This is what I wanted, a picture frame for my drawing. The drawing is an odd size, so there are no standard (cheap) frames available, hence a custom frame needed to be made.
I thought a rustic look suited pussy willows, so finger jointed 1 x 2 was okay for this job. Although current glues are very good I wanted to give the corners a little extra support. The wood is less than 3/4 thick (after sanding) and only 1 1/4 wide (after trimming) so I felt dowels would be more trouble than they would be worth. Instead I opted for veneer splines to add glue surface to the mitred corner.
To cut the slots I used my Moxon vise to hold my work.
The 'real' Moxon style vise is generally used for holding boards while cutting dove tail joints. You can buy, and spend a bunch of money for the 'real' thing.
My vise clamps to my work table and uses clamps instead of screws to move the jaws holding the material being sawn. As far as I can tell it works fine.
The mitred corner is clamped in the vise where it is very well supported and I used a rip saw to cut the slot. After the slot was cut I used 80 grit sand paper to widen the slot slightly to fit the veneer I had available.
I cut the veneer with a sharp knife and glued it in place.
I give the glue several hours to dry before I slice off the excess with a flush cut saw and knife.
I could easily hide the spline with some stain if I wanted. This project doesn't require the extra step. After making many picture frames over the years I think I have found the one I like the best. A larger frame from thicker wood could easily have two splines per corner and be quite solid.
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