The Framers Forum

Hi charles, Are the figures glazed? If so, how about those glue on plate hangers? They have a very strong water soluble gum adhesive, which I assume should be acceptable to your customer. You then stick whatever you like to the plate hanger, because glue on the plate hanger doesn't matter. Cheers, M...

Hi Les, I think yours in the answer I was looking for. The frame in question not only has the brown colouring, but in some places it is thicker and looks almost black. It's hard to explain what it looks like, but it looks seriously old, which is what the customer wants to be kept. I will try out you...

Problem solved! I tried various things which didn't work, but I remembered I had an old tin of Liberon black patinating wax tucked away in a cupboard somewhere. It took a long time to locate it, but it was worth the effort. I mixed this wax about 50/50 with black bison dark oak wax and got a perfect...

My expectation, not from experience, is that oil based paints and glazes thinned with white spirit are not likely to successfully adhere to gold. This is why I assume french polish or shellac is likely to the media to which a much smaller quantity of bitumen is added. I don't know whether we are tal...

Hi John,
Very nice! That is a very tasty looking stain too, I'm gonna have to try some Jacobean dark oak for my self.
Cheers,
Mark

I'm repairing a pair of very old gilded frames, where the gold has been darkened with bitumen, (a favorite with the victorians I think). I've tried matching it in without success, so I need to make up some bitumen glaze. I assume it's a mixture of bitumen paint and french polish, but I don't actuall...

Osgood,

The point is that a ready made frame and proper framing job are not the same and I want people to realise that it's worth paying the extra for a better job. Sure I could give them D-rings, but I want them to think seriously about paying the extra next time!
Cheers,
Mark

I hate screw eyes too, but my original stock which I bought from a business which was closing down includes more screw eyes than you would ever believe, so they cost me nothing and it's good P.R.
Cheers,
Mark

The 25% off as a ready made with flexi-tabs instead of doing the full job as normal, is something I learnt from working for a well known Torquay framers. They do it all the time! It saves losing a deal, lots of people go for it, because they think it's a big saving. This is what they don't get: I do...

I don't take too much notice of these guru's who claim to be able to forecast future trends. I can't even guess what's likely to happen next week. All I know is that as soon as something becomes trendy, it's days are numbered. This year everything is way down, except framing which is lower in volume...

A senior gentleman brought in a photographic image of a nearby coastal town to be framered. He chose a mount and a simple frame and I told him the price. He looked shocked and told me he only paid £5 for the image. So I offered to do it as a ready made frame instead for 25% less, this is a standard ...

Hi Les, I was contemplating something similar myself. I have unfortunately agreed to frame a cross-stitch in an oval frame with a double mount, because the lady wants me to match the illustration which came with the cross-stitch kit. This is something which happens from time to time and unfortunatel...

Hi John,

I had a look at the price for the Umsco board in the Lion catalogue, which ain't all that much and a couple of tapestry jobs have just come in, so I'm gonna try one and see if I like it.
Cheers,
Mark

Hi John & Mark, Since you both use the Umsco squaring board, could you enlighten me as to why it's more useful then the other type. I've neither seen nor used the Umsco so I'm wondering what I'm missing out on, (I'm also easily persuaded to buy new bits of kit too!). I had always assumed that th...

Hi Nigel,

I think you will find Keencut will be only to pleased to help you. Their customer support is second to none. I've always found them very helpful.
Cheers,
Mark

I'm not sure if there is an answer to this one! Customers keep wanting oval frames for things which need a bit of extra depth and whenever I order an oval frame there is never much rebate depth at all. I don't know of a practical way of extending the rebate depth of an oval frame or of a source of d...

This probably is not what you think the problem is! You've already squared it up and got good results and without changing anything you say it's all out again. Something else to check! First - check the rubber grip strip under the cutter bar, they get worn out or go hard over time and lose their gri...

Hi Osgood, Wenge is a dark and quite porouus African hard wood, which normally has a distinct grain pattern according to what I've seen on the web. The gain I've seen on frame mouldings looks somewhat different. It appears to be an "in" wood for fitted kitchens, etc. Something else will be...

I spent a whole week training with Pete Bingham paid for by the job centre when I was out of work and I specified that I only wanted training on hand finishing - nothing else! It was time very well spent and I had already done plenty of hand finishing before this! Almost 50% of my work is hand finis...

Being in a rural area it's not easy for me to keep up with what's the latest thing, but every now and then I pick up a few clues when I get asked for something to match a new fitted kitchen or new furniture. Can anyone suggest a good way of staying in touch with what's the latest buzz. Whenever I fo...