DO you always re-cut your first miter? Same saw same blade same operator...why or why not?
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To cut or not to cut?
- Thread starter Mikki Kavich MCPF
- Start date
I have never heard of recutting your first mitre.
I do need to use waste on my single mitre cutter, I get more accurate mitres when the wood extends past the fence closest to the blade.
I do need to use waste on my single mitre cutter, I get more accurate mitres when the wood extends past the fence closest to the blade.
I do. Because I like to shave to ensure a clean cut. Especially if the length vibrates when it cuts. Tells me the length is warped and needs to be inspected better.
If the moulding being used already has a mitre, we will shave or recut it. Why? Because it may be slightly off, chipped, slight warp, or whatever. I prefer to be sure. (I always have my hands on the moulding when cutting, that way I can feel if it moves as it would if it had a slight warp.)
oh, if we are talking about cutting down a frame, or using length that has the mitre already cut, then yes I always recut it. :shame:
well, I almost always recut the mitre.
well, I almost always recut the mitre.
Kai Vanuffelen
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- Kai Vanuffelen Pictureframer
Yes I do for several reasons:
- The stick with the miter in storage can be chipped due to handling
- It has accumulated dust
- It may have been cut with a near dull blade
- The stick with the miter in storage can be chipped due to handling
- It has accumulated dust
- It may have been cut with a near dull blade
The cells in most woods self-heal after cutting. A fresh cut usually will absorb and hold the glue better. Or maybe not, it might be a myth. But flowers do stay fresher longer if their stems are cut just before you put them in water.:smile-new:
If it has been cut in recent times....less than a few years.....and it has no 'visible' damage, I do not recut it. Mind you, a long time ago, in the early days, I was obsessive about cutting the first mitre again, but I matured....or something....saw the error of my obsessive ways and stopped being so bloody absurd!
If you can't see a chip, crack, wham, bam, boom in it when you pick it up and inspect it with your beady little eyes, it's very unlikely that you will see any evidence of any damage after it's joined!
However there is one thing that we should check with mouldings that have 'compo' on them. Sometimes the wood 'swells' a little and can protrude further than the 'compo'. In this case, obsessiveness is permitted and even encouraged!
If a member of the public can't see a chip the size of a golf ball or a gap so wide in a joint that a bus could pass through without touching, on other framers frames, I'm damn sure they won't see a chip the size of the pointy end of a sharp needle, in mine, after I have touched it up with a single haired brush!
Greg,
I doubt very much whether wood heals up and I know that there are no mouldings in this country made from flower stems so, please give the non-obsessive method a try. You might find you like it! LOL.
If you can't see a chip, crack, wham, bam, boom in it when you pick it up and inspect it with your beady little eyes, it's very unlikely that you will see any evidence of any damage after it's joined!
However there is one thing that we should check with mouldings that have 'compo' on them. Sometimes the wood 'swells' a little and can protrude further than the 'compo'. In this case, obsessiveness is permitted and even encouraged!
If a member of the public can't see a chip the size of a golf ball or a gap so wide in a joint that a bus could pass through without touching, on other framers frames, I'm damn sure they won't see a chip the size of the pointy end of a sharp needle, in mine, after I have touched it up with a single haired brush!
Greg,
I doubt very much whether wood heals up and I know that there are no mouldings in this country made from flower stems so, please give the non-obsessive method a try. You might find you like it! LOL.
Ormond, this is probably on the order of canvas needing to breathe. But it is hard to break these habits. But I am going to give it a try.
THINK ABOUT THIS.
Lets lay it on a flat surface to see if it's warped.
Inspect to see if it is chipped.
Feel to see it the grain has swelled.
Blow off any accumulated dust.
Double check that the miter is true.
Anything else???
OR
JUST TRIM THE THING
YOU DECIDE (Be mature when making this decision.)
Lets lay it on a flat surface to see if it's warped.
Inspect to see if it is chipped.
Feel to see it the grain has swelled.
Blow off any accumulated dust.
Double check that the miter is true.
Anything else???
OR
JUST TRIM THE THING
YOU DECIDE (Be mature when making this decision.)
I recut the first miter as a force of habit. The length moulding is stored in a non climate controlled workshop and the humidity and temperature can vary greatly. If the existing miter on the end of a stick was cut on a cold, dry day, it could be off a bit if we are now in the sauna season of summer.
Wood contracts and expands across the grain with changes in humidity and temperature, and can change the miter angle. I have experienced the phenomena when ordering chops of hardwoods (Picture Woods, and Vermont Hardwood). The product is cut and shipped from higher altitudes and lower relative humidity. On a 3" wide walnut the wood can expand enough to cause a 1/8" gap on the outside of the miter. I no longer order mitered chops from either. I get length or square cut chops, allow the wood to acclimate, and then miter it myself.
Wood contracts and expands across the grain with changes in humidity and temperature, and can change the miter angle. I have experienced the phenomena when ordering chops of hardwoods (Picture Woods, and Vermont Hardwood). The product is cut and shipped from higher altitudes and lower relative humidity. On a 3" wide walnut the wood can expand enough to cause a 1/8" gap on the outside of the miter. I no longer order mitered chops from either. I get length or square cut chops, allow the wood to acclimate, and then miter it myself.
Lets lay it on a flat surface to see if it's warped. (Trimming will not unwarp it!)
Inspect to see if it is chipped.
Feel to see it the grain has swelled. (Part of previous inspection)
Blow off any accumulated dust. (It would have to have been sitting around for many years and I would trim it anyway)
Double check that the miter is true. (That would be evident when the joints are made. Never found one that wasn't true)
Anything else???
OR
JUST TRIM THE THING
YOU DECIDE (Be mature when making this decision.)
Made my decision and sticking to it for the remainder of my mature framing life!
Inspect to see if it is chipped.
Feel to see it the grain has swelled. (Part of previous inspection)
Blow off any accumulated dust. (It would have to have been sitting around for many years and I would trim it anyway)
Double check that the miter is true. (That would be evident when the joints are made. Never found one that wasn't true)
Anything else???
OR
JUST TRIM THE THING
YOU DECIDE (Be mature when making this decision.)
Made my decision and sticking to it for the remainder of my mature framing life!
