Frame fix...no pics.

When I installed the chair rail in the master bedroom I didn't realize that the hammering would cause the walls to shake a bit, and that caused a picture on the hallway side of the wall to fall. The glass broke and the frame weakened. The frame has mitered corners that were nailed together with finish nails. That was ok, but not a very strong joint.

Yesterday I went to Lowe's and got some replacement glass cut to size. Then I set to work on the frame. I disassembled it and removed all the nails. Then I glued all the miter joints and set it in a frame clamp. A few hours later the glue had cured. I removed it from the clamp and scraped off glue that squeezes out during clamping.

I took the frame out to the workshop and cut 2 spline slots in each corner. This required a jig that I made a couple of years ago. I clamped the frame to the jig such that a corner points straight down to the table. Then I raised the blade so it cuts a slot that is not too deep so that it would penetrate the inside of the frame. Then I set the distance from the rip fence. The jig straddles the rip fence and I just push it along, which keeps it going straight and keeps hands away from the blade. It was then a simple matter to run 4 corners through, rotate the frame 180 degrees and run all 4 corners again.

I had some thin cherry "spline stock" laying around from a previous job. I cut 8 triangles, glued and inserted these into the slots, and clamped. This morning I removed the clamps and trimmed everything down flush to the frame. That frame will NEVER come apart again (from a fall, that is). The frame is a little rustic, so I am not going to take time to sand, stain, and finish. Just let it age as is.

It fell off the wall for three reasons. First, the wall vibration during hammering. Second, the nail in the wall was a finish nail which doesn't have much of a head to keep a picture from coming off. Third, the frame did not have a sawtooth "doodad" so that a nailhead can sort of interlock with the frame.

So, tonight I will install a sawtooth doodad and replace the nail in the wall with one that has a small head. That will make everything right. Then clean the glass, reassemble the glass/picture/backer sandwich and affix in place with small nails. Nothing major. Simple and rewarding job, really, but not for the average homeowner who does not have tools and jigs.