Final steps

The splines are glued in place. I wanted to post a view of the front of the pictureframe for you to see.

Pictureframe - Substantial Completion

The pictureframe construction is substantially complete.  I put the bevel on the back of the outside edge using this setup (the blade has not been tilted and the fence is not in final position):

Afterward, I hand shaped the front of the outside edge using a block plane.  The profile is now very pleasing to the eye and should look good on a wall.  After the outside edges were shaped, I cut slots for the splines using this setup:

I will probably finish (as in varnish, not complete) the Pictureframe and the Hourglass Table at the same time so look for the final pics of the frame when the table is done.

Pictureframe Glue Up

Finally got around to cutting my rabbets and miters in the pictureframe.  I glued it up tonite without much fanfare.  This weekend I will treat the outside edges - Bevel the back and round over the front to ease the outside edge a little bit. I will also add splines to the corners once I know the final thickness of the outside edge.

FYI, this is the back of the pictureframe.  The old inlays are out and the new ones are in place (and look great) but they are face down in this pic.

A keen eye will note the milled up walnut for the Hourglass table in the background...

Houston, We have a Problem

Well, I put in a lot of handwork smoothing the cove of the pictureframe. The Cove looks great, but the inlays dont. Once I planed them down to be level with the frame, I discovered that the Cocobolo was not quite as dark as I had hoped it would be. There is not enough contrast between the Bubunga and the Cocobolo for the inlay to dramatically stand out, as you can see in the picture above.

I have cut some strips of Ebony I will use to replace the Cocobolo, but i have to get the Cocobolo out of there first. I have screwed the frame pieces to a piece of scrap MDF and I am going to recut the dados with my router.

Fairing the Cove

I got busy with my new router table tonight and further faired the cove on my pictureframe. I used a 1" Core Box bit to get the cove as close to a 'curve' as possible. I'd simply raise the bit a little and move the fence a little and keep making passes until all of the sharp edges were gone.

As you can see in the foreground of the picture, there is still a good bit of wavey-ness in the cove. I will shape the rest of it by hand with a convex spokeshave, sandpaper and scrapers.

Also, I glued in the Cocobolo inlay. It's starting to shape up!

Roughing the Cove

I started roughing the cove of my pictureframe today.  

I am using a dado blade to remove the bulk of the material, and will follow this step with a core box bit to further refine the shape.  Note that I have left a small sliver of full thickness stock on what will be the interior edge of the frame.  This will allow the stock to sit face down & flush on my router table when it is time to further refine the curve.

The small dado you see is to accomodate the cocobolo inlay that will surround the outside edge of the frame

Pictureframe Concept

I decided to start this blog with a simple pictureframe.  I found a nice piece of quartersawn bubinga that was 12" wide...it was a shame to rip it down but so it goes.

the rendering is above.  I plan to shape the cove, then install a cocobolo inlay around the perimeter and back-bevel the outside edge.  I will post as I complete major steps.

Happy New Year!