The Story of a Picture Frame

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The Story of a Picture Frame

Post by vintage frames »

This is a rather simple frame I made the other day.
It's for a frame shop in London which carries some of my profiles and this one's called a thin replica Georgian Frame.

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For the sake of having something to talk about I'll describe the process that goes into making it.
For this frame all I needed was a length of F10 and an equal length of F6 glued onto it.

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Then it was a happy day feeding it through the spindle moulder.
I say happy because this is relaxing and creative work. You keep adjusting and changing cutters until you have the exact profile you're looking for.

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With that done, the frame is cut and joined before setting off to the gesso chicken shed.

This is my splendid old spraying compressor which I bought off E-bay.

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It cost me £70 and is built like a tank and oh so quiet in operation.
I use this to blow gesso through my trusty spray-gun which you can see is well kept and in meticulous condition.

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Spraying gesso is definitely the way to go. You could spend hours building up layers of gesso with a brush, whilst ten minutes with a spray-gun will do the job in just two heavy coats.

After the frame has dried, always overnight, the gesso is sanded and lightly polished to an even finish.
Then we come to pressing out strings of bobbles.
This is Purgatorial work that is best left to a young apprentice or even a small child.
It's the monotonous repetition of process that gets to you. Luckily this frame only needed 8 lengths of compo to go around.
These get stuck down and left again to dry and harden.

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The frame is now prepared for gilding. Here several layers of coloured clay are painted on and then polished to a mirror like shine with no tolerance of even the slightest imperfection.
Very exacting but necessary for a trouble-free gilding session.

Gilding day is to light the wood-stove, get it all nice and cosy, mellow music on the radio, hot mugs of tea and relax into the job.
And here is the frame fully gilded or to put it more prosaically, it is now covered in gold leaf.

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I say it that way because now the frame is just a featureless profile with gold stuck on to it.

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To make it mean anything the gold has to be worked and polished to resemble many years of wear and tear.
Then layer upon layer of transparent glazes are laid on and washed off so as to build up a finish with authentic depth and colour.
And that is where all the money is.
Whilst all that went before was from formula and merely prescriptive; now I have to work with the memories of gilded frames I have seen in large public galleries and National Trust properties.
All that takes a few more days and then the frame is ready to be shipped to the customer.
Money wise the frame is worth about £430, but I only needed £10 of wood and £20 of gold to do it.

IMG_3416.JPG

Please say if you hate it, think it's irrelevant or is just trying to show-off.
Praise however is welcome anytime.
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Re: The Story of a Picture Frame

Post by JFeig »

"strings of bobbles"? It took me a moment to translate that.... a string of beads pressed compo.

What is the size of that frame and what type of wood did you use?
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Re: The Story of a Picture Frame

Post by vintage frames »

Hi Jerome.
Sorry for the casual term for the 'string of pearls' ornament.
It's sort of 'off-hand' banter used in some frame workshops over here.

The wood is obeche.
I used to use what I thought was well matured pine in previous frames. I like the weight and authenticity of it.
However, I found that wrapping it in gesso can cause the top corners to open when the gesso dries.
This is because gesso exerts a tremendous shrinking force on the timber.
I found obeche much more stable and able to absorb that force.
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Re: The Story of a Picture Frame

Post by fusionframer »

I certainly find it very interesting and informative Dermot.

I wonder why pine is less effective than obeche when applying gesso. Is it to do with obeche being more porous whereas the resin in pine makes it more waterproof?

I am glad i am not the only one who finds playing with the spindle moulder relaxing and fun.

Thanks for posting.

Cheers

Nick
www.fusionframing.co.uk

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Re: The Story of a Picture Frame

Post by vintage frames »

Hi Nick
I think it might be related to the way pine tends to move more, ie it can shrink quite a bit from wet to dry and then gesso itself exerts quite a significant force on the wood.
Obeche doesn't seem to be so affected.
Thanks for the compliment too.
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Re: The Story of a Picture Frame

Post by Justintime »

The best post here in ages Dermot, for my interests at least. I'm hoping Erica will eventually get all her ducks in a row and get started on this journey... (think herding cats :roll:)
In the meantime, keep up the descriptions and photos! For home based framers it's great to see what it's possible to create in a rural setting with some garden space. I think it's worth sharing more images of your actual spaces/buildings. I know it's niche, but for any framers starting out in a rural area it's an inspiration. It has inspired me to keep creating spaces.
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Re: The Story of a Picture Frame

Post by Gesso&Bole »

That's a very interesting post, and a beautiful finished frame.

