Sunday 22 March 2020

Pictures two: or How Framing is not for me and other miscellaneous stuff

Being a nit picker for scale I often find some things hard to find which satisfy me and my budget.  I have had an eye out for picture frames for a long while and have bought this and that with varying success.  Eventually I decided how hard could it be to make a picture frame in scale and to the size I wanted.  I bought some mouldings from Jennifers of Walsall at a show a couple of years ago and they have lurked in the stash since then.  Time to dust them off

I bought two different styles.  The first is a plain/modern shape just 3/16ths inch wide



The other is a more traditional one.....  1/4 inch wide




.......with a complex profile which turned out to be even more of a pig to mitre



The reverse sides of these was pretty much the same in that they had been routed for you to put in the picture or maybe mirror and be left with a nice flush back - just as in real life.  A lot of frames you buy don't do this.   


I am quite proud of my mitring skills so off I trotted, full of confidence.

My first problem was what to cut it with.  I only have pretty basic equipment.  It was far too tiny and fiddly to use the saw and mitre block (I did try) so without that guide I already had a problem of getting the forty five degree cuts any way accurate.  It didn't take kindly to a knife and even the finest of scissor blades squished the material as it cut.  As you can see here the cuts were pretty dreadful and nowhere near a nice neat 45 degrees.

I cut the template in hopes of getting the lengths right and the angles right.  I didn't manage either. Even after attempting some adjustments here and there it was pretty much awful.




Sorry the focus is poor on this photo.  I glued the corners together best I could and stuck it on masking tape to stop it jiggling around (and coming unstuck) to paint it.  You can see my right side is longer than the left.



As for any gaps in the corners I used my usual method of mixing a little sawdust with paint and shoving that in and then sanding smooth when its dry.





So the finished object is not a thing of beauty and is a mirror,  not a picture as my post heading would suggest. 😉  






It actually looks OK in situ but I have two more back-up mirrors on their way so I will decide then which to use.




Worth noting before I leave that if you ever want any kind of wood pieces or trim for something you are doing this place has more than you could ever dream of:  Wood Supplies


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We live in strange times.....  I currently have a painful unrelenting dry cough with no other cold symptoms or even a high temperature. Day three, yesterday, because I am 74 and have a rubbish immune system I was checked at a local community hospital - BP, oxygen levels, listened to lower chest, looked down throat and told I may or may not have the virus.  There is no way of knowing as tests will only be done if you are admitted to a hospital as an emergency. Apparently that point comes when you are finding it hard to breath when resting!!  

Just a couple of thoughts.......Clearly we will never be able to know the true statistics of the pandemic as there is no testing in the UK until it is pretty certain you have it.  The no test rule seemingly doesn't apply if you are a local MP and his wife both of whom were tested a few days before me in the same unit.  Such inequality will not sit well with many people.  When the worst is over and we are 'released' some months down the line we will be back in a world still carrying this virus (and its mutations) forever and have no way of knowing if we had it and are immune or if we are still vulnerable.  What a mess.

Meanwhile wish me luck.  To be fair I am on day four and thinking I have improved.

14 comments:

  1. Mitring can bring along definite challenges! I have never tried paint with sawdust to fill wood gaps but use a wood filler instead which can be smoothed over with a careful touch. THe mirror looks lovely in its location! Thinking of you during this unsettling time around the world...it is sad to think there is such an unfair level testing and to know that this virus will linger long after this initial phase. Do stay well and safe...Cheers, Alayne

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    1. Thanks Alayne. The wood-filler is a much better idea when working on an actual object.....I just sort of forgot . I thought of the wood and paint thing when filling gaps in coving etc when it was in place easier to shove in on the end of a brush. Thanks for being nice about the mirror looking OK in situ. We can get away with a multitude of sins in this game.

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  2. Another wonderful photo of this stylish and beautifully decorated room! Just when you think it can't get any better, you add another crowning touch! The frame looks marvelous and you are far too hard on yourself! Either that or your glasses are too good! Maybe a tiny jewelers saw would be just the thing?

