# Large Carved Frame



## rexb (Mar 28, 2012)

*Background*

This project is a few months old, but I'm just now getting around to writing this blog. I came up with a novel method of carving intricate shapes with a router, and I thought it was worth sharing. I'm probably not the first to come up with this technique, but I came up with it on my own without really seeing it anywhere else.*

The background:* My wife wanted to make a large chalkboard to hang in our dining area, so I cut a large piece of cheap hardboard (30" square) and we painted it with chalkboard paint. I knew she would want me to make a frame of some sort, but when she asked me to make it "as fancy as you can" it got my mind working. I knew I could cut a curvy outside profile with my bandsaw and clean it up with a sanding drum. But I wanted to give it a nice moulding profile. I thought about it a lot and experimented in CAD with a few designs I thought I could pull off.

Here's where the design ended up:










I was pretty sure I could pull this off with mainly just a router and bandsaw, but I knew I would need to make some specialized jigs first; that'll come later in this series.


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## lightweightladylefty (Mar 27, 2008)

rexb said:


> *Background*
> 
> This project is a few months old, but I'm just now getting around to writing this blog. I came up with a novel method of carving intricate shapes with a router, and I thought it was worth sharing. I'm probably not the first to come up with this technique, but I came up with it on my own without really seeing it anywhere else.*
> 
> ...


Rex,

Thanks for sharing this. Maybe some day I can try it. I like the appearance of the frame.

L/W


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## rexb (Mar 28, 2012)

*Getting Started with the Build*

I knew my wife wanted to paint the frame, so why spend money on expensive hardwood? I bought an 8' long 2×10 (if I remember the size correctly) and let it acclimate in my shop for a week or two. I started by planing the board down to just over an inch thick, then I cut out the four pieces I would need - approximately 4.5" x 39". I was able to cut around most of the knots in the wood and really you could never tell these came from construction lumber.

The first steps were a cove cut on one long edge with a rabbit on the bottom which the chalkboard would recess into.










Next came time for the outside profile. Because the design is symmetric, I made a half template from cardboard and used this to lay out all four blanks.



















I cut well outside the lines on my (crappy little) bandsaw, then used a sanding drum in the drill press to sand to the lines.



















And a bit of filing to clean up the inside corner.










Now that I had one piece completed, it could serve as a template for the other 3. I rough cut them all out on the bandsaw, then used carpet tape and a flush trim bit in the router table to produce 4 identical pieces.


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## rexb (Mar 28, 2012)

*My Experimental Technique*

Now for the fun part! When we left off last time I had 4 identical pieces with their outer profile finished.










Because I had a smooth, continuous profile, I was fairly confident that I could use a single-point guide and follow the profile with my router. My workbench is large and flat enough, so I needed was a pair of "skis" to elevate the router off the bench. Here's what I came up with:




























Time to give these new jigs a try. With the blank clamped to the bench with my vise, I used a round nose bit (1/2" diameter) to cut a groove about 1" in from the outside edge, following the profile. The jigs worked like a charm!










When cutting, I had to be very mindful to always keep the pointed guide against the profile. I did have one mishap during the first cut, but was able to fix it seamlessly. I'll show that later.

The next step in the plan was to use a straight bit to follow the profile again and cut away half of the round groove, leaving a cove with a step down to a flat surface. When I was planning the project in CAD, I made a series of profile templates which I used to align the fence and the bit depth.



















And made this cut on all 4 pieces, easy as pie!










The final router carving step was to remove the edge guide but leave the bit at the same height. Then I freehand milled away the rest of the material to the inside of the profile, being careful to stay away from the edge I defined in the previous step. After milling I had to do some sanding to smooth out the marks left by the router bit, but being pine it didn't take long at all.










All of this material removal made a heck of a mess in the garage.










And here's how I fixed the mistake I mentioned earlier: I just used the router to mill away a section of the outside rim down the the same height as the inner land, then glued in a new chunk of wood, pattern routed the outer edge, and recut the cove profile. With a bit of filler to hide the joint lines, you could barely tell it was there even before painting.


