Building a Traditional Picture Frame

[@noekiyu]

I love watching videos that don't use commentary. Some people just talk too much. You are a great teacher.

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

Thanks very much! I know some people like to hear instructions, but I think I’d rather just include more shots that make commentary unnecessary. I don’t mind answering questions later.

[@elisunday1304]

Outstanding video. As a painter after watching this I have decided to let someone else build my frames. It's great that you show the proper equipment needed to do this. Subscribed.

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

Glad the video helped you make that decision! Yes, it’s not all that simple to do.Thanks

[@MrSlikvee]

Outstanding! You must have been doing this for a long time!

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

Thanks very much!

[@jbyeats]

Wonderful work. High level of skill . Beautiful finished professional frame . Hat's off - to you Mr Crandall & your wife.

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

Thank you kindly

[@KayJohnsonArt]

Mesmerising... Incredible amount of work there James, which shows in the beautiful finished frame. A work of art in itself!

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

Thanks Kay!

[@mercedesmancebo-6746]

Maravilloso !

[@mikegurney9278]

Well done beyond professional.

[@joshgarris3905]

I'm not gonna lie, I was looking for picture frame routing videos, but I'm so glad I stayed through. I did not expect that frame to come out that beautiful, you're a master of the craft, and I hope to get there one day!

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

Glad you liked it! As I think I said, this moulding is bought from a mill - I don’t have the machines that would be required to make it. I sometimes have made simple mouldings on my router table, but with multiple passes there are multiple opportunities to have a little glitch- I always seen to ruin a significant number of pieces and wonder if if I’ve really saved any money!

[@cameronbettis9629]

Thanks for sharing, I keep coming back to this one. Great work.

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

Glad you find it helpful

[@franklesser5655]

Good work, Nancy!

[@sanatabite9321]

Amazing work!! I love the explanations. Such as: sharp edges will not hold the paint. ❤❤❤🎉

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

Thanks so much! 😊

[@mohamedbangura6014]

Good Job Sir and you are a Living Master

[@rizwanahmed9566]

Hi James I will give you 100%. Man that was excellent piece of workmanship you simply turned a blank frame moulding into an antique piece. Very useful and informative video and you didn't hide any step or products you use.

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

Thank you Rizwan! Glad that you found it helpful

[@mwiley8041]

Your frame makes me happy and your video answered my questions just as they were coming to mind. Thanks.

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

I’m glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know

[@CrossetteFrames]

Very nice.

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

Glad you liked it.

[@akshayborlikar]

Wow Man !!!!!! Great job. 👍👍You are a master craftsman. 😃😃

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

Thanks very much Akshay!

[@akshayborlikar]

@@JamesCrandallPainting😊😊😊. I have a question for you ?? Do you know how frame makers build frames when there were no modern tools like biscuit joiner and nail gun,etc in 17th or 18th century ?? 🤔🤔🤔

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

I am no expert on antique frames 🙂. But of course, they had woodworking vices, and they had nails and glue. And we can do the same, locking the glued miter in a vice and then tapping in nails with a hammer. Also, larger old frames sometimes have a key or spline reinforcement at the back of the miters: a shallow slot is cut diagonally across the back of each joint with a chisel and a glued spline inserted and then made flush with a hand plane. I have tried this and although it takes some time, it is not too difficult, and it seems quite strong. This website has a photo of an example: www.arnoldwiggins.com/notes/2017/5/3/the-hogarth-frame

[@akicitaa.8233]

This was really interesting!

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

Thanks!

[@leahfaketty9486]

Wow! Absolutely beautiful.

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

Thank you!

[@CorneliusStudentOfTyr]

Beautiful work Sir.

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

Thank you kindly

[@jimorlowski5051]

Wow wow what a handy guy and your painting rocks too....it's an old fashioned word but you are the full fledged >>>>>CRAFTSMAN

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

It’s more a procedure than a skill. I think just about anyone could do it with the same tools and some patience

[@winner1604]

Great video, thank you. I love your biscuit cutting jig. Could you provide more information on how you set that up with the kreg table

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

Thanks. My jig is based upon one from WOOD Magazine, several years ago… maybe track it down here: www.lumberjocks.com/showcase/biscuit-joining-jig.89510/

[@JeanSmithArtist]

Excellent!

[@NgocTranAnh-p1h]

Thật công phu và đẹp.

