How to Make Picture Frames (Best of AW): 12 Simple to Stylish Projects from the Experts at American Woodworker (American Woodworker)

Featured Projects

BASIC PICTURE FRAMES

MAKING MULTIPLE FRAMES

ANTIQUE AND CONTEMPORARY FRAMES

Picture Frame Techniques

Few things are as personally rewarding as displaying family treasures with beautiful frames you make yourself. Here’s your chance to learn how to make your own frames for family or travel photos, children’s art, samplers, paintings—anything you want to hang on the wall, display on a shelf, or preserve in an album. A variety of styles and woods helps you choose the perfect frame for each photo, piece of artwork, or other image you wish to display.

From relatively simple frames to more complex and highly decorated ones, you will find clear instructions with a wealth of illustrations. Step-by-step photos clearly show the sequence of tasks. Technical illustrations also provide essential information.

Use Featured Projects on page to help you choose your projects. You will find ways to make multiple frames, as well as an interesting choice of frame styles. Some have a vintage look. Others have a contemporary or even whimsical style. Instructions for making two distinctive hall mirrors complete the collection.

How to Make Picture Frames is a collection of some of the best projects published by American Woodworker magazine. American Woodworker magazine is committed to providing woodworkers with the most accurate and up-to-date plans and information—including new ideas, product and tool reviews, workshop tips, and more.

by TIM JOHNSON

Weekend Picture Frames

CREATE EXTRAORDINARY FRAMES WITH ORDINARY ROUTER BITS

Here’s a fun way to save money, be creative, make something useful, and use up scrap stock: make your own picture frames. You can start from scratch and have finished frames in a day or less, and the only tools you need are a tablesaw and a router table. The challenge is to create unique profiles using the router bits you already have.

The frames and instructions that follow will get you started. You probably don’t have all the same bits, but that doesn’t matter. Just substitute and experiment. You’ll find that a little tinkering yields an amazing range of profiles.

Most frames are made using small stock, so be sure to work safely. Always use guards, featherboards and push sticks. Never use stock less than 12" long. Create profiles on long stock; then cut individual frame pieces from the profiled stock. Similarly, use wide stock to create thin pieces; rout the profile, then cut to final thickness. Rout large or deep profiles in multiple passes, raising the bit or moving the fence in small increments before each pass.

Create unique frames by experimenting. All of the frames shown here were made by combining tablesaw cuts and profiles made with these common router bits.

3/8" Rabbet

½" Cove

¾" Round Nose

½" Roundover

3/8" Roundover

¼" Roundover

1/8" Roundover

¼" Half-Round

½" Straight

45º Chamfer

½" Round Nose

¼" Straight

1/8" Round Nose

Part A: Start with a 13/16 thick by 2 wide blank.

1) Round over the top edge by making one pass on each face with the 3/8" roundover bit.

2) Saw a 7/16 deep by 7/8 wide groove on the inside face, 3/8" from the rounded edge.

3) Rip the blank to final 1 ¼" width. Orient the blank outside-face down (grooved-face up), with its rounded edge against the fence.

Part B: Start with a ¾ thick by 7/8 wide blank.

4) Rout a ¼ by 3/8 rabbet on the inside face. Orient the blank bottom-edge down, with its inside face against the fence.

5) Rout a ¼ cove on the inside face, using the ½ round nose bit. Orient the blank top-edge down, with its inside face against the fence.

6) Glue Part A to Part B.

Start with a 1 ½ thick by 1 ½ wide blank.

1) Rout a 5/16" chamfer on the top inside edge.

2) Saw a 17° bevel on the top face. Tilt the blade away from the fence, and orient the blank chamfered-edge up, with the chamfer facing the blade. Set the fence so the bevel meets the tip of the chamfer. Make the cut. Then remove the saw marks by sanding or planing.

3) Rout evenly spaced flutes on the beveled face, using the 1/8" round nose bit.

4) Rip the blank to final ¾ thickness. Make the cut with the blank outside-edge down and its beveled face on the outfeed side of the blade. After sawing, the blank’s outside edge should measure 5/16 wide.

5) Rout a 3/8 by 3/8 rabbet on the inside edge. Orient the blank bottom-face down, with its inside edge against the fence.

Start with a ¾ thick by 7/8 wide blank.

1) Rout a 3/8 by 3/8 rabbet on the inside edge.

2) Rout a ¼ by ¼ cove on the top face, using a ½" round nose bit.

3) Rout a 1/8" roundover on the top face. Orient the stock outside-edge down, with its top face against the fence. To create the fillet, raise the bit’s straight shoulder above the table.

Part A: Start with a ¾ thick by 1 1/8 wide blank.

1) Rout or saw a ¼ by ¼ groove on the inside edge, starting 3/8" from the bottom face.

2) Rout a 1/8" roundover on the inside edge of the top face.

Part B: Start with ¼ thick by 1 ½ wide stock.

3) Rout a 1/8" roundover on the top edge.

4) Rip the stock to final ½" width, with the rounded edge on the offcut side of the blade.

5) Glue Part B to Part A.

Part A: Start with a ¾ thick by 1 ¾ wide blank.

1) Rout or saw a 1/8 by ½ groove on the top face, starting 1/8" from the outside edge.

2) Rout or saw a ¼ by ¼ groove on the same face, starting 1 1/8" from the outside edge.

3) Rout a ¼ tall by 3/8 wide cove on the inside edge, using a ¾ round nose bit. Orient the blank inside-edge down, with its top face against the fence. After routing, the remaining inside edge should measure 3/8 wide.

4) Rout a 3/16 deep by 1 tall cove on the top face, using a ½" round nose bit. Use the same orientation as for Step 3: inside edge down, with the top face against the fence.

5) Rout a ¼" by