| Project by Greg3G | posted 153 days ago | 231 views | 0 times favorited | 13 comments |  |
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A few weeks back I had asked the question if anyone had any experience in Goldl eaf guiding. My wife had purchased an old mirror from one of the antique shops in town (no, it wasn’t an antique) We liked the look of the old mirror, it had a lot of charictor, but the frame was very beaten up and not very stable. After I had set up my new equipment, she asked the first project be a new frame for the mirror. Now bear in mind that I have never built any sort of picture frame much less one that would have to hold a heavy mirror. I agreed.
When I took the old frame apart, I was suprised to find out that it was actualy in two parts. It had the beat up outer frame and an smaller inner frame. I wanted to keep the inner frame and was strongly considering guilding it with the gold leaf. I even went so far as to have my wife pick up a kit.
I decided that in order to bear the weight of the mirror I would have to use some 8/4 stock I had on hand and I looked through my stack of Cherry to find some that matched in tone. I came up lucky and found some good matches.
I cut the main body from the 8/4 and beveled and routed the edges to profile. I couldn’t get the exact profile I was looking for so I went pretty simple and ended up cleaning up a lot of it by hand with planes and scrapers.
After staining the frame, it was a Minwax special (what I hand on hand from a few earlier projects) It was a good base of Cherry stain, then a light rub down with Red Mahogany to give it a little more of an aged look to match the rest of the Dinning room furniture. I came pretty darn close on the color. The one step I wish I had not skipped is sealing the wood before staining. There is some minor blotching.
After getting the stain sealed off with some wipe on poly, I went ahead and installed the mirror. I was having reservations on the gold leaf. I thought it may be too bright for the frame and not look as balanced in the room.
I completed attaching the hanger chain this afternoon. I started off using a plastic coated braided wire but it seemed a too light for the weight, I would estimate mirror and frame comes in at over 40lbs, so I went back to the original frame and removed the chain that it hung on before. Over all, it turned out pretty well. The wife is happy, and that is the important thing.
-- Greg - Charles Town, WV
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13 comments so far
TomFran
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2340 posts in 445 days
posted 153 days ago
Beautiful job, Greg! It looks great.
-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28
Peter O
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627 posts in 325 days
posted 153 days ago
I bet she’s happy! That looks great!
-- Coffee is best with a fine layer of sawdust on top. -- http://www.north40custom.com
GaryK
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8411 posts in 439 days
posted 153 days ago
That’s a great looking job. Good deal saving the inner trim.
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
Scott Bryan
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8577 posts in 273 days
posted 153 days ago
Hi Greg,
You put together a gorgeous frame that I am sure your wife loves.
thanks for the post.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.
cajunpen
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5352 posts in 516 days
posted 152 days ago
Beautiful frame Greg – it’s always good when Momma is happy.
-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/
Grumpy
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4905 posts in 302 days
posted 152 days ago
Great job Greg. No point in getting 7 years bad luck for breaking a good mirror is there.
-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python
Lee A. Jesberger
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2596 posts in 430 days
posted 152 days ago
Hello Greg;
Very nice indeed!
Who needs gold leaf?
Great idea in reusing the inner frame.
Lee
-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com
KennyZ
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5 posts in 155 days
posted 151 days ago
Great job! nice miters and wonderful re-use of the inner trim.
douglbe
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39 posts in 412 days
posted 151 days ago
Very nice, I have a large mirror to put a frame on for the living room one of these days, hope mine will look as nice.
-- Doug, Cass City, Michigan
Karson
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12736 posts in 851 days
posted 151 days ago
Greg:
A beautiful job. It’s nice to satisfy the wife with the new tools. But of course it would have been easier if you had a shaper to go with everything else.
-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com
pappyjohn
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138 posts in 164 days
posted 139 days ago
Very Nice Greg, I also love how you keep the old trim work, it really gives the frame great eye appeal. Super job, I’ve one question, how did you reinforce the corners. See I’ve got this of mirror, that has a rounded top from an old vanity, but has no frame. Its super heavy as well, and I’m also afraid of the weight of it. I’ve thought about on the back side of the frame, putting some metal L brackets to help reinforce the corners. Any ideas are welcomed. Greg keep up the great work, also your new tools look great as well. your brother in woodworking John
-- Your Brother in WoodWorking John, Pittsburgh , PA.
Greg3G
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625 posts in 536 days
posted 133 days ago
John, Sorry for responding so late…there is a double biscuit in the miters, and a lot of glue. I thined it just a touch to help it soak in the endgrain and flow down in the biscuit slots. I am very carefull when thinning glue down. I just want to add enough water to help it flow a bit better. I also leave it in the clamps over night. The double biscuts may be the wrong way but I equate it to a floating tennon.
-- Greg - Charles Town, WV
jeanmarc
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1691 posts in 167 days
posted 37 days ago
Beautiful job,Greg,
-- jeanmarc manosque france