Custom made craddles for object framing.

Get help and framing advice from the framing community
Post Reply
Not your average framer
Posts: 11013
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

Custom made craddles for object framing.

Post by Not your average framer »

I already when I need it made customer made craddles for object framing using my scroll saw to shape left over pieces of Oak into what I am needing. They don't tightly hold the object purely by themselves, but I also drill a couple of very small hole to accomodate retail garment tags which are hidden inside the caddle and the very small holes are hidden from view under the object. It is necessary to cut the tag off of one end to feed it through the holes. Of course, not everyone has a scroll saw, while trying to work out what to do with the collection of router bits in the set which I bought a few years ago, it occurs to me that in all probability many of us who do not have a scroll saw may in fact have a small router and set of router bits and perhaps not all of us have considered this possiblity. There is of course, the need to consider safety when working on small pieces of wood on a router and I find this much safer to wood on a large enough piece of wood to keep my fingers well away from the router cutter and trim off the surplus afterwards.

I have a 40 teeth per inch Zonal model makers hand saw and this create a perfectly clean cut, which need no additional work to clean up the sawn surface. Customers are generally quite impressed to realise that these craddles are not only custom made to suit their framed objects, but also that they have been craftsman made from Oak and this is quite a nice special feature and mark of quality. I find it helpful to secure the craddle into position to amountboard liner with a pan head screw with a washer behind the mounboard to trap the cut of end on the nylon, or polyporpylene garment tag. This will keep the tag tightly in position to keep the tag holding the object properly secured in place. A small spot of easily pealable adhesive hidden between the object and the craddle provides and compressible suport with without needing to be stuck to the object will easily be squeezed under the object to help hold the object into position. I have only had the oppotunity to do this somewhat infrequently, but it does create quite an easy and quick way of doing things, which can't always be done any other way.

It is now part of my plan, since my stroke to be able to undertake, some of the more unusual framing jobs to enable me to attract framing work which are of a more specialised nature. I am already quite comfortable producing work and items of a more niche related nature. I can't alway compete with others on a speed related basis, but there are not too many competitors who are used to doing the unusual and things which are not quite "run of the mill" type things. Perhaps a few others are looking to diversify into their own specialist, or niche market things. If you can do it too a professional standard and are comfortable will being a bit of a specialist, this could be for you. Maybe it's a good time to start doing a few of your own specialist things to give you a little bit of an edge, beyond what your competitors are offering!
Mark Lacey

“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Experience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer
User avatar
IFGL
Posts: 3087
Joined: Sun 06 May, 2012 5:27 pm
Location: Sheffield UK
Organisation: Inframe Gallery Ltd
Interests: Films ,music and art, my wife and kids are pretty cool too.
Location: Sheffield
Contact:

Re: Custom made craddles for object framing.

Post by IFGL »

We tend to 3d print whatever we need, not that it is very often but these things do make life easier 😃
Not your average framer
Posts: 11013
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: Custom made craddles for object framing.

Post by Not your average framer »

Yes, I agree! That's really great idea.
Mark Lacey

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