Photo frame Pro

How it goes together

The three layers do not measure the same, and that is the whole thing. The window is smaller than the photo — if it measured the same, the photo would fall through the opening — the spacer is bigger — otherwise the photo would not go in — and the outline is identical on all three, because they glue one on top of the other.

You glue the three together and the photo stays inside. Back, spacer and front, in that order. Only glue the layers to each other: if glue reaches the slot, the photo can never be changed again.

With the slot, the photo goes in from the top. That is why the spacer is a U and not a ring: the bar at the top is precisely the mouth it slides through. Without the slot it looks tidier, but the photo is glued inside for good.

The leg is slotted in, not glued. It goes through a slot in the bottom margin of the back, and what holds it is neither a stop nor glue: it goes in at an angle through a slot exactly the width of the material, and a board pushed diagonally into a slot of its own thickness jams itself. That is why the clearance is so small — it is the difference between gripping and falling — and why it is worth measuring the real thickness with a caliper.

The spacer carries the same opening as the back. Without it the leg hits it and stops one thickness short of going in, which is exactly what it needs to jam. The tilt is adjusted by pushing it further in or less.

The text can go on three ways, and they are not equivalent. Glued on comes out as a separate piece and glues on top: it stands out in relief and you can make it in another wood or paint it. Cut out goes through the front, so through the letter you see the spacer behind — it looks great if you paint that layer another colour, and it is the only one that never comes unstuck. Engraved only marks the surface: it is the quickest, but it does not read from a distance.

Cut out, the centres of the letters fall out. The hole in an "o" leaves its centre loose, with nothing holding it: it has to be glued back by hand after cutting. The template tells you how many there are before you download. Glued on and engraved do not have that problem.

Glued on, the outline engraved on the frame is the guide. It is the same text, slightly larger. Freehand the letters always come out crooked; following the outline they end up where they should, and it reads as a shadow around them.

If you want glass or acetate, add its thickness to the clearance: the slot has to make room for the photo and the glass together.