[@markcarson6451]

Wonderful video! I’m making a similar frame from the same supplier. What is the purpose of the liquitex surface prep? Wouldn’t the primer be the first step?

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

Was it Liquitex Gesso? Gesso is a tradition layer for frame makers to fill wood grain and make a smooth surface. But this could be done different ways I’m sure. Framers clay is another (or additional step) often used to make a smooth surface, especially before gilding.

[@kapilarugeewa9761]

How marvelous.sri Lanka

[@LA2047]

Can someone tell me where to get the moulding used for the frame?

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

Foster Planing Mill. Los Angeles

[@daylengardner5034]

Just subscribed--I’m also an artist, but I just recently got into picture framing.I enjoy all kinds of frames but the traditional style is my favorite. Not a lot of videos for them, especially if the artist makes it himself. I enjoyed seeing your process with the assembly. I used rabbeted chair rail molding and a Logan frame clamp for joining. I don’t have a biscuit joiner or v nailer so I used L-brackets to secure them. I also liked you video on widening the rabbet. Do you tape the inside of them? Your finished result suits your painting beautifully! Terrific Job 😀

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

Thanks Daylen! There are so many ways to do this, aren’t there? No, I don’t use tape.

[@jessekanner7071]

How does one take on formal training for fine art frame-making?

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

That’s a good question. I did have any such thing, I picked techniques up as needed, sometimes from books, sometimes from trial-and-error. It’s essentially a woodworking task, followed by a finished task.

[@francam853]

I didnt see a rabbet cut for the painting to nestle into. When I looked to buy 'picture moulding,' those mouldings were not precut for oil paintings, and most did not have the depth to make a cut. With what I saw in this video, your painting would either have to be canvas without its stretcher bars, or the painting would be sticking out the back.

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

I guess it depends upon your artwork and to what extent you think “sticking out the back” is unacceptable. But yes, they often do a bit. This particular artwork was done on a heavy panel, linen mounted on 12mm Baltic birch ply, so it might have been flush in the back. But I’ve exhibited and sold many, many paintings where the stretchers were 1/2” thicker (possibly a bit more?) than the rabbet and happily secured with offset clips. With moulding this wide it’s virtually impossible for viewer to see the canvas edges when the painting is hanging on the wall. If you think about it, a traditional concave moulding profile have to be massively thick and heavy for a 1 1/2” stretcher to be flush at the back. If it really mattered, the moulding can be built up at the back with edge strips before finishing, but I’ve only bothered with that a couple of times. Of course, a thin-faced but deep floater frame is a good alternative when the style is more modern.

[@jkelly621]

Where did you get the moulding from?

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

Foster Planing Mill, Los Angeles

[@jkelly621]

@@JamesCrandallPainting thanks, and beautiful frame!

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

@@jkelly621 They will ship at reasonable prices

[@HolisticHealthEducation]

Hello there. Why don’t you completely cover the edges you are going to mitre cut with paper masking tape? Then you complete the glue up and assembly and only peel of the tape after the glue is dry? No sanding glue patches?

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

I think that would be a waste of time - everything must be sanded after glue-up anyway, and the corners rounded slightly ( to make the frame comfortable to handle, less susceptible to damage, and because paint will not adhere to a sharp edge).

[@luisfersm]

how much could you sell that frame for?

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

I don’t really know because I just make frames for my artwork and my wife Nancy’s. I just know it would cost a lot to buy something similar… much more than I like to spend

[@luisfersm]

@@JamesCrandallPainting Thanks for your honest response, I am starting a canvas printing bussines and a good fram can really add quite a bit to the product value, frames that size go for 200 and up online so your video was really helpful.

[@MahmoudEl_refaey]

I make frames, paintings, oil paintings, canvases, and wooden chassis for painting. I am looking for work with you.

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

Thanks but I am self-sufficient 👍🏼

[@garylawrence7547]

Sorry my friend but there is no “adjusting” a frame miter after it’s cut. It either fits or it doesn’t.

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

You are wrong, as evidenced by the final result.

[@adolfodelgado9361]

This is not a job for commercial company they are use to the 10 minutes job and thousands of dollars for it

[@felixarsenault7838]

Be better if he explained what is doing.

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

He doesn’t get paid to do this, and overdubbing full commentary for every long video is HOURS of work

[@Jb-ei9fp]

Where do you get your moulding?

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

Foster Planing Mill. Los Angeles

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

They have online catalog and will ship