Walnut with inlaid corners

These walnut frames with inlaid blackwood corners from a while ago are now finished, two were made with oil gilded corner rosettes, and two (for a different customer) were made without the gilt corner ornaments. They were given several coats of shellac sanding sealer which was sanded smooth between coats, they were then given a coat of wax which was buffed to a good shine. The corner rosettes were oil gilded and then glued in place.

Polished walnut ripple

A blog watcher sent me a nice message wondering if I ever finished this frame sample. I did but neglected to post the finished result, so here it is, my polished walnut offset corners, pear ripple mouldings with polished and gilded finish, and rosewood centre insert. There were aspects of this frame that I was happy with, others that I was not keen on, but this is nothing unusual. A finished frame was made up, but thankfully it was a simplified version.

Little carved frame

A nice little carved and oil gilded frame, I have just made some repairs and fitted a matt water gilded slip. 

Gaping mitres

Two antique rough sawn and oil gilded frames which have rather big gaps at the mitres.

Corner detail

Just finishing this frame, top photo shows the colour washes being applied, bottom shows the corners leaves being oil gilded, just the final toning and distressing to do now.

Antique portrait frame

This 19th Century Neo-classical cove frame was one I had in stock, a good standard size at 50" x 40" so it was only a matter of time before a painting came along that it was perfect for, and it is always nice to try and use an antique frame if possible instead of making a reproduction.
The frame was overpainted and had lots of little pieces of compo missing, and damage to the gesso on the cove. The pictures are not in order but show it before, during the overpaint is being removed with acetone, during oil gilding, and finished. The painting was sent away to be restored.

Imitation water gilding

On this frame a centre panel with distressed paint and deep polish finish is combined with oil gilding, which imitates a distressed water gilded finish.

Dutch ripple moulding

Here is another frame that has been made while I have been away. It is a classic ripple frame with a deep ebonised polished finish, (often called a Dutch or Flemish frame but this is an inaccurate association as the style was found in many European countries), with oil gilded inner and outer edges. I do like these styles of frames, even though they are often dark the polished finish and the ripples reflect light and create an interesting effect. The original antique frames in this, and similar styles command relatively high prices.

Anyway, back to this frame, the moulding is bought in unfinished lengths (between 2.5m and 3m long) in obeche wood with the ripple pattern already applied in a material known as pasta, which is made from wood pulp and binders. This type of moulding is made something like this; the base moulding is fed through a machine with a metal embossing wheel which has the ripple pattern carved into the wheel, the pasta material (in a dough like consistency) is fed onto the moulding, and as it passes through the wheel and the length of moulding moves through the machine, the ripple pattern is impressed into the pasta.

Gilding walnut

Here the the sight edge on the walnut frame is being oil gilded in double thickness 23.5ct gold leaf. Next comes more polishing, distressing, and the antiquing. I actually want to keep this frame, but the customer has been waiting forever so I will have to make another one for myself.

Oil gilded frame

This frame is made from walnut, it was given a dark rosewood stain and was then oil gilded with 23.5ct gold leaf, the finish was then distressed to reveal the colour of the stained wood, and was finally protected with an acrylic varnish.

Gilded door samples

These are test pieces and are samples of a door, they are for a furniture makers on the same estate as me, the moulding has been oil gilded in 23.5ct gold leaf.

Gilded columns

Different jobs

Now and then I get jobs that are nothing to do with framing. This head sculpture had broken at the base. The metal bolt and all the areas around the repair were sealed with a reversible and stable conservation acrylic resin adhesive, then a two part epoxy adhesive was used to repair the damaged section. The conservation adhesive can be easily reversed in the future if required.

The same technique I used on the head sculpture was used on this glass artwork. All areas around the repair were isolated with a reversible barrier adhesive, then a two part epoxy was used to make a strong repair. 

These two jobs above were done some months ago, but this week I have been working on these turned rosewood columns for a furniture maker. They are being oil gilded in the flutes of the spiral column. I am at the workshop now, waiting for the gold size to reach 'tackiness' before I can put the gold on.