ReferenceFrame: Frame Designer

The fiddly arithmetic of picture framing: cut lists, mat openings, rabbet depths, material stacks — calculated so you don't have to do it on your favorite scrap plywood.

ReferenceFrame does the math for custom picture framing. Enter your artwork size and frame stock dimensions, and it sorts out mat cuts, rabbet clearances, material stack depths, and a complete cut list.

WHAT IT DOES

• Calculates frame, mat, and cut dimensions from your artwork size
• Checks that everything actually fits in the rabbet (and tells you when it won't)
• Generates a technical cross-section diagram with labeled dimensions
• Plans corner spline slots: placement and safe depth for your moulding
• Lays out hanging hardware: hanger positions, wire length, and where the hook lands
• Estimates finished weight and wire tension from real wood, glass, and board densities
• Exports a PDF summary you can take to the workshop
• Saves configurations and keeps a history of your designs

DETAILS

• Inches (including fractions) or millimeters
• Traditional rabbet or sight-size (full-bleed) frame styles
• "Cut to fit" sizes that honor assembly clearance
• Standard and custom artwork sizes
• Adjustable defaults for frame stock, mat width, material thicknesses, and more
• Works entirely offline — nothing leaves your device

Built for anyone who's ever needed to know exactly how wide to cut a mat, and would rather not find out the hard way that they were off by an eighth.