Tips for Picture-Perfect Frames

I know that one of the things woodworkers really struggle with is making picture frames. And we've got a couple things going with making frames. You got to get the angle just right. You got to get the length of your parts just right. Otherwise, when the frame comes together, there's all sorts of, "gapicity." There's all sorts of gaps going on within the miter and nothing looks good. So, this MiterSet product is a very cool idea. The way it works is we can use this block, which is machined to very, very tight tolerances. To accurately set the miter gauge to make sure that when we come here, we're actually working at the right angle. It's very intuitive. We've got a slot in here that the miter gauge bar is about to go into, and a bunch of numbers. The numbers refer to the angle that you're trying to achieve. So, in my case, gonna do a four-sided frame to start with, then we're going to do an eight-sided frame. We're gonna go, 00. And then, guess where we're gonna go next? And then, with the head, loosey-goosey, on my miter gauge. When that comes in, and then I just, boom. It sets my system to a perfect 45 degrees, 'cause of the highly accurate way that was machined. Now, let me lock this in. 'Cause a good question would be, "Okay, I don't need to hit 45 degrees. I need to hit some other angle." And that's what this bar is about. If you look at it really closely, there are detents in here. And when I use this, also in conjunction with the pins, it lets me hit angles in smaller increments. And that's where, we can then, dial in those parts of a degree. Instead of steps of five, like you're looking at here. So again, don't get thrown off by the five degree increments. We can hit those in between angles by incorporating the bar. So now, when we come to our table saw, first thing I'm gonna do, is use this system to just get one-end cut on all of my Walnut frame pieces. And so remember, we've got a couple of factors here. One, is getting the angle right, which we just did. Thanks to the MiterSet. The other is, making sure we get the length right and consistent. And that's easiest if you use a stop block. I did everything from one side of the saw, cut both angles from here. But of course, with the MiterSet, we can angle either way. We could get our 45 going this way, work from this side. Then, if you want it to, you could pivot the other way, to cut the other angle if you wanted to. Now, we're gonna get these together. I'm gonna use a band clamp for that. But first, let's have a look at, if we don't want a four-sided object. If we want, in my case, an eight sided object, how we can use another MiterSet project, product to make that happen. Similar system, little bit different setup. I have another block, also a MiterSet product. And the way this one works is, in this case, the numbers reference the number of sides you're trying to produce on whatever it is that you're trying to make. So, I already said, I wanna do an eight-sided object. So, we find 13, 12, 11, and, and, an eight Head loose. Lock in place. Now, I'm gonna do everything the same way. I'm gonna get, ends cut first, then come back and cut the final ones. And just like, with the first MiterSet block, we can angle the miter gauge this way, or this way, off of that set block. Now, to see our results and the fruits of our labor, I'm gonna run and get a couple of band clamps. And then, we'll come back and clamp these frames together to see just how well we did. I love a band clamp for pulling frames together, because you get uniform pressure on every side at once. So, it really draws everything in. The other thing I love is when a frame comes together, and you don't have to look at it and say, "Oh, I could putty that. I could putty that. I could putty that." That when the joint simply close, that is a really good feeling. And one of the things that really tells us how well the system works is, we've got a lot of cuts that we made here. And if there is error, it becomes cumulative. So, even if we're only off by part of a degree, but if it's part of a degree on every one of these cuts. We'd end up with a gap the size of the Grand Canyon when we get here, somewhere, because of the way that it all accumulates. So, the MiterSet blocks are a really nice way to set your factory miter gauge from your table saw. In order to make sure you're getting the angle just right, so that your frame comes together. And you're not asking that question of, "What kind of wood dough would I use to fill that?" 'Cause we're not gonna need any.