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## lightweightladylefty (Mar 27, 2008)

rexb said:


> *My Experimental Technique*
> 
> Now for the fun part! When we left off last time I had 4 identical pieces with their outer profile finished.
> 
> ...


Rex,

This is really pretty straight-forward. Maybe even I could do it! The last part without the guide is where I would probably mess up!

L/W


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

rexb said:


> *My Experimental Technique*
> 
> Now for the fun part! When we left off last time I had 4 identical pieces with their outer profile finished.
> 
> ...


very nice setup.


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## rexb (Mar 28, 2012)

*Finishing Up*

With the hard part of the project done, it was time to finally make this beast into a frame. There was another jig I needed to make: a miter sled. I used the principle many have used before me: it's easier to make a perfect 90 degree cut than to make 2 perfect 45 degree cuts. A couple pieces of plywood later (and hardwood runners) I had a very useful sled that will come in very handy around the shop.



















Quick check that everything matches up - perfect!










Because this frame is very large, I wanted sturdy joinery. I opted to use hardwood splines, which meant another jig. I made a simple tenoning-type jig that rides along the table saw fence. Another jig that will come in handy on future projects.



















I started by glueing the splines into one side of each joint.










Then the final glue-up. It didn't go quite as well as anticipated, but I managed to get everything together and close up most of the gaps. I didn't worry too much since this will eventually painted - those gaps can be filled.










A little flush routing and sanding cleaned the splines right up.










I was extremely pleased to find that the whole frame sat flat on my table saw surface - no warping or twist at all!


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## lightweightladylefty (Mar 27, 2008)

rexb said:


> *Finishing Up*
> 
> With the hard part of the project done, it was time to finally make this beast into a frame. There was another jig I needed to make: a miter sled. I used the principle many have used before me: it's easier to make a perfect 90 degree cut than to make 2 perfect 45 degree cuts. A couple pieces of plywood later (and hardwood runners) I had a very useful sled that will come in very handy around the shop.
> 
> ...


Rex,

It's terrific to come up with an idea and have it all work out so well.

L/W


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## hobby1 (Feb 10, 2012)

rexb said:


> *Finishing Up*
> 
> With the hard part of the project done, it was time to finally make this beast into a frame. There was another jig I needed to make: a miter sled. I used the principle many have used before me: it's easier to make a perfect 90 degree cut than to make 2 perfect 45 degree cuts. A couple pieces of plywood later (and hardwood runners) I had a very useful sled that will come in very handy around the shop.
> 
> ...


nice design, and excellent execution to bring it about.

Beautful workmanship, to turn a construction 2×10 into an elegent frame.


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## rexb (Mar 28, 2012)

*Final Clever Detail*

The last thing to do for this frame was to figure out how it would hang on the wall. I noticed that it was the right size to take advantage of standard 32" stud spacing. I came up with an easy way to make pockets for screw heads without a keyhole router bit.




























This simply involves drilling a shallow hole with a forstner bit then plugging it with a reverse-counterbored chunk of wood. And it made hanging the frame really easy; all I had to do was put two screws in the studs 32" apart and make sure they were level.



















To finish the frame, my wife wanted a distressed look, so we began by staining it dark brown. After drying for about a week, we painted it white, then scuffed up the paint in places to reveal the dark wood beneath.










Whoops, just realized I never took any finished shots of the frame. I'll be back to add some later, and do a project posting. Thanks for following along!

Edit: Here's a final shot. You can see where we scuffed up the paint to make it look old. Turned out pretty well.










The project posting can be found here.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

rexb said:


> *Final Clever Detail*
> 
> The last thing to do for this frame was to figure out how it would hang on the wall. I noticed that it was the right size to take advantage of standard 32" stud spacing. I came up with an easy way to make pockets for screw heads without a keyhole router bit.
> 
> ...


Very nice frame. The menu looks great too! For hangers I usually drill a counter bore a hole and epoxy a steel washer into rabbet. It hangs great on a screw head. Very similar to your solution!


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