Method guide

Picture-frame long point and short point guide

FrameCut separates the front visible opening from the rear rabbet opening. This avoids a common mistake: using the package size as the miter short-point dimension without accounting for the rabbet lip.

Core geometry

Visible opening = rabbet opening − 2 × rabbet width. The visible opening is the distance between the inside front edges of the moulding. Finished outside = visible opening + 2 × face width.

Cut dimensions

For a horizontal rail, the long point equals the finished outside width and the short point equals the visible opening width. For a vertical stile, the same rule uses the outside and visible heights.

Artwork and mat mode

The mat window is the artwork size minus overlap on both sides. The mat outside size is the window plus two mat borders. That package determines glass size, and fit clearance is added to find the rabbet opening.

Kerf and stock

The optional kerf allowance uses eight conservative saw cuts—two miters on each of four members. The stock-length count is a total-length estimate; each stock stick must still be long enough for the individual members.