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| Making Splines for Picture Frame Corners |
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 Fastening corners of picture frames can be challenging. There are a number ways to accomplish this task and some are better than others. When you are manufacturing picture frames it becomes more and more important that the corners of the frame be held fast as the frames get bigger and bigger. It becomes even more important when glass is used in the picture frame. There are many options for fastening corners. The first and easiest (note I did not say 'best”) is to use some kind of a mechanical fastener like nails, staples, steel straps, headless pins or screws. Each one of these mechanical connectors has it own problems. Small finishing nails that are driven in with a hammer tend to loosen joints. Screws need to be pre-drilled and look ugly, staples also have to be hammered and using an air nailer and 18 or 23 gauge pins may not be sufficient for larger frames. The best way to fasten the sides of a picture frame is to glue “splines” into the corners. Yes, it is more more, but the splines look more professional and are unquestionably the best option. They hold the corners firm, they are permanent and they add a nice detail to the frames. To see how to make splines in the corners of your frames … read on. In order to make splines, you will need to make a jig in order to hold your picture frames while they are pushed through a table saw in order to cut the slots for the splines. For smaller and moderate sized frames a 12' x 9” by 3/4” scrap piece of plywood will work nicely (we'll call this the backer board). You will also need a couple of 3/4” x 12” x 2” pieces of scrap wood for the arms to support the frame.
When the arms are afixd the jig is ready to use. All that needs to be done is to align the jig with the fence so that when it is tight against the fence, and the fence is adjusted, the table saw blade will make slice through the corner of the frame. Be sure that the cut through the frame will not interfere with the glass or the picture. The slice should be through the thickest part of the frame. Copyright Colin Knecht 
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Comments (2)
  written by Painter33, December 02, 2011
To make a frame corner that uses two or three splines, one should make a jig that has two cuts - one for the cuts toward the face/back and one for the middle. Flip the frame around to make either the second or third cut, depending on how deep the molding sides are. I also use a thin kerf dado-type setup (but use small full blades with spacers) to make all the cuts at once. That way, they're consistent at all four corners.
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