Joining ornate, sculptured or repeating patterned mouldings.

Not your average framer · Sat 05 Apr, 2008 5:15 pm

Considering how many nice looking mouldings need a bit of fiddling to match in the two sides of the mitred corners, it would be nice to hear how others approach this.

In general, I usually get away with this on the usual pasta type moulding by triming off any bits which stick up too much with a craft knife. Then I follow this by smoothing with sandpaper and a little bit of filler smoothed in with a finger or cotton bud if reqired. It is then usually possible to touch in and camouflage to suit.

The type I don't like are rope-twist mouldings, which for me are very hard to avoid looking like they've been bodged. If possible I try to set the size to suit to repeat distance on the moulding and then fiddle the mount dimensions to suit. Does anyone have a really neat way of doing these? I've kind of concluded that there isn't one!

Wouldn't it be nice if a moulding supplier would do a rope twist moulding where you get right-hand twist and left-hand twist versions of the same moulding so you can get perfectly matched corners. Probably fat chance of that ever happening, but it would be nice!

kev@frames · Post by **kev@frames** » Sat 05 Apr, 2008 7:35 pm

Im with you, mark. trim, carve and tidy up is usually the only way. A bit of good old fashioned "fettling". Sometimes a knife, sometimes a dremel.

sometimes I will cut a bit more off a length (a small bit more waste) to get a bit better match between it and the last piece cut, but you still end up with one corner to fettle.

Spit · Post by **Spit** » Sat 05 Apr, 2008 7:41 pm

Pasta corner decorations, painted or stained to suit, perhaps? I might try this mould stuff I got from Mary to do something like that.

osgood · Post by **osgood** » Sat 05 Apr, 2008 9:03 pm

Sometimes framers can get a little too picky with these corners not matching perfectly! Customers tend to look at the overall finished job - the picture in the frame. Most do not notice details like we do.

If the nature of the frame is such that it can't be matched perfectly, then that's the way it is and I know that my magic wand won't fix it no matter how hard I wave it over the joints.

I just do the best I can with what I have and don't fret about it!

"If only", is an expression I use less and less, the older I get! And I'm getting bloody old too!

Spit · Post by **Spit** » Sat 05 Apr, 2008 9:15 pm

osgood wrote:And I'm getting bloody old too!

Is there an ozzy equivalent of Victor Meldrew?

Roboframer · Post by **Roboframer** » Sat 05 Apr, 2008 9:37 pm

Spit wrote: Is there an ozzy equivalent of Victor Meldrew?

No doubt - probably started off in 'Skippy' and now has bit parts in Neighbours

Spit · Post by **Spit** » Sat 05 Apr, 2008 9:43 pm

I think Skippy was probably the original VM.. all that tutting....

Post by **prospero** » Sat 05 Apr, 2008 9:50 pm

osgood wrote:Sometimes framers can get a little too picky........

Very true.

If we are conscientious and take pride in our work it sometimes results in agonising over small details that your average Mr/Mrs. Public would never notice. Many is the time I have scrapped a mount or a frame because of a 'niggly' bit. Knowing full well that the customer would not notice it. If I go to an art exhibition I tend to spend about 2 seconds looking at the art before homing in on overcuts on the mount or gaps in the frame.

I love that expression that someone on TFG mentioned:

"Lyrical Imperfections".

I am starting to use it more often in conversations with customers. I think it was applied mainly to washlines.
The French have a lot of profound sayings. One I heard (can't remember the French) translates roughly as:
"Nothing that is absolutely perfect can be truly beautiful"

Think about it.........

osgood · Post by **osgood** » Sat 05 Apr, 2008 10:01 pm

Spit wrote: Is there an ozzy equivalent of Victor Meldrew?

I can't think of any Aussie equivalent of Victor Meldrew, but in some ways there's a bit of him in me!

Not your average framer · Sat 05 Apr, 2008 10:45 pm

osgood wrote:Sometimes framers can get a little too picky with these corners not matching perfectly!

Sorry Ormond,

I can't help it. It just comes naturally.

osgood wrote:If the nature of the frame is such that it can't be matched perfectly, then that's the way it is

I was told some time ago that cabinet makers have a particular technique for joining rope-twists so that the eye is not drawn to the corners. It would be nice to know what it is.

osgood · Post by **osgood** » Sun 06 Apr, 2008 1:22 am

Not your average framer wrote: I was told some time ago that cabinet makers have a particular technique for joining rope-twists so that the eye is not drawn to the corners. It would be nice to know what it is.

A photo of a bikini clad woman in the middle of one rail would do the trick!

Moglet · Post by **Moglet** » Sun 06 Apr, 2008 2:31 am

For some of the population, perhaps...