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    1. Thank you Jodi. I am taking so long with and therefore so many visits to this project you will end up knowing it as well as your own. Marilyn

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  3. I feel your pain with frames. The angles make me crazy and they never work!

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    1. Oh good..... it seems its not just me then. Don't really understand why I can't do something that seems so simple. Pah! Thanks Sheila. Marilyn

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  4. Yep, getting perfect angles for tiny pieces of wood is hard!! But sanding and filling will certainly help. And practice! I hope you pick up health-wise and agreed about the inadequate testing regime (pretty much the same here in Australia). Who knows the real figure on the virus?? Anyway, take care of yourself.

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    1. Thanks Shannon. Glad you agree that tiddly frames are a pain - nice to know I am not just useless. Still hacking but determined we will get through this with good grace and not whinge.... well not too much.

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  5. I too have some picture frame moulding skulking somewhere in the back of a cupboard! As it’s so difficult finding decent frames I always thought it can’t be that difficult to make my own but alas I’m still not any further on with having a go - maybe now whilst in this strange situation of being in isolation is the time to try. I’m not good with mitres either but recently bought a great tool from Julie Warren on Etsy. It’s really sharp and I’ve managed to cut skirting with it so it should work well on this.
    Sorry to hear that you may have the virus. I really hope you don’t and that you continue to improve. The testing scenario is ridiculous but it’s all down to money in the end like most things. Message me anytime if you need a chat. Kath x

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    1. Lots of luck Kath. If you have those 'scissor' thingies you may find they tend to squish the wood as they cut....hopefully not. Then there is the challenge of getting the sides spot on length. Don't want to put you off you are more skilled and more patient than me. If you make lovely frames easily enjoy lots of self congratulations in addition to mine. Still doing joined up hacking but no further symptoms...long may it remain so. Stay safe and well. M

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  6. First, I need to add you to my reading list on my blog so that I don't miss any of your posts. Next. Mitering is a pain. I purchased a hand-held mitering tool that isn't too expensive and works nicely for small lumber except that sometimes it crushes the wood instead of cutting it cleanly, especially if you cut close to the end of the piece. It is so hard to get good cuts unless you have regular miter box. I don't. I struggle. Finally. I am so sorry that you are sick. I cannot believe that you cannot get tested. Here it takes a doctor's note to get tested if one has been exposed. Still tests are in short supply. Right now we here in Colorado our Governor's ordered a Stay at Home order which means we can't leave our house except to go get food, prescription, or see the dr, or get pet food. My husband went out this morning to do exactly that. He picked up a few groceries, got horse feed, our one horse is on medication so he got that, and dog food. I've not left home since last week. The cases are rising. Right now in our county there are 107 cases. It is supposed to get worse here in the States. I'm 73 and diabetic, so I'll be staying home until --who knows when. Your mirror looks wonderful. Keep up the great work.

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    1. Thank you Ann. Yes, not sure this is an answer to cutting such thin strips at a perfect forty-five yet folk who make frames must do it???? Decided to make some with straight across joints and hope the paint covers it. Strange times right now indeed. Like you we are in lock-down and haven't left our house (and garden) in two weeks. So far I have managed to get food delivered for a week at a time so that is the only thing coming into our home from 'the outside' and I can't see a way round that. Hard not seeing family other than facetime especially our four year old grandson that we moved to Scotland to be near. Hey ho. We are luckier than many, many other people who must be having terrible struggles with this stay-home world.

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  7. Replies
    1. How kind, thank you. I am actually on week seven of the same cough but so much better and did actually get tested a couple of days ago and (obviously by now) I don't have the virus. So life goes on here living between our house and our garden as it will for many folk who are a bit too 'vulnerable' to be out in the infected world. Thank you again for the good wishes though - we can't get too may of those. I hope you and yours are doing OK mentally and physically. Marilyn

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