Make mitred picture frames and hang them in a row
A mitred picture frame is a small project with several places to go wrong by a few millimetres: how much wood to buy, the saw angle, where the frames sit on the wall and how high the hooks go. This kit takes them in the order you meet them, and each step opens a Toolmoz tool already filled with a worked example.
The examples use frames 50 cm wide and 70 cm tall on a 300 cm wall. Replace them with your own measurements and check every figure against the frame in your hand: the tools work from the numbers you give them and know nothing about your wood, your saw or your wall.
- 5 steps
- About 20 minutes
- Runs on your device; nothing is uploaded
Review status. Not yet reviewed by a specialist in this craft. The arithmetic is checked by tests against independent calculations, but the practical advice is a starting point: if you can improve it, a pull request is welcome (see docs/niche-kits.md in the Toolmoz repository).
Before you start
The boxes are for you while you work. They are not saved and leave this page when you do.
The steps
Work out how much wood to buy
A board foot is 144 cubic inches of wood. Enter the section of the stock in inches, its length in feet, how many pieces and the price per board foot to see the volume and the cost. A frame needs its four sides plus the width of the moulding at every mitre, so measure that first and add waste.
Take from the result: The total board feet and the cost. Add an allowance for waste and defects before buying. The wider 4/4 hardwood example in the Presets menu shows a different section.
Example loaded: Six boards ¾ × 2 in, 8 ft long, at 8 a board foot. Six 8 ft boards of ¾ in by 2 in section for picture frames: one board foot each, six in all, 48 at 8 a board foot before any allowance for waste.
Set the saw for the corners
At each corner of a regular frame the two cuts are equal, so each is half the interior angle measured from the long edge. The tool gives the saw setting away from a square crosscut: 45° for four sides.
Take from the result: The saw setting. The hexagon (30°) and octagon (22.5°) examples in the Presets menu are for other shapes, in flat stock only.
Example loaded: Picture frame: four sides. A four-sided frame has 90° corners, so each of the two cuts at a corner is 45°: the saw is set 45° away from a square crosscut.
Space the frames evenly along the wall
Equal gaps look right when the frames share a width. The tool subtracts the frames from the span and divides what is left into one more gap than there are frames. Fixed end clearances are for a row that has to stop short of a corner or a door.
Take from the result: The left edge and the centre of every frame, measured from the left end of the span. Mark the centres on the wall if you hang from a hook or wire.
Example loaded: Four 50 cm frames across a 300 cm wall. Four frames each 50 cm wide hung across 300 cm of wall with equal gaps, including at both ends: five gaps of 20 cm and the left edge of each frame to measure from.
Find the height of each hook
The hook sits a measured distance below the frame’s top edge. Add half the frame’s height to the height you want its centre at to find the top, then subtract that drop. The tool does the sum and also gives the horizontal position for one or two hooks.
Take from the result: The hook height above the floor. Use the same height for every frame so the tops line up, and take the horizontal positions from step 3.
Example loaded: A 50 × 70 cm frame centred 150 cm above the floor. One 50 cm by 70 cm frame on a 300 cm wall, with its centre 150 cm above the floor and a single hanging point 8 cm below its top edge.
Buy the hooks and fixings
Hooks and fixings come in packs. Give the number you need, an allowance for spoiled ones, the pack size and the price, and the calculator rounds up to whole packs and totals the cost.
Take from the result: The number of packs and the total. Choose fixings for the weight of your frames and the kind of wall, which these tools do not assess.
Example loaded: Picture hooks for eight frames, packs of six at 3.20. Eight hooks needed with a 10 % allowance for spoiled ones, bought in packs of six at 3.20: two packs, 12 hooks and 6.40 with no delivery charge.
When you have the numbers
What this kit does not cover
- Mitre angles are for flat stock with two equal cuts at each corner. Sloping sides, bevels and compound cuts are not covered.
- The tools do not allow for saw kerf, the rebate, glue-up, grain or wood movement: allow for them in your cutting list.
- Nothing here checks the strength of a hook, a wall or a frame, or the safe use of tools and fixings: follow each maker’s instructions.
Sources and further reading
The tools’ own pages explain their methods and list their sources. Presets are worked examples from the Toolmoz repository, each checked against an independent calculation.