Build a Simple Wooden Picture Frame with Hand-Cut Mitred Corners

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A simple wooden picture frame is a useful first hand-tool project because it teaches accurate measuring, sawing, sanding, and glue-up without requiring a large workshop. The frame below is sized for an 8-by-10-inch photo or print, but the method works for any rectangular opening.

Materials and tools

Choose a straight, clear board with a finished thickness of about 3/4 inch. Poplar is easy to cut and paint, while pine is inexpensive but may contain knots or move more as humidity changes. For a stained frame, oak, maple, cherry, or walnut gives better results. You need one board at least 3 inches wide and roughly 6 feet long.

You will also need wood glue, a pencil, a tape measure or steel rule, a sharp marking knife, a square, and a fine-tooth backsaw or hand mitre saw. Use a mitre box if you do not have a mitre shooting board. A block plane, sanding block, and clamps complete the basic setup. For finishing, buy wood stain and clear finish, or use paint and primer.

A backing panel can be 1/8-inch plywood, hardboard, or stiff card. Add glass or acrylic, a photo, and turn buttons or small brads to hold everything in place. Acrylic is safer in a child’s room, but it scratches more readily than glass.

Choose the frame size

Decide whether the stated size is the opening or the glass size. For an 8-by-10-inch print, make the visible opening slightly smaller��about 7 3/4 by 9 3/4 inches—so the edges cannot slip through. The rabbet, or recess at the back of the frame, will hide the remaining edge of the photo.

For a first frame, use 2 1/2-inch-wide stock. A 3/4-inch-wide face around an 8-by-10 opening looks balanced, leaves enough wood for a strong mitre, and gives room for a 1/4-inch rabbet. Cut four pieces several inches longer than needed. Extra length is cheap insurance against a bad first cut.

Mark and cut the rabbets

Before cutting the mitres, mark the back of each board. Draw a line 1/4 inch in from the back edge and another line 1/4 inch down from the rear face. Remove the waste between these lines with a router, rabbet plane, or multiple careful passes with a chisel. The recess should be deep enough for the glass, print, and backing to sit slightly below the back surface—usually 3/8 inch.

If you do not own a router, buy a woodworking rabbet plane or use a chisel. A hand-cut rabbet does not need to be decorative; it only needs a flat bottom and square shoulders. Test the depth with your actual glass and backing. A recess that is too shallow will leave the contents proud of the frame.

Cut the four mitres

Measure from the short point of one mitre to the short point of the opposite mitre. For the example frame, make the two long pieces 10 inches between short points and the two short pieces 8 inches between short points. This measurement is more useful than measuring the overall board length because the visible opening is controlled by the short points.

Mark each cut with a knife, then carry the line across the face and down the sides with a square. Keep the waste on the outside of the frame. Support the board firmly in a mitre box and saw slowly on the waste side of the line. A fine blade and light pressure produce a cleaner cut than forcing a coarse saw.

Cut one piece, then use it as a template for its opposite piece. Flip the template end for end so the mitres face correctly. Label the back of the parts “top,” “bottom,” “left,” and “right.” Confusing the orientation is a common cause of a frame with two mitres pointing the same way.

Fit and correct the joints

Lay the four pieces face up on a flat surface and bring the corners together without glue. Check the opening with a square and measure both diagonals. If the diagonals differ by more than 1/16 inch, adjust the joints before assembly.

Small gaps at the outside tips can be reduced by trimming the long points with a sharp plane or sanding block. Do not round over the mitres. If a corner has a wide gap across its entire face, the cut is not at 45 degrees or the board was not held flat. Recutting is usually faster and stronger than filling a large gap with putty.

Glue and clamp the frame

Apply a thin coat of glue to both mitred faces. Too much glue makes the joint slide and creates a difficult cleanup problem inside the rabbet. Assemble the frame on wax paper and use picture frame corner clamps or a band clamp. Check the diagonals again before the glue sets.

Wipe away squeeze-out with a barely damp cloth, especially in the rabbet and on the front face. Leave the frame clamped for at least 30 minutes, then allow the glue to cure for several hours. Do not lift it by one corner during this period. For a large or heavy frame, reinforce the back of each mitre with a spline or small metal corner brace after the glue cures.

Sand and finish

Sand the frame by hand with 120-grit paper, followed by 180 grit. Sand with the grain on the face and use a folded piece of paper on the mitres. Stop at 180 or 220 grit; polishing soft wood too finely can make stain absorb unevenly.

Ease the outside edges with one or two light sanding strokes. A sharp edge chips easily and feels unfinished. If painting, apply primer first, especially on pine end grain. If staining, test the color on an offcut. End grain at the mitres often absorbs more finish and turns darker, so a pre-stain conditioner may help on pine.

Install the glass and backing

Clean the glass before placing it in the rabbet, then add the photo and backing. Secure the stack with turn buttons, flexible tabs, or small brads driven into the back edge. Predrill for brads in thin stock to avoid splitting the frame.

Attach a hanger sized for the finished weight. A small sawtooth hanger is fine for a lightweight frame; wire and two screw eyes hold a heavier glass-filled frame more securely. Test the frame on a wall before adding the final photograph, particularly if the project was made during a damp or very dry season.