After completing this 1000 piece wooden puzzle I decided I liked it so much I thought I’d make a frame for it. The puzzle itself was quite challenging, but the frame proved to be a chore in itself. I used flat, mild steel stock for the frame, and 3/8″ square stock for the borders. After welding all the edges I ground them all down for a nice, smooth finish. I then gave the bare frame a rust colored finish to protect it from actual rust. The filigree pieces at the corners, and badges on the top and bottom rails I cut out of 1 1/2″ mild steel flat stock, on a band saw, welded them together and ground them smooth, down to the bare steel finish. I then hand filed all the edges to remove the saw marks. I also gave the completed frame, less figures, a few coats of Satin Polyurethane for added protection.
The beautiful, fine Pewter Castles I added are some of Perth Pewter’s finest pieces. They contain many Swarovsky, lead glass crystals that sparkle very nicely under lights.
So I’m glad I decided to frame this puzzle, and I’m very happy with the end result. Hope you like it too.

For this poster frame I’ve used sections of mild steel and done some extensive torch work on each piece. I’ve burned all the edges, and melted some sections causing the steel to run and drip. I then rough welded all the pieces together, and have left it with it’s natural finish to rust over time.

For this movie poster frame I used mild steel flat stock, and square, twisted stock. After welding and grinding all the edges smooth, I then went over the entire frame with sanding discs and scotch pads to create the bright finish. I flattened out some copper pipe and cut out various shapes and hand riveted them into place at the corners, and added a few other elements of steel to the bottom. I drilled a number of holes at the top right and side, went around them with some copper work, and placed some fluorescent material behind them to create the “bio-luminescence” feature of the beings plants, and other creatures in the film.

“Orthanc” is one of the main Towers in “The Lord of the Rings” films. This frame was made from mild steel flat and round stock. I wanted to bring out some features of the Orthanc Tower out onto the frame, so I burned out lengths of flat stock and welded them into place to resemble the outer construction of the Tower. I then placed some fins and stairs of the same design at top and bottom. Finished frame was gone over with a heavy wire wheel.

“Alice” is a Lenticular poster. It is a kind of 3-D poster that when viewed from different angles, allows Alice to grow or shrink. I started this frame with mild steel flat stock, then bent some thin monell material to a curved shape. Welded all these pieces together, and went over the entire frame with sanding discs and scotch pads. I then added some flattened copper pipe accents to each corner, and hand riveted them into place.

For the frame of this canvas photo of a Gargoyle at the top of Notre Dame Cathedral, I’ve cut lengths of steel, barbed wire fence posts, burned all the edges with a torch, and rough brazed them together. I then burned all the remaining paint from the frame, and went over it with a wire wheel and left, as is, to rust over time.

This copper pipe frame was one of the first frames I made using this material. The actual image in the frame is a puzzle I liked very much and decided to frame. The copper is all the same size, including the corners, bands and points. I’ve rough soldered all the pieces together, leaving solder to run as it would. I then went over the finished frame with scotch pads.

This frame consists of many different widths and layers of mild steel arranged to suggest the architecture in the underground Dwarf mines of Moria, in “The Lord of the Rings” films. Gollum, as seen here, is a maquette, or model, used for reference when making these films. It’s creator is unknown.

I’ve used various lengths and widths of mild steel stock, layered and welded together to create this frame. I then went over the entire frame with sanding discs and scotch pads to create a bright finish. I then hand riveted some copper accent pieces to each side of the frame.

This frame was made with mild steel flat stock and angle. After burning all the edges with a torch, and cutting them to length, I rough welded them all together. I then laid on hand bent lengths of steel rod, and welded them into place. I then went over the entire frame with a heavy wire wheel.

After burning the edges with a torch, I cut these lengths of flat, mild steel stock to length, heated them again and bent them into the necessary shapes needed. After rough welding the pieces together, the whole frame was gone over with a wire feed welder set at a very low voltage to create the webbed effect. The finish is left natural to rust over time.

