Bet it'll be cheaper if they do and if you want to go for 100 ft it'll be 20% cheaper still - and you can still pretend you got it from Wessex!

I have given the customer a price based on the Wessex moulding but at the moment I have nothing else to order from them. Simons don't do this moulding unfinished but I am grateful to Otters Pool Studio for pointing out the Simons REMB/0006. I think I will go with this one as the shallower depth suits the canvasses the customer has left with me and being finished saves me asking the customer whether she wants to finish it herself. I predict her telling me she is too busy preparing her exhibition!

I might just get a sample of the Arqadia moulding to try.

Thank for all the input.

simons do a bare version i have bought it before

Now I have looked at the Simons brochure again there are two more on the same page (p43) that look natural colour. I am happy with the finished moulding as it save me the bother of finishing it myself and they have to be ready for the opening of an exhibition.

I've used this kind of moulding but black recently to make box frames for football jerseys recently. Am I naughty?

Btw.....Rose &Hollis do some really good plain sections for floater frames.

I did consider R&H but I can get my wholesaler (Tawnycraft) to add it to their Simons order and still get it on my usual deleivery day without paying carriage.

JohnMcafee wrote:Cough:

JohnMcafee wrote:It only takes a 40% (approx) increase in the profile dimensions to double the quantity of material in a length of moulding.

Fair enough, but I still wouldn't pay £5.25 per metre (£1.60 per ft for Simons customers/metric martyrs) for that simple unfinished profile when, for the same, or less, I could get (e.g.) a finished Larson Juhl moulding with more wood in it. Bearing in mind I'd have to finish it and even if it was just neutral wax and buffing I'd be marking the list price up by 50%. No way could I - or would I want to - base my retail on £7.88 per metre (£2.40 per ft) for that profile.

Roboframer wrote: Fair enough, but I still wouldn't pay £5.25 per metre (£1.60 per ft for Simons customers/metric martyrs) for that simple unfinished profile when, for the same, or less, I could get (e.g.) a finished Larson Juhl moulding with more wood in it. Bearing in mind I'd have to finish it and even if it was just neutral wax and buffing I'd be marking the list price up by 50%. No way could I - or would I want to - base my retail on £7.88 per metre (£2.40 per ft) for that profile.

I am not. To repeat what I have said above I am going with the Simons REMB/0006 with the white washed finish at £3.20 p.m. and as I based my price on £5.25 p.m. I am well covered.

Calm down boy's

Love you all

Mitreman

Don't you just love the smell of timber

Jonny2morsos wrote: I still wouldn't pay £5.25 per metre....... for that simple unfinished profile

Jonny2morsos wrote:I am not.

I know, I saw that, was just saying it seems expensive for what it is.

MITREMAN wrote:Calm down boy's

We are

Just wanted to let you know that the new Arqadia catalogue is out now and we
have 32 Canvas box (Float mouldings) showing.
You can also use the search facility on our web site www.arqadia.co.uk by
searching for Canvas or box and these mouldings will also appear.

The new catalogue will be sent out with every order as of today and carry on
until the end of June.
Alternatively please contact me by e-mail pauline.hutchinson@arqadia.co.uk
and I'll arrange to send you a copy.