The Framers Forum

As a small home run framer I tend to buy the mouldings at the lower end of the price scale unless asked for certain mouldings. However, of late I seem to be getting a poor quality of moulding. For example (supplier not mentioned) I use a Gold paint finish, spoon, pulai wood moulding. When I cut it on my morso the end is very rough as if it has been squashed rather than cut. This is not good for joining on my underpinner as the surfaces to be joined are not smooth. It is not my morso as the blades are very sharp and cuts Obeche and other mouldings fine. Some of the above mouldings cut no problem, but most tend to cut badly and the cut surface looks like a corrugated board. I would have thought that many framer would use this moulding as it is very popular with customers both in looks and price.
Is it the kind of wood (pulai)? A bad batch? Or just stay away from low priced mouldings? Your thoughts please on this.
Many thanks, ETF.

Hi Lyn,

Hope your feeling a lot better now?

My advice (for whats it worth), stay away from the low end mouldings, start as you mean to go on, go for mouldings from the middle range upwards. OK, have a few low end mouldings in stock for little Johnny's finger painted piece from school, etc., but dont bring yourself or your work down. Most low end mouldings are used by contract framers who are churning out 1000's of frames per day.

Some of the mouldings we are supplied with (even the high end stuff) these days are fraught with problems, basically because they are produced 'on the cheap' from Far East countries. They crumble, squash, chip, etc., but all we do is get it replaced. Every company is guilty, its not just down to one or two, the sooner framers stick together and demand that mouldings are produced to a high standard, the better. It may entail us paying a few extra pence per foot, but so what!, we'll do what we always do, add it on to our respective pricing, so no one looses out in the end.

Steven

Hi Steven,
Thanks for the reply. I'm feeling fine again now thanks. Will take your advice and ditch that moulding.

ETF

Hi Lyn,

Glad to hear your fully on the way to recovery, and to make it even better for you, the 6 nations is looming. But beware and be very careful of relapse, to see your wee team get a good thrashing this year could set you back a few months, eh?

Again its a pity...I will be not very far away from you next Saturday and Sunday nights, but the itineray is very tight, so no time to slip away...maybe during the summer this year, we wll be back in August. By the way there are still cheap flights to here....any word of it yet, or has all your money gone on that season ticket?????????

Talk soon,

Steven