Brush up on techniques - advice please

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+Rafe+
Posts: 165
Joined: Wed 26 Apr, 2017 4:33 pm
Location: SE London
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Interests: Theatre, film, the arts, a bit of this, a bit of that

Brush up on techniques - advice please

Post by +Rafe+ »

Hi all, I hope you are well... I need a bit of advice or a bit of correction regarding my techniques on a couple of points. Please can I get your view / help.

Shadow Float Mounting -
I am happy using the Hedgehog method and comfortable using Japanese tissue papers and wheat starch but conscious I could be working better - My method... 2.4mm mount or foam board backing that is bevel cut approx 20mm smaller along each side than the artwork. When I use the Japanese tissue hinges I place a piece of Tyvek paper under the print (by about 2/5mm) to stop any stray fibre of the tissue sticking to the bench. I use a brush to gentle brush the tissue hing in place. I then leave these to dry for at least 2hrs before removing the release papers covering the bevel.
I have read and aware some folk use blotting papers on top of the hing. When I have attempted this I have had issues with the blotting paper then sticking to the hing / hing area... What are your techniques / experiences?

Once I have the artwork mounted on the above board I then glue the board to my chosen backing board - this is the part I hate trying to ensure its square and true. Any tips please? I've heard to glue to an oversized board and trim that down, however I haven't felt the most confident to try this. I am concerned about using a blade and cutting straight edge, the keencut straight edge is quite wide and anxious of either slipping with the blade or the straight edge slipping.... what are your tips?

Regarding gluing the board, I've cocked up on a job a few weeks ago and spent most of a day peeling off the backboard and feel I might have over done the glue, I spread glue across the entire board leaving gaps where the hinges would be .... I'm guessing this is overkill, what are your methods?

Spaces -
I have asked this of a few framers and seems there are a few techniques. I use a lot of R&H spaces (f2) and alike and mount covered foam board.
My method is to cut the length on the morso with the bevel side facing the inside of frame rebate. I use the 'pinwheel' configuration and wood glue to glue the entire length to the frame clamping overnight.
My worry has been if the frame needs to reglazed its likely to need a new frame trying to release the spacer without destroying the frame is unlikely.
I would be really grateful to get your techniques here - do you pin on the underpinner and leave them loose in the frame?


Sorry for the long post, hope you can steer me into a better way of working.

Thank in advance!
Not your average framer
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Re: Brush up on techniques - advice please

Post by Not your average framer »

If I've got any suitable lengths of wood or moulding in the left overs box, I will generally cut any glass spacers that I need from these left over bits of wood, or moulding using my band saw. Frequenly I can cut a four spacers from one piece of wood, or moulding. I either then glue a piece of mountboard to the wooden spacer, or paint the wood if the spacer is going to be visible, or even wrap the spacers with linco aluminium barrier tape to provide an acid blocking barrier.

I'm a bit of an old school framer and using up bits of left overs and scrap tends to be a very straight forward and normal thing to do. I've been doing it so long that I can often make spacers, slips and liners in almost no time at all. I even make deep bevelled mount slips on the band saw by qluing layers of mount board in long thin strips together and cutting them into bevelled strips on the band saw. We all get left over strips of mountboard which are to thin to be usable for anythging else, so here's a good way of turn scraps in to money'

I can't be bothered to paint these strips because the slightly fluffy edge does not produce the best results when painted and it also take longer to paint these bevelled strip that using the deep bevel tapes that are just so much quicker, easier and produce such a nice result in much less time. If I am using foam board spacers in side a frame I only ever glue them in position with a few little spots of PVA glue so that the spacers are easy to remove at a later date.
Mark Lacey

“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Experience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer
grahamdown
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Re: Brush up on techniques - advice please

Post by grahamdown »

when making a spacer frame I always cut on the morso as per the outer frame and use the underpinner so this frame can be easily removed should the glass need to be replaced.
+Rafe+
Posts: 165
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Re: Brush up on techniques - advice please

Post by +Rafe+ »

Thank you Mark, Graham. Graham do you add any glue, even a few 'dabs', I'm thinking about frames that are a2 / a1 +

Thanks again
grahamdown
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Re: Brush up on techniques - advice please

Post by grahamdown »

hi,

yes, I glue and pin just as a normal frame - my underpinner accepts cassettes with v nails down to 3mm.
Not your average framer
Posts: 11014
Joined: Sat 25 Mar, 2006 8:40 pm
Location: Devon, U.K.
Organisation: The Dartmoor Gallery
Interests: Lost causes, saving and restoring old things, learning something every day
Location: Glorious Devon

Re: Brush up on techniques - advice please

Post by Not your average framer »

I've got a carpenter and also a lady who does painting and decorating sorting out my shop front and side passage at the moment, but when I can get back into my shop and do a few things, I am hoping to photograph some of the things that I get up to including making slips and spacers, so you should be able to get a better idea of how I do things and what they look like.

