I have a big pile of rough-sawn cherry lumber that I’m eager to make use of. Most of it is 4/4, which was too thick for this project. After splitting the lumber and planing it smooth the boards ended up 7/8″ thick. Sanding from 80 to 220 was next followed by cutting to length.
I’ve made quite a few frames over the years and have always cut the frame parts based on the inner measurements of the frame, a plan which seemed to make the process more difficult. So before cutting parts for this frame I searched online for a few minutes and found a simple equation to determine the measurements for the outer edge of the frame.
For the horizontal pieces, add together the width of what’s to be framed with the 2x the width of framing material. Do the same for the vertical pieces. So in this case the art is 19″ wide and the wood for the frame is 2″ wide. 19+2+2= cut the your 45s at 23 inches apart on the outer edge. The print in this instance is square so I used the same measurements the vertical frame parts.
I was anxious using this equation until the cut pieces were laid out and I verify the print would fit properly.
