Oak Picture Frame


Sculptor and woodworker Ross Pollard makes an Arts & Crafts-style fumed oak picture frame

Bronze Benjamin Franklin plaque in wooden frame.

Arts & Crafts-style frames have made a comeback in recent years. Their flat, simple designs are easy to make and excel at showcasing oak’s natural beauty. In this article, I demonstrate how to make one of these turn-of-the-century frames using a Marsh Mitre Machine and then add some colour to the wood with a traditional fumed finish.

Design

The frame showcased in this tutorial was designed to display a hand-sculpted bronze medal of Benjamin Franklin that I created for the American Medallic Sculpture Association. I first mounted the medal onto a 190 x 254mm velvet-covered board and then fashioned a frame to fit the board out of 20 x 40mm quartersawn oak. The finished frame (shown here with an added brass nameplate) measured 280 x 342mm.

Tools

The primary tools used to create the frame were a rebate plane and an antique Marsh Mitre Machine. While original Marsh Machines can be hard to find, the tool’s successor, the Stanley 100, was manufactured in larger numbers and is basically the same tool. Both the Marsh and the Stanley can make any size frame larger than 190 x 190mm and will accommodate mouldings up to 100mm wide. If you don’t have access to one of these tools, a mitre clamp along with a mitre box and back saw will also work.

Finishing materials

To finish the oak, I used a combination of fuming and staining. I began by placing the frame in an air-tight container for 72 hours with an open jar of extra-strength household ammonia. The ammonia vapours reacted with the tannins in the wood and gave it a greenish-brown hue. I then sealed the wood with shellac and applied an oil-based glazing stain for added gravitas. Finally, I wiped on a protective topcoat and installed hanging hardware on the back of the frame.

You will need:

  • Whittling knife
  • Rebate plane with adjustable fence and depth gauge
  • Ruler
  • Marsh or Stanley Mitre Machine with back saw
  • Hand drill
  • Tack hammer
  • Nail set
  • Try square
  • Two meter length of 20 x 40mm quartersawn s4s oak lumber
  • PVA wood glue
  • Wire brads
  • Large plastic container with close-fitting lid
  • Safety goggles and respirator
  • Liquid ammonia
  • Sandpaper
  • Oil-based glazing stain
  • Shellac
  • Brush and lint-free rags
  • Wipe-on top coat
  • Screw eyes and picture hanging wire

Carpenter using hand plane on wood surface
1. Use a whittling knife to test the board’s grain orientation. Resistance and splintering will occur when cutting against the grain
Carving wood with a small hand tool.
2. Clamp the board to your workbench and set the plane’s adjustable fence and depth gauge to cut a 12 x 12mm rebate. For best results, cut with the grain and take light passes, keeping the fence pressed snugly against the board to prevent it from wandering off track
Person cutting wood with a backsaw and mitre box.
3. Measure and cut the four sides of the frame. For maximum accuracy, clamp the moulding face-up with the rebate side flush against inside edge of the Mitre Machine and saw with steady strokes. allowing the weight of the blade to do most of the work
Clamping wood pieces with adhesive for joining.
4. Glue and clamp two of the mitred pieces together and use a damp rag to wipe away any excess qlue from the joint. I recommend using a high-performance PVA woodworking adhesive to achieve the strongest bond possible
Man using hand drill on wood frame
5. While the glue is drying, use a hand drill to bore two pilot holes through one side of the moulding. Pivoting the Mitre Machine into the perpendicular position, as shown, will make this task easier
Man hammering nail into wooden frame.
6. Hammer 38mm brads into the holes and then drive them below the surface with a nail set. Take care to avoid heaw blows which could knock the joint out of square
Measuring wood angle with metal square tool
7. After joining the first two sides of the frame, check their squareness with a try square. Then repeat steps 4 through 6 with the other sides and join the two L-shaped sections together

Finishing materials

Using ammonia to clean a wooden picture frame.
8. Seal the frame and an open jar of household ammonia in a large air-tight container. Ammonia is a caustic chemical, so wear eye protection and a respirator. This photograph shows the colouration achieved after 72 hours, although fuming times will vary depending on the strength of the ammonia and the amount of tannin in the wood
Person varnishing wooden frame with brush
9. Let the frame air out overnight before scuff-sanding with extra-fine sandpaper and brushing on a seal coat of shellac
Ink pot, frame, Franklin plaque, and stained paper.
10. Once the shellac is dry, apply an oil-based glazing stain with a lint-free rag. The glaze will darken the pores and highlight the oak’s medullary ray flecks. For this project, I specifically chose a brown that would complement the colour of the bronze patina
Polishing wooden frame with cloth and polish can.
11. After the stain is dry, wipe on a protective top coat. I applied three even coats of an oil/varnish blend (a.k.a. Danish oil), waiting 24 hours between coats. I recommend temporarily inserting four woodscrews into the back of the frame to raise it up off the workbench and make finishing easier
Wooden frame assembly tools and materials on table.
12. Once the top coat is fully cured, fasten whatever it is that you are framing into the rabbet with brads, points or clips. For this project, I used four steel offset clips
Back of wooden frame with hanging wire.
13. Hang the frame with two screw eyes and a piece of braided picture wire. Screw the screw eyes into the back of the frame a third-of-the-way down from the top. Then secure the wire through the eyes and wind the loose ends as shown

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