I have been a member of 8 or 9 clubs over the years and on the whole it has been a beneficial experience. It helped that a work colleague invited me to my first Club so i had someone that i knew there. It happened to be a competition night and i took my 3 transparencies along with the spot duly in the bottom right corner and won first and second place! So naturally i kept on going!!
In my experience members are`nt necessarily being stand off-ish, Just that some find it difficult to approach strangers. I always used to make a point of approaching newcomers but we are all just human and everyone is different. Don`t judge by one single visit, Give it a couple of weeks and do your best to join in!


Regards - Pete

I agree entirely, People see framed prints being sold for just a few pounds and cannot understand why good quality Frames are so costly in comparison. I only framed my own paintings, Any one asking simply for frames were directed to a small local business.
It is surprisingly time hungry - and for me quite a logistical exercise to buy my materials, (Pre- internet). I had to travel 7 miles to the undertakers who supplied glass, 17 miles to a hardware shop for Moulding and most of the other bits and pieces then 21 miles to an art shop for mounting board! If i had a large painting to frame i had to use a different Art shop 27 miles away. Needless to say i tied in these visits with other activities and bought sufficient materials for several frames each time. But to present my work in such quality frames would have been prohibitively expensive if i were to rely on professionally made frames.But if i were to pass on the whole cost in manhours that it took me to make the frames it would be costing at least as much if not considerably more!

Regards - Pete

The link that i provided will cut the Mitres for you. I certainly would not recommend a Mitre Box and Saw They are Ok for houshold DIY but that`s about all!
I still have my Pootatuck Lion Trimmer which is a small version of those used by pro carpenters. When i used to Paint i wanted to sell a few in local shops but at the time a good quality frame would set me back £40, A lot of money to tie up. So after experimenting with buying plain Moulding and staining/Varnishing it myself, I concluded it was just as cheap to buy my own ready coloured moulding. The problem with cheap frames from shops is that the rebate is too shallow to accept 2mm Glass, Mounting Board (X2 in my pics) and a 2mm MDF backing so this was never an option for me.At the time i was able to produce Frames identical to the Pro Framers for £12. As i was selling 3 or 4 paintings per month the trimmer soon paid for itself. In fact the offcuts of moulding gave me a free frame for each 4 that i made.
The finest Saw i have ever used is a modellers Razor Saw but i doubt it would be entirely suitable.
Regards - Pete

Regards - Pete

Yes i am that OLD!!!

Regards - Pete

I told my wife that it was the last day to change our 20 pence coins for the new 25p piece. She was not amused when she returned from the Post Office!

Regards - Pete.

Just enjoyed leafing through the latest PU Mag, When i got to page 23. My eye was caught immediately by John Anthony`s shot of a French Navy Mirage 2000. The Caption made me Giggle!....."One of the RAF`s Battle of Britain Memorial Flights at Conningsby" Picture Ed go to the back of the class!

Reminds me of the time when a bunch of Aviation buffs were aboard a Dan Air flight. The stewardess announced .. Welcome aboard Dan Air Comet 4b... Before she got any further everyone shouted in unison ...4C!!!

Regards - Pete

Hi Ange,
They supply a catalogue and/or samples on request, You could get a rough idea of prices if you look at their discontinued bargain section.


When i last looked at this supplier around 3 years ago they listed all of their prices on the webpage.Sorry i did`nt check that before posting the link but i assumed that they still did that.
Happy framing.

Regards - Pete

It certainly was`nt an afterthought as the earlier ones had the capability of accepting an invercone, Perhaps they were sold separately initially as not everyone might have the need for an invercone and it would keep the price down on the initial purchase.(Or to make more money out of people) I certainly remember them being advertised separately at the time. My Weston IV came supplied with one. But by then i suppose sales were more established and it would have been more of a sales incentive.

Regards - Pete

Interesting concept! But how could you compose for a shot that was ultimately going to end up with straight sides? I could go for it if you had a variable crop in the viewfinder so that i could do portrait,landscape or square images without moving the camera. That would be cool! (O.k i know there`s a camera with a rotating back that does some of these things)

I think its a convincing hoax!
well spotted!Regards - Pete

As an alternative, You could try this company...link
They produce everything from ready made frames to cut to size lengths which are easily glued together yourself. I used to make my own frames years ago. I used to put a small amount of wood glue to each mitre, Tie string around the frame and then slide 8 pieces of wood or clothes pegs under the string then evenly move them up to the corner to create extra pressure. If you were to choose this method then get your 2mm glass cut to size first either plain or non reflective. I used a Logan Matt cutter and steel edged aluminium rule to make a double bevel edged mount, Backed with 2mm MDF and secured with tiny pins. First i would cut a series of slots into the MDF so that the pins would be buried. Then cover with gummed paper tape Then brass eyelets with a good length of gold coloured wire so that the height can be adjusted.
If you want to go the whole hog and cut your own moulding then i recommend the Pootatuck Lion Mitre Trimmer which can be adjusted to cut any angle of mitre so you can make Hexagonal frames or anything you fancy. (But not cheap! I paid £300 for mine 25 years ago but at least it paid for itself!

Regards - Pete