How to Make an Infinity Picture Frame
Well…Where do I start? What is an infinity picture frame and why did we build it? An infinity picture frame is made of one continuous piece of wood, with no mitered joints or 4 sides fastened together. That’s what it is, now why?
My son, Compost Cody, painted a picture of our farm way back in 2012. It was a gift for my wife and she immediately hung it on the wall above our dining room table. It is a very large painting 40” x 30” and I have been staring at that picture while we eat for 8 years.
I knew that it needed to be framed but I wanted to make something special, something that will eventually become a family heirloom. It had to be solid and sturdy enough to be moved and handed down from generation to generation. Then I got the idea.
I will make a frame with NO joints. It will be made of one single piece of material. Now, like I mentioned above the painting is 40” wide and 30” tall, which would require one huge tree and I do not know Paul Bunyan personally. So I went and found a perfect sheet of ¾” plywood. It was flat and clean, with very few knots. So follow along and check out how I built this huge infinity picture frame!
Materials
One 4′ x 8′ piece of 3/4″ plywood
Wood Glue
Router with a straight and roman-ogee bits
Step 1
I cut the 4 x 8 sheet in half and glued the pieces together with the best sides on the top and bottom. About half a bottle of wood glue did the trick. I then clamped it, laid it out flat, and weighted the middle. I left it to dry for 3 days. This gave me a solid 1½ inches of thickness to work with.
Step 2
Next, I cut the 4 x 4 sheet to fit our picture with a 6-inch border. This made my dimensions 45 ½” x 35 ½” ( I have a ½” overlap onto the painting front). Notice in the picture I made my own saw guide using a nice straight piece of 2 x 4 pressure-treated wood and 2 clamps. The PT wood is just a little harder and I knew that the saw wouldn’t dig in.
Step 3
Before I cut out the inner piece where the painting will rest, I went ahead and routed the outside with a decorative trim router bit. The reason that I did this was that the project still had a lot of weight to it and it made it much easier to keep the project still while it was being routed. Notice in the picture below that I once again used my saw guide to guide my router.
Step 4
It was now time to cut out the center of our infinity frame. I once again locked down my saw guide and drew out my lines carefully. With my jigsaw, I laid in a plunge cut and moved through the 4 sides using my saw guide to keep me true. I had to set up 4 times to cut this piece out.
Step 5
The outside had a beautiful decorative routed edge on the frame but the middle just had a straight cut and I knew that wasn’t very pretty. But I also knew that I did not want the outside and the inside of the frame to be the same. So, I routed the inside edge with a very simple round-over ogee bit.
Once again I used my saw guide to keep my router straight and true. Again this required 4 set-ups, one for each inside edge.
Step 6
Now I turned the project over and cut the ½” overlap out of the backside to fit the painting dimension. In other words, the front opening is 39 ½’ x 29 ½” and the back will be the full 40” x 30” for the painting to drop in. Once again I used my saw guide to keep my router straight and true. And yet again this required 4 set-ups, one for each inside edge.
Step 7
Next, I flipped the project over and set it on 2 long rails for finishing. I sanded the routed edges with sanding sponges and the flat surfaces with medium-grit sandpaper and a palm sander.
Step 8
Finishing the frame. I used new tack cloths for removing the sawdust. Then, I laid on 3 light coats of Minwax Polyshade. I steel wooled and tacked between each coat to keep the finish smooth and clean.
Step 9
To install the painting, I put a blanket down on my worktable. I turned the project face down to install the painting. The painting dropped right in and the fit was so close that I simply used staples to hold the painting in place.
Step 10
With the project still face down, I installed the hangers. This heavy frame required some heavy duty hardware so I used 2 large D-ring brackets and short screws.
Step 11
Time to stand back and admire the frame!
As I looked at our finished family heirloom, something told me that it needed some clarification, some explanation. So I ordered a plaque to put the cherry on the top.
There that is better!
My wife loved the frame and my son’s artwork finally got the frame that it deserved. I am sure that this picture will be in our family for generations to come.
Conclusion
Well, I thank you for spending some time with me. I truly hope that you will create wonderful memories and heirlooms for your family and all of those that you love. Remember everything that we do for ourselves dies with us, but what we do for others will live on for eternity in the hearts of those that we help. Or should I say Infinity?
Love, Peace, and Light!
Terry
Thistle Downs Farm
Terry has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. He has taught in the New York State School system for 18 years, where he teaches Career and Financial Management, Agricultural Business, Marketing and Distribution, Sports Management, Wildlife Conservation Management, and Resort and Recreation Management. His time has also been spent as an FFA advisor for 12 years and he has been farming his 100-acre family farm since 1991. Terry has a deep love of all types of agriculture and takes every opportunity to promote agricultural education.