Avoiding spending unnecessary money is going to be a big thing, when the coming recession bits and hopefully showing others what I do with my waste materials and how to do it, might help some of the forums members. It is being predicted that the coming recession could be even worse that that of the great depression, which was truy devastating.

The honest truth is that we have no idea how bad this coming recession is going to be and we all may need to get extremely frugal to get through this. I was basically broke when I started my framing business and had to run things with virtually no available operating finances for much of the earlier years and maybe some of what I did to get me through the earlier years, was a dry run for this coming recession and I don't want to hold back on what got me through some very hard times.
Mark Lacey

“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Experience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer
Justintime
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Re: Brush up on techniques - advice please

Post by Justintime »

Shadow float mounting - I can't help as i use acid free white gummed tape for almost all my hinging.

I cut two pieces of mountboard to the border width, place one on the left side and one on the bottom, flush with the mountboard. Place it near the edge of the worktable and gently clamp the strips in the corner where they overlap. You can then place the work flush to these knowing that the border width is correct.

Glueing board, yes I have tried this once, overkill I agree. I use small nozzle little plastic bottles to dispense glue so I can do quick thin lines up and down the board. I use Evacon EVA glue, its archival. Too much glue runs the risk of warping the board I think. these glues unlike double sided tapes won't fail so I would say only use enough to bond it all around.

Spacers, I often underpin with 5mm wedges and a tiny drop of glue, 1mm smaller all round than the frame. If fixing feels necessary then i'll use a few strips of double sided and drops of PVA. The double sided will hold it while the glue goes off. Small drops of glue will be easier to remove with a blade later than a whole line of glue, also you won't need to clamp overnight, you can fit it straight away! If placing individually I would not pinwheel but do top and bottom first then sides. The idea being that the if the top one becomes loose, the sides will hold it in place. If I'm not getting a nice tight look to the spacer corner, I'll reverse bevel them which looks really tidy.
Hope that helps!
Justin George GCF(APF)
Insta: georgetheframer
+Rafe+
Posts: 165
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Location: SE London
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Re: Brush up on techniques - advice please

Post by +Rafe+ »

Thank you Justine that does help. Really appreciate it! Oh and just moved to FramR software and really happy with it so far!

Thanks to Mark and Graham again too.
Not your average framer
Posts: 11014
Joined: Sat 25 Mar, 2006 8:40 pm
Location: Devon, U.K.
Organisation: The Dartmoor Gallery
Interests: Lost causes, saving and restoring old things, learning something every day
Location: Glorious Devon

Re: Brush up on techniques - advice please

Post by Not your average framer »

I buy a big pack of grey board and cut strips off of that as alignment pieces to get the alignment spot on. Grey board is very cheap and useful for all manner of disposable uses. I also use it for bench top coverings, when one side get a bit grubby, I simple turn it over. I like to use bulldog clips to hold these grey board strip in place while I stip thing in to position, as this keeps my hand free to do the more fiddly bits. Grey board is also great for backing mirrors, before fixing the mirror in place, using framers points, I sometimes fit a small srip of wood behing the grey board and pin bit of very thin tongue and grooved pin behind this to make the back of the frame look a bit special, when I'm doing one of my antique farmhouse pine frames. I am pretty good at giving my antique mirror frames and old, but not too contrived looking slightly grubby look.

I used to be well practiced at ding this sort of look for items that I was trying to sell via various local auction houses. The secret always way to pick the right auction house, where they did not know enough to twig that these old mirrors were not as old as they look, and even less knowledgable punter buy such things think that they have got a bargain, which they can sell on at a profit. This is quite a common activity down here in Devon and the action houses are frequently visited by antique dealers from London and the home counties, who are looking for such like this. Various things which have been hanging around too long without selling end up getting sold in the auctions and often go for more than they were orginally priced at in my shop window. It's just a reflection of how much higher the prices are in london and the home counties.
Mark Lacey

“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Experience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer
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