Custom oak profile

This oak frame profile was machined to order, it is based on an early 20th Century original example frame.

Walnut stain

Two more examples of stained wood frames. These are both walnut, which gives a lovely finish when stained, sealed, and waxed. The top frame is a custom sweep shaped profile and will be a very dark finish, the second frames is a simple flat section and won't be finished as darkly.

Simple oak finish

These photos show the various stages in a simple stained oak finish. My method is to cut and join the frame first, I then give it a very good sand to remove any machine cutting marks, round the edges, and make the mitres nice and flush. I then apply a coat of water based stain. Some people stain the lengths first before joining, but I prefer to stain after joining so I can get the corners perfect, especially with oak which can sometimes be a little tricky to join together. I don't find any problems with stain brush marks or overlaps at the corners. The next stage is a coat of shellac sanding sealer, this is given a rub over with 0000 wire wool, then a coat of medium brown wax, lastly the frame is given a good polish.

Step-by-step photos, taken on my phone which is not the best camera.

Parcel gilt

The inner, outer, and sides are water gilded, and the middle scoop section is stained and waxed.

Last few jobs

Here are a few of the frames that have been finished off this week, some of our typical gilded and painted frames, and a stained and waxed frame. The three gilded frames are all the same moulding profile, just with different sections gilded or not gilded.

Wood and gold

These frames are parcel gilt. This is the old fashioned description of gilding combined with natural wood, or something that is part gilding and part some other type of finish. So the inner and outer sections are water gilded in 23.5ct gold, and the middle scoop is stained and waxed.