Sellers Home Mirror Frame: Episode 4
Posted 7 June 2023
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Applying the facing to the mirror, fitting the mitres, and finishing it out is very much ‘the icing on the cake’ for this project. The facade completes the illusion that there is no sub-wood but that the frame is made from four mitred pieces with inlaid strips of walnut only. In reality, we have just made a mirror frame from eleven pieces of wood and used mortise and tenon joints on the external corners that no one will ever guess were there. It’s not a common practice, and we have never seen this done anywhere, so we have yet another unique design to complement the Sellers’ Home range once again.
Very nice frame, I’ve enjoyed this project. I think I would have found some round head screws for the loops – I know they’ll never be seen but I like the idea of it looking perfect all the way around!
Hi Paul and Team ,
The Mirror frame looks great . I really enjoyed this project and hope to get started on one in the very near future . Was the finish applied to the frame a Hard Wax oil ? Would shellac and wax have a similar appearance ? regards
Hi Paul, nice mirror frame. Why are the end fibres on the mitre not braking off when you plane straight through?
I have a very sharp plane and I turn slightly at the end, I still loose the inside corner fibres.
Maybe Paul should make a course on how to make drawings. That would provide people with an additional useful skill. Not only for this site projects but also to help one to make his/her own design.
Anyway, one should always verify provided drawings (whoever they come from) as an error or a dimension omission is always possible.
(I remember for example a drawing from Lost Art Press where some dimensions were missing.)
Most of the time, I adapt the project to my needs and material available. Most of the time dimensions are transfered from one piece to another. As I don’t make built-in, final dimensions are seldom critical.
I read an interesting article, I think it was from Popular Woodworking, by a woodworking teacher, a Brit I think, who made drawing skills a part of every day of his course. He mentioned a book titled ‘Drawing on the right side of the brain’, which I purchased, and which is a reasonable way to learn to sketch. I often found that I was able to present a few sketched elevation drawings relatively easily and quickly (of relatively squareish pieces), but they lacked the sort of feel that helped the customer really see the piece.
I also started keeping a design book, similar to the ones I see Paul doing, and being able to sketch is very helpful for those. Especially if it is a bowl, or tic-tac-toe board on a live edge piece, or a funky clock design.
When Paul tells joinery jokes does he ever think to himself that a different joke mitre been funnier?