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Materials:
- 1x 6 pine
- 2 mil mirror to fit size of frame
- Four 2 ½" or 3" wood screws
- Three 1 ½" wood screws
- Glue
- Desired finish
- Four 1 ½" finish nails
- Eight ½" pan-head brass screws
- 2 copper plumbing clamps for ½ inch pipe
- Copper plumber's tape
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Tools
- Scroll saw and a variety of blades
- Drill
- Drill bits
- Driver bits
- Carpenter's square
- Safety glasses
- Latex gloves
- Pencil
- Two clamps
- Ear protection
- Router
- Router bit
- Non-skid mat
- Hammer
- Nail set
- Tin snips
- Needle nosed pliers
- Hand screwdriver
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Cut List:
Cut a randomly curving line down the middle of 1"x 6" pine boards
to give you the following:
- Frame - 2 pieces about 24 inches long, plus 2 pieces
about 16 inches long
- Shelf - 1 piece at about 26 inches
- Shelf brackets - 2 pieces at 5 inches
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Steps:
Mag
demonstrating a scroll saw |
Close-up
of scroll saw |
Mag's
first mirror finished with analine dyes |
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Set up the saw at a height just below eye level so that you
can see easily while standing and making cuts. Be sure to
have a good source of light from two directions so that shadows
don't obscure the view of the blade. Practice with some scrap
wood to get the feel of the saw. Play with the tension on
the blade and with different blades.
Different blades have more or fewer teeth per inch, and work
differently depending on the type of wood you're using. Practice
making curves and swirls in the variety of wood you intend
to use for your mirror frame.
Work freehand - draw cut lines on the board and attempt to
follow them with the saw.
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Close-up of a curved joint cut with a scroll saw |
Cutting
to a drawn cut-line |
The
first completed cut |
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Cut the boards for the four frame pieces larger than the
desired outside width and height of the finished frame because
you'll need extra room for cutting the wavy joints.
Draw cut lines on each of the four frame pieces and follow
the lines on the scroll saw, or go freehand and just see what
happens (recommended!).
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Lay the boards out to determine how you want the corners
to fit together. Place the boards so that the side pieces
fit inside the top and bottom pieces (this way the screws
won't show when you screw them together).
Place the sides on the table first and the top and bottom
on top of them. Use a carpenters square on the outside edges
so that the frame is square. At the corners, trace the wavy
pattern of the top and bottom pieces onto the side pieces.
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Carefully cut along the scribed lines |
When finished, the joint should fit snugly together |
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| Go back to your scroll saw and cut carefully cut along the
lines drawn on the side pieces. The more precise your cuts are,
the tighter the joint will fit when you glue the pieces together.
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Apply glue to the joint |
Use carpenters glue on both sides of the joint |
Push the pieces together |
Use
the square for alignment |
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After cutting, place the pieces on a flat surface and check
the joints for accuracy. As long as most of the surface is
touching, the frame should glue together quite well. Apply
glue to all the surfaces that touch. There should be eight
surfaces total.
Then, put the pieces in place and check their position using
the square.
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Clamp and let the glue dry overnight |
Screw
the corners together from the top and the bottom for added strength |
Place the frame on a non-skid mat for routing |
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When the joints are as good as they can be, clamp the pieces
together. While the glue is still wet, sand the surface and
the dust from sanding will fill any open gaps and be held
in place by the glue. Let the glue set up overnight. Remove
the clamps.
Drill holes from the top and bottom edge of the frame using
a countersink bit and drive in a long screw. The hole may
have to be very deep for the screw to reach the side pieces.
Screws are necessary because the frame will be holding the
weight of the glass mirror and a bottom shelf.
After the frame is screwed together, place it on a non-skid
mat in preparation for routing.
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Use a router to give a decorative edge to the inside of the
frame |
Choose a router bit with a guide wheel on the bottom
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There are many types of bits to choose from |
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Rout
the top and the bottom edge of the shelf |
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| All routers are different and so it is important to follow
the manufacturers directions in using them so, read up or get
a lesson from an experienced router enthusiast. Next, cut a
shelf out of one by six pine. The shelf should be about two
inches longer than the width of the frame. Rout the edges on
three sides. If desired, the edges can be routed from both the
bottom and the top giving an unusual but perky look. |
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Use
a scroll saw to cut brackets and a router to give the same edge
as the shelf |
Center
the shelf under the mirror and attach it with screws |
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Make two brackets to fit under the shelf using the scroll
saw and router. Rout the edge of the brackets from both sides
to look like the shelf. The brackets should be about five
inches square before you scroll them into a traditional 'S'
shape.
Clamp the brackets to the shelf about five inches in from
the end and pre drill through the top of the shelf into the
brackets. Use glue on the touching surfaces. Drive in finishing
nails and set them so the heads are slightly below the level
of the wood surface.
Attach the shelf to the bottom of the mirror frame with glue
and screws. Predrill and counter sink three or four holes
for 1-½ inch screws. Be sure the back of the shelf is flush
with the back of the frame and that the shelf is centered
as well. Sand, and then apply the desired finish.
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Cut a copper plumbing clamp in half to fashion a mirror clip |
Bend
it in a Z shape to fit over the mirror |
Cut and bend once more so that it will fit over the corner of
the mirror |
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Either cut the mirror yourself with a glass cutting tool,
or have the mirror cut to the size necessary to cover the
opening in the frame. Attach it with clips to the back.
Most mirror clips are bulky but smaller-profile clips can
be made out of copper plumbing clamps. Copper is soft and
easy to work with so it's relatively easy to improvise a clip
that will hold the glass in place.
Cut a plumbing clamp in half leaving two pieces, each with
a pre-drilled hole. Bend one piece into a 'Z' shape, with
two right angles, that will just fit over the glass when the
end with the hole in it is pressed against the wood. Cut a
slit half way through the width of the clip at the angle.
Bend the flap over the glass. Use needle nose pliers to bend
another right angle down so that the clip now covers two edges
of the glass at the corner.
Repeat, making one clip for each corner.
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Attach the clip and mirror with small brass screws |
Attach pre-drilled copper plumber's tape to the back for hanging |
Finished
mirror with shelf and brackets |
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Attach the glass with the clips. Drive ½" pan-head brass screws
through each pre-drilled hole to
hold the clips firmly in place. To hang the mirror, cut two
pieces of copper plumber's tape about two inches long. Attach
them to the back of the mirror frame with brass screws. Leave
enough of the tape free at one end that it can be hooked over
the head of a nail or screw in the wall. Take a glance in the
mirror and reflect on the beauty and originality of asymmetry.
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More topics
Trace all four corners