Frame 2.0
Frame 2.0 is a failure. So that's where I'm at. Monday night I took the embroidery off the frame because I was so frustrated. Here's what I've gone through so far with frames:
Frame 0.0
No frame. Didn't work. Started over.
Frame 1.o
1 inch square red oak. Nice wood, but far too heavy. My frame stand could not support the weight. The only way I could work on it was to put the stand on a table adn use it to prop up the frame. This made doing the embroidery really slow, and bending over the piece made my back hurt.
Frame 2.o
This is the one you see in the pictures of the project. It worked much better than Frame 1.0, but had its own problems. 1. It was made from Aspen, a really bad choice. I did not choose what type of wood. I will never, never, never make anything from Aspen again. Ever. Did I say never enough? One more time. I will never use Aspen again for ANYTHING. I don't care what the project is. You couldn't PAY ME to use it. The first problem with Frame 2.0 is that the holes were drilled to big for dowel rods. My dowel rods are 1/2" round, and that is the size of the holes in the stretcher bars. And this is where the problems begin. Because aspen is soft and the holes are too big in the stretcher bars, when they are tightened down to hold the dowel rods, there is tension for a while and then I have to tighten it again by turning the dowel rods. I had to tighten the bolts so far that the ends touched. I wrapped some of my embroidery tape around the ends of the dowel rods. My hope was this would add just enough size to the dowel rods so there wouldn't be a problem with the frame losing tension. It didn't work. It only made it so I couldn't tighten up the tension because the dowl rods didn't turn anymore due to the tape on them. Also, the started to crack while I was taking it apart. Aspen is far from the ideal material when it comes to embroidery frames.
Frame 3.0
I already have plans for it. I don't know if I'm building it or TJ is. It will be made from maple. Maple isn't heavy and is hopefully stiff enough to have some spring to it. I've already picked up the maple. If I don't use it for my frame, I will be using to make smaller frames to sell to anyone who wants one. More and more people are asking me about the small frame I have so I'm going to start making them.
Frame 0.0
No frame. Didn't work. Started over.
Frame 1.o
1 inch square red oak. Nice wood, but far too heavy. My frame stand could not support the weight. The only way I could work on it was to put the stand on a table adn use it to prop up the frame. This made doing the embroidery really slow, and bending over the piece made my back hurt.
Frame 2.o
This is the one you see in the pictures of the project. It worked much better than Frame 1.0, but had its own problems. 1. It was made from Aspen, a really bad choice. I did not choose what type of wood. I will never, never, never make anything from Aspen again. Ever. Did I say never enough? One more time. I will never use Aspen again for ANYTHING. I don't care what the project is. You couldn't PAY ME to use it. The first problem with Frame 2.0 is that the holes were drilled to big for dowel rods. My dowel rods are 1/2" round, and that is the size of the holes in the stretcher bars. And this is where the problems begin. Because aspen is soft and the holes are too big in the stretcher bars, when they are tightened down to hold the dowel rods, there is tension for a while and then I have to tighten it again by turning the dowel rods. I had to tighten the bolts so far that the ends touched. I wrapped some of my embroidery tape around the ends of the dowel rods. My hope was this would add just enough size to the dowel rods so there wouldn't be a problem with the frame losing tension. It didn't work. It only made it so I couldn't tighten up the tension because the dowl rods didn't turn anymore due to the tape on them. Also, the started to crack while I was taking it apart. Aspen is far from the ideal material when it comes to embroidery frames.
Frame 3.0
I already have plans for it. I don't know if I'm building it or TJ is. It will be made from maple. Maple isn't heavy and is hopefully stiff enough to have some spring to it. I've already picked up the maple. If I don't use it for my frame, I will be using to make smaller frames to sell to anyone who wants one. More and more people are asking me about the small frame I have so I'm going to start making them.
Labels: Embroidery, Frame
posted by Constanza at 9:53 PM
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