Picture Frame Calculator — Dimensions & Cut List
Plan a rabbeted picture frame from its package, outside or visible opening. Get finished rail dimensions, a feasible stock cutting plan and a printable shop sheet.
MEASURE THE FRAME · PLAN EVERY STICK
A cut plan that fits the timber you buy
Turn package, outside or visible-opening dimensions into a 45° frame and an actual allocation of blanks to stock. One moulding profile per plan.
1 frame · 4 square blanks · finished outside 11.125 in × 13.125 in
Minimum stock count for this blank-first workflow.
Outside: 11.125 in × 13.125 in. The dashed rectangle is the rear shoulder; the clear centre is the smaller visible opening. Adjacent 45° faces meet at the four corners.
| Reference | Width | Height |
|---|---|---|
| Package / glass / mat | 8 in | 10 in |
| Rear shoulder | 8.125 in | 10.125 in |
| Visible / short points | 7.625 in | 9.625 in |
| Outside / long points | 11.125 in | 13.125 in |
Cut the square blanks, then finish the mitres
Horizontal rails × 2
11.375 in blankFinish to 11.125 in long point to long point.
Short point to short point: 7.625 in.
Vertical rails × 2
13.375 in blankFinish to 13.125 in long point to long point.
Short point to short point: 9.625 in.
Extra at each blank end: 0.125 in. Crosscut kerf: 0.125 in. Unusable at each stock end: 0.25 in.
Allocate every blank · 1 sticks
Green: horizontal rails · gold: vertical rails · dark ends: unusable stock · red: saw loss · pale: offcut.
- Vertical · 13.375 in
- Vertical · 13.375 in
- Horizontal · 11.375 in
- Horizontal · 11.375 in
Remaining offcut: 45.5 in
Material balance and cutting assumptions
48.5 in finished long-point footprints + 1 in blank trim + 0.5 in unusable stock ends + 0.5 in square-crosscut loss + 45.5 in remaining offcuts = 96 in purchased.
Long-point footprints include the triangular waste at the mitres; they are not the length of the short edge. Each cut's position follows the preceding blank and its kerf. No fraction of an offcut is counted as another stock stick.
Start with the dimension you actually measured
The package is the glass, mat and backing that sit inside the rear recess. If you are adding a mat, use its outside dimensions, not the smaller artwork or cutout. This planner does not design the mat. The visible opening is smaller than the rear shoulder opening because the rabbet lip overlaps it. The outside size is the long-point-to-long-point size of each finished rail.
Per axis, rear shoulder = package + 2 × clearance; visible opening = rear shoulder − 2 × rabbet width; finished outside = visible opening + 2 × full face width. Rabbet width is horizontal overlap. Check the recess depth separately against the total thickness of glass, mat, art, backing and fasteners; depth and structural strength are not calculated here. The rabbet width must exceed the fitting clearance so the lip still overlaps the package.
How to use this cutting plan
- Prepare straight stock and measure usable dimensions. The end-loss setting removes the entered amount from BOTH ends of every stick.
- Cut the square-ended blanks in the shown order. Each blank includes the entered extra at both ends. Saw kerf is counted between usable pieces; a terminal remnant smaller than the kerf is consumed, not saved as an offcut.
- Mark the finished long points inside each blank, then cut the opposing 45° mitres. Keep the moulding face and rabbet orientation consistent. The triangular mitre waste is already within the blank footprint.
- Test the first matching pair, dry-fit around the actual package, then repeat. Remaining offcuts are measured along the stock and have not been allocated to another project.
This is a square-blank-first plan. It does not assume shared angled cuts, flip a profiled moulding to nest pieces, or model a guillotine/chopper setup. The minimum label applies only to this workflow and these inputs. For a larger or search-limited job, a feasible plan may use more sticks than the unknown optimum.
Why total length can understate the purchase
A 25 × 35 in outside frame needs two 25 in rails and two 35 in rails before extra trim. Their 120 in total looks like three 48 in sticks, but no two pieces fit on one stick: even 25 + 25 is 50. You need four sticks. The allocation below checks each individual blank and the kerf.
Limits and references
Rectangular, flat, 45°-mitred frames with one standard rabbeted profile. No float frames, fillets, curved or compound profiles, joined short stock, defect mapping or structural/hanging assessment. Enter measured stock and clearances appropriate to your materials. Displayed dimensions are rounded to six decimal places; unit switching retains the exact stored lengths.
The PPFA framing study guide, page 6, distinguishes face and rabbet measurements, fitting allowance and saw waste. This calculator uses its own dimensional and stock-allocation model, not a universal percentage waste allowance.
For straight room trim, use the baseboard cutting planner. For lumber volume, use the board-foot calculator.