Do you find that most of your customers are in London? Although I mainly make contemporary frames, and don't usually do any gilding. Most of my output is hand-finished, catering for very deep rebates, or very wide profiles not available in pre-finished mouldings. I have noticed that nearly all of my work is ending up in London or in the USA. My work in the North and the Midlands has pretty much dried up since Covid.
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Re: The Story of a Picture Frame

Post by Tudor Rose »

Absolutely fascinating to see the process. Particularly love the spray gun :clap: having watched Alec meticulously cleaning everything down after doing paint finishes - might just have to invest in a dedicated gesso one that he can leave to get crusty :D

We are very lucky to have a bespoke staircase manufacturer next door who put all sorts of things through their various woodworking machines for us, so we've not needed to invest in our own. But seeing how you use your spindle moulder and so on over your various posts, it is definitely inspiring us to go further down that path in our own workshop, and not just rely on the bits they do for us.

Please do keep posting.
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Re: The Story of a Picture Frame

Post by vintage frames »

Hi Jeremy
Thank you for your compliment.
Yes, most of the work I do ends up in London. That seems to be where most of the money is and the appreciation of that sort of work.
I remember the first time I was asked to make a large frame by a London framing gallery. Because of the size and cost, i timidly asked if they wanted me to do it in metal leaf/imitation gold.
Their reply was - "Good heavens, gold leaf of course!"
Personally, I found London a very vibrant market place. It can be tough and very competitive but if you have something to show them and to the standard they want, then price is never an impediment.
If any one were to ask me for advice on creative framing, I'd say to spend a day going 'round all the galleries in St James and then pay a visit to Tate Britain.
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Re: The Story of a Picture Frame

Post by vintage frames »

Thanks Justin.
I remember being scared when we moved to the country. Would any of my customers still want me to make their frames?
We're lucky to have the space around us. We used to live very central in a city and had to rent out workshops to run the business.
Here, all you have to do is put up a shed.
Nobody cares.

As long as we've still got electricity and the internet, I can keep on doing this until I drop.
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Re: The Story of a Picture Frame

Post by vintage frames »

Thank you for the encouragement, Tudor Rose.
Having your own wood-working section would definitely be a good way to go.
Provided you don't have to let employees use it, you can fit a work-shop out with light-duty, second hand machines for hardly any cost at all.
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Re: The Story of a Picture Frame

Post by YPF »

Brilliant post! Thinking back to when I first started framing I wish I had investigated and subsequently learnt how to gild. With my second retirement looming in about 2 years methinks I might be a bit old to learn and utilise some new tricks.

Again - a brilliant post, thank you.
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Re: The Story of a Picture Frame

Post by vintage frames »

Thank you for the compliment.
I'm happy to return the favour by noticing the pretty cool frames you've been posting lately.
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Re: The Story of a Picture Frame

Post by wkcwoodexport »

Pine: Pine is a softwood that is relatively inexpensive and readily available, making it a popular choice for basic or economy frames.

Oak: Oak is a hardwood that is strong, durable, and has a prominent grain pattern, making it a popular choice for traditional and rustic frames.

Maple: Maple is a hardwood that is hard, dense, and has a fine grain pattern, making it a good choice for frames that require a smooth finish.

Poplar: Poplar is a hardwood that is lightweight and easy to work with, making it a popular choice for frames that require intricate details or carving.

Ash: Ash is a hardwood that is strong, lightweight, and has a prominent grain pattern, making it a good choice for frames that require a more modern or minimalist look.

Ultimately, the choice of wood species for a frame will depend on the specific needs and preferences of the frame maker and their client.
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