Make Your Own Picture frame

We all want to have nice art. Several commercial stores sell art pieces but they are manufactured and printed. Real art paintings are very expensive, but stunning. Owning nice art is an investment. There are many timeless classic pieces that are worth a lot of money today. A good artist can easily DIY their own painting and build their investments by having their art work displayed in the home and some to sell outside. However if you cannot make the art you might be able to make your own picture frame. This is how.

Buying a nice art piece or two is something to consider investing in. As the prices of genuine art pieces rise, so do the cost of picture frames. They are almost the cost of the art piece itself, if not more. If you are getting a custom frame expect to pay more for the frame than you will for the art piece, unless your art piece is $2000.00 or more.  

As a result my partner and I decided to make the frame ourselves. Since this is the first time doing it, we are choosing a very simple frame that compliments the art piece. 

Materials To Make Your Own Picture Frame:

clear pine boards

wire for the picture to hang on

carpenters glue

nails / brads for pneumatic nailer

How to Make a Picture Frame

Based on a 48″ x  36″ picture/painting

Buy 1″ x 6″ clear pine boards and cut them in half lengthwise on a table saw so that you have 1″ x 3″ strips. Make sure your boards are straight and not warped. The 1″ x 3″ strips will work well to compliment most art pieces. 

The strips are going to be your actual frame.

Lower the blade of the table saw to half the thickness of your pine strips and make multiple passes in 1/8″ increments (the thickness of the blade) from the inside edge towards the outside edge until you have a 3/4″ groove which is where the frame on which the canvas is stretched will sit against.  

Alternatively you can also use a dado blade set with your table saw which will let you cut a wider groove with each pass reducing the number of passes required.

Once you have the strips ready to accept a painting you need to cut them to length with 45 degree cuts.  Measure the cut to the groove where the painting will sit. Ensure you are cutting your strips in such a way that the two side pieces are the exact same length, and the top and bottom pieces are the same length. Otherwise your corners will not match up nicely. A stop block will help you get them the same length.  

You have a lot of options in terms of adding different profiles with a router bit to the pine strips before you glue them together.  However, a simple clean look is timeless.

Stain or paint the wood pieces to suit your style prior to assembly.  Don’t forget to add a coat of varnish if you choose a stain finish.

Line up the four pieces and apply wood glue to each corner surface.  Now press each corner together and clamp them. 

You can make a simple jig to help with clamping the corners.  Another option is a strap clamp which just looks like a belt you wrap around the perimeter.

Wipe the wood glue that squeezes out with a damp cloth and let the glue dry overnight.  

Once dry, remove the clamps and place your painting inside the frame from the back. 

Use some nails / brads and a pneumatic nailer to secure the painting to the frame.

Add a wire to the back of the frame and hang it up.

In Summary

Although the frame is basic, for the first trial it is a good job. We are both satisfied with the project and saved between $500-$2000.00 on a picture frame alone. The art piece we purchased is large. It is 48″ x  36″ in size.

The place we purchased it from makes frames that are of different qualities, grades, sizes and cost. Save your money and make your own picture frame.

This is the back of the art piece after the frame is added on. It does not matter if there is some stain at the back because no one will see it.

More DIY projects are available here. 

July 22, 2022