Learning Picture Framing / DIY, WW etc.

[mattyd]

Hello all!

near total beginner looking for advice here..

This may sound a bit weird, but now I own my own house i'm looking to be a bit more "hands on" when it comes to DIY and general housey stuff.

This all started a few months ago when I went to get a picture frame made up, and while I was happy to pay for it (and I did) I also thought to myself why am I not making it myself, i'm not stupid, I have a ridiculous amount of patience, and I was very good at wood work at school (which probably means nothing now)......So........

i'm asking what I need, I know Ill (probably) need a router (is so what type), and a table saw (if so what type), or do I, have I missed anything, is there anything you know that I dont?

And whats good and whats bad to buy, is there anything I should look out for?


At the moment this is just me wanting to be a bit more hands on, maybe today its picture frames, tomorrow it might be shelving, I dunno!

Any advice/costs would be really handy!

cheers all

 

[Digit]

Welcome Matty! It all depends on what you want to do with you new found interest.
Give us a clue and I'll bet someone on the forum will have expert knowledge.

Roy.

 

[mattyd]

Hi Digit,

Pretty standard stuff really, start simple and work my way up!

I suppose fairly thick/simple frames, which I wound stain , 2-3 inches thick, overall frame size (off the top of my head) something like 12 x 24inches, not to large, but not that small either.

Although.....I do have some nice large prints that have been sitting in the garage for years, these are A1 size, it would be nice to frame those at some point!

The problem I have is that because I don't know a great deal about what I need, I don't want to waste money buying the wrong stuff. Also....I don't want to buy something so crappy that its only ever good for picture frames (if that), Id like to buy something that I can use for all kinds off stuff in the future.

I know like most things you get what you pay for, but at this stage I am very new to this, so I think im just after some avarage/affordable equipment.

 

[Digit]

On the machine front a decent table saw. What ever you end up making they beat sawing by hand. Same for planer and thicknesser.
It's always a good idea to buy good quality, but the total price often condemns us to working our way upwards. About the only thing we all agree with on on this forum is 'buy the best you can afford!'

Roy.

 

[Smudger]

My advice would be to try it out before you spend a couple of grand on machines you may never use.

If you want to make picture frames you need a good saw, a mitre box and some clamps. A workbench or good sized table is essential.

I assume that you will be buying, rather than making, framing materials at the moment?

I use a Stanley mitre box, some Wolfcraft band clamps and glue. You can buy specialised tools for stapling the mitres. In fact one of my jobs for this week is to take apart and remake some old picture frames. I will do all of it using hand tools.

If you want to make your own mouldings you will probably need a spindle moulder. If you want to work from sawn, rather than planed, timber you will need a planer/thicknesser.

Another approach would be to use hand tools and plane and mould your timber using either modern high-end tools or refurbished 'vintage', which is cheaper but involves more.

I would also get a subscription to British Woodworking, to see what other people are doing and to get an idea of techniques and equipment.

Then, if you really like it, the world's your oyster.

 

[Grinding One]

A good Idea would be to take a woodworking course....That way you could try out a lot of different tools to see which ones suit you best...and in the long run you`ll probably have to make something to pass the course.

 

[devonwoody]

I purchased my first woodworking tools at around 19 years of age, now an OAP and I am still buying tools, its been an enjoyable way of spending money over the years, I think if I calculated the value at todays prices (and not past costs) it would add up to thousands. What I am trying to say is that you might not necessarily save money but it is a pleasant and rewarding pastime.
I always had to budget my tool costs with other expenditure, so enjoy the journey.

 

[MikeG.]

Matty,

a table saw is a very long way from essential, or even important. Start with hande tools and an electric drill, and add to your collection as your skills increase. In a few years time, when you have mastered the basics, then you can ask yourself whether you really need to give up all the space that a table saw takes......or whether a bandsaw and router table (are a better alternative.

Mike

 

[OllyK]

Unless you're going in to mass production, I'd look to by the material with the desired moulding already done. If you are planning on doing a lot, you may be better off with a spindle molder than router table as you can produce more complex moulds in a single pass and will have far better repeatability.

If you're starting with well dimensioned wood then a mitre saw of some description will be useful and doesn't take up much space. If you're starting from larger stock, you probably need a thicknesser / planer and a table saw and can probably do away with the mitre saw using the table saw for this.

As other have said, you then need a reasonable work area that flat and potentially has holes etc drilled that you can put pegs and blocks in to help with clamping up.

Finally you'll need some good clamps and glue to hold it all together. You may want to consider a compressor and use mechanical fixing as well which will reduce the need for keeping the frames in clamps until the glue sets.

 

[Steve Maskery]

If your main interest is going to be framing, then really you only need three main tools - mitre saw, guillotine and underpinner. The first two are cheap enough, but the underpinner will set you back a bob or two. My mate bought a Cassesse on eBay a couple of years ago and paid about £400. It's infinitely superior to trying to do the job with one of those hand-push jobbies though.

There are lots of Lion mitre trimmer clones out there around the £100 mark and about the same for a Nobex Champion saw, which will handle any size framing you are likely to want. In fact I have one for sale if you are interested.

If you then decide you want to expand your woodworking practices, then you can start looking at good hand tools and machinery, but you can certainly get started with very little and get excellent results.
HTH
Steve

 

[TheTiddles]

i'm not stupid, I have a ridiculous amount of patience,

...you so don't belong here :lol:

Aidan

 

[Benchwayze]

40 odd years ago I bought my own basic hand-tools which I still have.

