Custom moulding/ custom frame prototypes

The Frame Maker has always greatly appreciated and recommended fine hardwood picture frame mouldings when the piece calls for this kind of classic picture frame.

Obviously, many premium hardwoods have today grown scarce from the rapid growth of industry, trade and commerce. For framers and their clients, this scarcity drives three challenges:

• higher prices for fine materials
• lower quality of material, generally speaking
• issues with availability in a timely fashion

The Frame Maker has developed some different responses to these challenges recently that embrace “green”, sustainable design principles to find solutions.

Here are a few pictures that show one such solution, which emerges from a woodworker’s understanding of the problem as well as a framer’s.

scrap & resawn hardwood picture frames

The overall profile of each of the two picture frame mouldings shown above is only a few inches square, but the chunks of wood required to mill them in the traditional manner are harder to find, harder to work, and make it far more challenging to produce a premium product in the end.

These mouldings are made by laminating two lengths of lumber together. Each has a fine hardwood face glued to a poplar “backframe”. All of this lumber is essentially scrap, leftover from the woodworking operations of other business and our own. The 1/4″ resawn cocobolo and 3/4″ wenge stock are remnants from a San Diego furniture designer; the poplar base mouldings are leftovers a large wholesale hospitality custom framing job we completed at The Frame Maker this February.

You can see more detail of the cocobolo in this picture of the mitred chops about to be joined. I will post finished frame pictures next.

resawn cocobolo picture frame prototype