I do some custom woodworking. First off, I have to ask you why you want to bother making your own frames? The reason I ask, is that it is a lot of work and generally more expensive than buying them. In fact, I wait until they are on sale at Michaels or any other craft store. Example, just bought (10) 10 x 13 inch frames for under $54.00, tax included. You can place a 11 x 8 inch photo in them with a 1 inch matt all around. To make that frame I would bet that the materials alone would be much more than that, and that does not include your time.
On the other hand, if you tell me that you want a custom size or custom look or you enjoy the time spent in making something with your own hands, then that is a different story. Then I have to ask you do you intend on buying your wood in the rough? In this state, it is very rough and needs to be machined flat and square. In order to do this properly you need some nice tools. Number one is a good tablesaw. If rough stock is what you will be starting with, then number two is a good jointer. Three would be a planer. Four would be a router, preferable with a router table and obviously some bits to cut your profiles.
If you buy made up stock, you would not need as much equipment. However, made up stock is more expensive and sometimes the stock is not flat or square which will make your mitre joints more difficult to get right.
Let me know what your intentions are and I will be more than happy to give you some further advice.
Hi Jim. Actually, I did think it would be cheaper to build my own. But it actually sounds like it'd be a pain in the butt and require lots of patience.
I'm really bad at that type of stuff (think Homer Simpson projects) and don't have any tools.
I don't know what the hell I was thinking. Oh well.
I did not mean to discourage you. However, like photography or anything else for that matter, to do things well it takes some time and money. If you do not have any tools at this point, then you have a considerable investment to make. I would suggest that you take that money and buy some lenses with it. You can always buy the frames relatively cheaply.
As for making you a frame, I would do that for you. However, the frame would have to be something that you could not find on a shelf anywhere else, hence the need to have it custom made. As a result it would also be relatively expensive. So, if you can find what you want at a store, then you should just buy it.
By the way, I thought your thread on better PP for the images of your dog was a very good one. I hope you finally got the image you wanted.