Stanley No. 4 Smoother
Marking gauge
Try-square
Sliding Bevel
Mallet
Four Marples chisels 1/4" 1/2" 3/4" and 1"
8 ounce hammer
Drill brace and Dormer drill bits (engineers' bits).
Tenon saw.
Rip saw
Crosscut saw
A ratchet screwdriver
A cork sanding block. (That gradually fell to crumbs!)
And one of those portable vices, that clamped to a table. (I gave that to a beginner, some years later!)

You would be surprised what you can do with those few tools.

Thereafter I bought tools as I designed a project that needed a specialist tool.

My advice then is learn to use hand tools first. That way you will be more aware of how joints work and what machinery can do for you; and to you!
The biggest 'secret'? Sharp, sharp tools.


Welcome to woodwork and enjoy

 

[mattyd]

Hi Guys,

thank you thank you thank you,

Some really great advice here, Im going to go off and have a good think about everything, If I have any questions I know who to ask

 

[Chris Knight]

Matty,

I suggest you indicate where you live, maybe someone in the area will give you some practical help/demo etc.

 

[Mr Ed]

My advice is to buy the things you need as you go along for the jobs you want to do. As your experience grows the tools you need will escalate accordingly. However, I would always advise to buy once and buy quality.

I started buying tools to suit things I wanted to make when I got my first house 15 years ago and continue to add on a regular basis. Tablesaws and so on can follow later, you don't need that to get started. Personally I would start with some basic good quality handtools and work on from there.

Looking back I amaze myself with some of the things I made with hardly any tools and no workshop. The key is to look at things and deconstruct them to suit the techniques and tools available to you. If you get in the mindset that you can make the things yourself its amazing what you can produce. Once you know what you want to make the tools will make themselves obvious I think.

Cheers, Ed

 

[wizer]

Welcome Matty. You have not mentioned budget? What exactly do you want to start with? The picture frames? If so, you can buy pre-made mouldings if you like. This will get you started. If you really want a quality tool for making picture frames, the Nobex is highly recommended (isn't SteveM selling one?)

For general woodworking, before you buy tools, go and buy some magazines. If you like, buy some books. Also spend a lot of time looking through all the old threads on here. Once you are armed with a little knowledge, you can make some real decisions about what tools suits your needs.

 

[Niki]

Hi Matty

Welcome to the forum

I don't know your age and what are your skills but...

When I started, some 13 years ago, I bought a few hand tools and tried to "do things"....I got very frustrated...first, it takes some time to master hand tools (till today, I cannot cut some good 90° with the hand saw) and second, I think that everybody is very individual in his abilities to perform some tasks (kind of, not everybody can be a fighter pilot)...and the same goes for hand tools skills...

So....I "employed" the machines to do it for me....yes, you still have to be able to adjust or set the machine to give you good results but, one you set it - it will do the job for you.

Another thing that led me toward machinery was, time....I wanted to see the "fruits" faster and not to spend 1 month (exaggerating of course) for some picture frame or other furniture...

I think that first you have to buy a table saw and simultaneously some book about table saw...sadly, most of the books are written by American woodworkers for the Americans that have a lower safety level and you will see many pictures (and jigs) without the riving knife and of course "Blade guard removed for clarity"...

Just to give you a short story...A guy bought a new Bosch 4100 (or as it's called in EU - GTS 10)...on the first cut, he removed the riving knife and blade guard (probably influence of all the TV shows and internet videos) and.......Correct - he cut his fingers...first operation of the table saw...So please, keep the riving knife and the blade guard (crown guard) all the time...

As for table saw safe operation please look at this small PDF file
www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wis16.pdf

Please have a look at this post, I made a picture frame using only the table saw (except the connection that you can choose later)
https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/view ... highlight=


There are many posts on this forum that show you how to build sleds and other jigs for the table saw just go through (on the jigs forum).

I think that the second "machine" that you'll need is of course - Router...unbelievable what you can do with it.

And I'll finish with an advice of one that many tools are collecting dust on the upper shelves of my garage...before you buy any tool, think "do I really need it" or "Ok, I have it - how much I'm going to use it"

Best regards and welcome to the hobby - I'm sure that you'll enjoy it like all of us

niki

 

[joiner_sim]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

Picture frames.

Hand saw or mitre saw to cut the joints. The joints need more stability, so either nail together, dog together (using corrugated nails), biscuit joint togther if timbers wide enough, or even half lap together (and maybe dowel?)
You would need a router to put a rebate in the back of the frame for photo/painting/glass. The router could also put the mouldings on the front of the timber for you. If you're planning on doing quite a bit of "router work" a router table might be best.
You need some interior wood glue, and a band cramp to hold the frame square while the glue goes off.

Think ive covered the process...... :roll:

 

[Benchwayze]

My advice is to buy the things you need as you go along for the jobs you want to do. As your experience grows the tools you need will escalate accordingly. However, I would always advise to buy once and buy quality.

I started buying tools to suit things I wanted to make when I got my first house 15 years ago and continue to add on a regular basis. Tablesaws and so on can follow later, you don't need that to get started. Personally I would start with some basic good quality handtools and work on from there.

Looking back I amaze myself with some of the things I made with hardly any tools and no workshop. The key is to look at things and deconstruct them to suit the techniques and tools available to you. If you get in the mindset that you can make the things yourself its amazing what you can produce. Once you know what you want to make the tools will make themselves obvious I think.

Cheers, Ed

Hear, hear!