Although this is not a Picture Frame I thought I’d add it to my site anyway. Alan Lee was the lead concept artist for “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy movies, and others. I bought his “Sketchbook” and thought it was so incredible I felt it needed more of a place than sitting on a shelf or coffee table. The work of a true Master should be given a more special treatment. Some of the drawings in this book are hard to distinguish from photographs. His treatment of faces, clothing, armor, architectural elements, horses and creatures, etc. are second to none.
I started by burning out two mild steel plates, and welding flat steel stock to each to create the compartment for the book. I then welded heavy hinges on one side. On the back side, I’ve added stitching around the outer edge which is 1/8″ steel rod, bent and welded into place. I’ve added an “eye” hologram to the center of the back, which is hard to see here.
I then cut up a number of square stock pieces and welded them around the outside edges. For the inside, I lined all sides, front and back, with suede leather, laid in a few cutouts from the “Trilogy”, and placed them under glass. The book fits nicely inside. I finished off the box with it’s title done in metalwork on the front.

I’ve used lengths of mild steel flat stock and angle, for this frame. All edges were burned with a torch to leave a melted effect on them. After drilling numerous holes around the frame, I welded in steel studs in each hole, and all pieces were rough welded together to complete the frame. I then added spars, and other pieces to the corners and centers of the frame which reflect the Airship in the image. The small pewter figure in his airship at the top center is by Rawcliffe.

I’ve taken lengths of mild steel flat stock, heated them and bent them to the necessary angles, burned all the edges, and rough welded them all together. I then burned holes through the frames edges, behind which I laid some blue paper, seen through these burned holes. The finish was left natural to rust over time.

I once again burned out the necessary lengths of mild steel with a torch to create a rough, melted edging. I then rough welded these pieces together and drilled holes all the way around the inner perimeter to accept the Dragon’s “teeth” which I made from ground down round stock, and welded into place. The finish is just the burned steel and natural finish left to rust over time.

This is another LOTR poster I’ve had for years, done long before the films were made and all the characters and landscapes were decided on. I’ve burned out many small mild steel plates, staggered them over each other and welded them in place adding some spot welds that resemble the rivets holding the Orc’s armor together. I then added a small pewter figure, by Gallo, pointing the way. The steel is left natural to rust over time.

Wayne Barlowe is an incredible artist that has written two books, complete with paintings, about his trip to Hell and back. “Barlowe’s Inferno”, and “Brushfire” are fascinating, scary books by a master artist. His third book, on the subject of Hell, is titled “God’s Demon” and is essentially about war in Hell. I’ve created this frame taking elements from his books and bringing them out onto the frame,i.e. the two Demon figures at each bottom corner, spewing out their constant stream of filth, and Cerberus, who guards the gates of Hell. I’ve burned in some Demon glyphs and painted behind them with neon colors. These glyphs constantly float through the air and around the Demons of Hell. Since all his buildings and roads are made of compressed “souls”, I went around the entire frame with some suede leather and embedded glass eyes and bones at various points, as described in his books. At the top I’ve placed a Celtic Cross, representing Heaven, where all Hell’s Demons came from, and just how far they have fallen. The inset is a copy of the cover of his book “God’s Demon”. All edges were burned with a torch also reflecting the “Heat” of Hell.

This poster was done many years before “The Lord of the Rings” movies were made, so the characters weren’t as clearly defined at this time. This frame was made of all flat, mild steel which I torch cut and bent into the shape needed. I then rough welded the pieces together and covered the entire frame with spot welds. I’ve left the finish to rust over time.

I’ve taken lengths of flattened copper pipe, cut and bent them to the desired shape, staggered them over each other around the frame, and rough soldered them into place over a wooden frame. I then went over all the copper with wire wheels and scotch pads.

This is another of my first copper frames. I made the basic frame of wood, then cut up flattened copper pipe to length. I then laid them over the wood and tacked and rough soldered them into place. I was after a block wall effect as in the block walls of the Castle. I then went over the entire frame with scotch pads and wire wheels.

This was one of the first frames I made using copper. I slit lengths of copper pipe, hammered them flat, cut and bent them by hand as needed, and rough soldered them all together. I then placed the finished copper over a wooden frame and secured it in place. The inset picture is a magazine photo of “Angkor Wat”, in Cambodia. This painting always reminded me of a scene from Apocalypse Now, and the inset picture seemed appropriate.