How to Build Low-Cost Frames for your Paintings

"America's Favorite Breakfast", Oil on Panel, 6x6 inches

Jerry Lebo, 2007

($100 . Click here to purchase).

I have started work on my latest series of paintings, which will be titled "America's Favorites". The idea has been lurking in the back of my mind for the last few weeks--and "Apple Pie Slice" served as a nice transitional piece. The idea for the series is to take objects from everyday life that are quintessentially American--and do a series of small paintings. Apple Pie is pretty obvious, but I am actually looking for some of the more subtle items that seem to creep into our lives and become standard American fare before we even realize it. To me, the bagel and cream cheese is a good example--it is not as obvious as apple pie or, say, bacon and eggs--yet it is now almost a standard breakfast for Americans. Stay tuned to see what I find next--I think you will be surprised.

Okay, so back to the post at hand. I have been promising to tell you how to make a low-cost frame for your paintings. As I said the other day, I personally like to send my paintings out "ready to hang" and have been offering a simple pine box frame with my Ebay (now Etsy) sales--for an additional charge of $10. So, let me show you have I make them.

The method I will demonstrate will work for a 3/16th inch panel, but the principles can be adapted to fit just about any thickness or type of painting. At the end of the post, I will show you how to adapt the design so you can use it for a painting on stretched canvas, for example.

The basic process starts with two pieces of lumber, which you can either buy ready made--or make from scrap or basic lumber stock (for example, 1x8 lumber). If you build them from stock, you will minimally need a table saw--but also preferably a router to cut a "round-over" on the front edge of the frame. You will see what I mean in a second. I have been using ready made lumber lately to save time--so let me show you that approach first.

The process starts with two pieces of store bought molding. I buy mine at Home Depot in the trim section--but I am sure you can get them at most hardware or lumber yards--if you are doing custom cuts--then you would make these from your stock.

The first piece is a standard piece of rectangular molding--11/16" by 7/16". The second piece is called "screen pine" and has a tapered (rounded over) edge--which probably comes in various widths. For my purposes, I am using a 3/4 inch width--which I think is standard.

The first step is to glue these pieces together using wood glue along the short side of the rectangular stock. I start by putting a bead of glue on the square stock (not the screen pine)--and then spread it with my finger. You will need to keep some wet paper towels around to wipe off your fingers and excess glue.


Once you have the glue spread evenly on one side, you want to clamp your screen pine (or rounded over stock). I use standard "c-clamps" from the hardware store. But I have also used vise grip pliers--in a pinch. Anything that will hold tightly as the glue dries. Be careful not to over tighten the clamps or you may leave tool marks on the wood that will be hard to get out later. When clamping the wood, I usually start at one end and work my way to the other. I may seem easier to clamp the two ends first, but this usually causes problems and warping in the middle.

Here is a picture of the pieces of wood clamped together. I usually put one clamp every 10-12 inches to get a good tight fit. For this eight foot piece--I used eight clamps. After all the clamps are tightened, go back and wipe off any excess glue. Especially if you plan to stain or paint the frame--since the glue with keep these material from adhering later on.



Here is a side view of the pieces after the glue has dried. You can see--it is basically a rectangular piece of word with a flatter piece glued to the side.

Now comes the fun part--cutting the miters. For this purpose, I highly recommend a good miter saw. This is mine, which I bought 15 years ago for around $100. I was just down at Home Depot yesterday--and you can still get a decent one for around $100. This one has saved me thousands of dollars in framing costs over the years. I suppose you could do this with a miter box, but I don't recommend it.



You want to take your time when measuring the cuts. I like to have a slight offset from the front edge of the frame to the edge of the panel of around 1/8th inch. Also, my panels (which I showed you how to make a couple of posts ago) are not always perfectly six inches. Thus, I usually use the painting itself as the guide when measuring. You want to measure against the top edge of the stock (along the raised edge)--not the bottom or outside. You see I have put the panel right up against where I want to measure--and I mark the stock to the width of the panel plus 1/4 inch (1/8 for each side of the panel) to get my offset. Then cut away.



After cutting your miters, I recommend you layout the frame to make sure it fits together. Many times I have found that I have overcut--or missed one of the cuts--and the frame is not square. Better to find out while you still have the saw out--then when you are trying to glue the frame.

Once the frame seems to have a good fit, I use a very simple tool that I love--the band clamp. You can get one of these at the hardware store when you get your wood--they are a must have for framers. I have tried corner clamps--but this device works much better. I glue both side of each corner--and then wipe off the excess glue that squeezes out after I tighten the clamp.



Once the glue is dry, I give the frame a good sanding with a medium weight sandpaper--to get rid of any imperfections or marks. I then will attach framing hooks and wire to the inside of frame. If you put them into the back--the picture will not hang flush to the wall. That is another reason I like this type of box frame--it allows interior mounting of the wire--not all frame designs do.

I mentioned that this design can be used for stretched canvas or linen. Here is a frame I built 15 years ago. I have applied a stain--but the design is the same--only the measurements differ. Essentially it is a back support--with a side piece that has been rounded off. I made these frames from 1x8 pieces of lumber in a friend's woodshop back in the early 1990s for a show I was having. I made 40 frames for around $4 each!

Mounting stretched paintings is a bit different than with panels--and is actually a bit easier. I simply used a wood screw and drill a pilot hole--then set the screw through the frame and into the stretcher bar.



So this is how this simple panel frame looks after it has dried--and the picture is mounted. You can see the 1/8 inch offset on each side, as well as the flush hanging. I think it looks nice, given the cost. I mount the panel into the frame using double-side removable mounting tape (you can get this at craft, art, or framing stores). You can use the permanent mounting tape--which holds a bit better--if you don't imagine changing the frame in the future. I use removable, since I am not sure if my collectors will stick with the frame over the years.

So how much does it costs? I went out yesterday and bought 24 feet of screen pine and rectangular stock for around $18. That is enough, if you measure and cut carefully, for around nine frames. I usually make a mistake that means I lose a few pieces, but let's say a minimum of 6 frames--that works out to $3 per frame per 6x6 panels. It takes about one hour to make a frame--not counting the time you are waiting for glue to dry. But you can save time by making a dozen or so at at a time. They look nice--and people appreciate having a ready to hang piece arrive in the mail.

Okay, there you go--my long promised tutorial on making a simple pine frame. However, don't go a make one right away--you need to go to the studio first and make a painting. Don't get distracted by frame making--that will come later--think of it as the reward for selling a painting.

All the best, sixtyminuteartist.