Baby hand and foot prints - nightmare to mount !

[Bagpuss]

I'm really struggling with this job, it's been in the drawer half completed for the last few weeks, as you can see below, it's going to look nice when finished but how do I mount these heavy clay plates ?

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As you can see, they don't have a flat back and are quite heavy, they came with the sticky yellow plate hangers on the back.

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I have made a 5mm foamcore cove box to support them, I think that will be sturdy enough but I'm open to suggestions. I read the previous post about mounting a coin and thought I might be able to cut an extra large piece of Mylar to surround each plate, if anyone has a better idea I would be very grateful.
Thanks, Bagpuss/Adam

[chris62]

Hot glue !!

[IFGL]

epoxy resin for me.

[Roboframer]

Formed rods for me! The visible bits would be painted to match, but as someone has already stuck something to the plate I wouldn't have a problem sticking something to that something - even though I'd be suggesting soaking it off and mounting it professionally. Anyone can slap a gob of glue on something.

[prospero]

Being what it is and the fact that it already has something stuck to it, I would precede thus.....

Put some several tabs d/s foam tape around the outside and stick it to hardboard or MDF. Not mountboard. As a failsafe I would also tie a bit of wire around the existing hanger an fix it though the board - but not so it actually supports the weight, just slightly slack. Foam tape is incredibly sticky and lasts a long time. It might last indefinitely for all I know, but if it should fail the wire will catch it. So at anytime in the future it drops it will not drop far and it will be apparent that the tape has let go so it can be re-done.

[Tudor Rose]

Why not just use the hanger that has already been attached to it? They are designed to hold plates and other ceramic items so should be plenty strong enough to hold up these pieces. You could cut a slit in the mountboard, feed the hanging ring through it and secure that at the back. This type of hanger can be removed with water in the future if needed. You can find them in local hardware stores (or Lions sell them in various sizes too).

[Not your average framer]

I'd go with Tudor Rose's suggestion. These plate hangers have a good reputation, people use them on some quite expensive and collectible plates and I've never heard of one failing.

Also there is the added advantage that if the stick on plate hanger should fail at any time, it is not your responsibility, because it was supplied with the hanger already fitted!

[Roboframer]

If these were mine I would not use that hanger, framed or not; all the weight is suspended on small paper tab.

If you use that only it will also still be free to pivot, if something you have mounted hits the glass when you place it face down you've not done a very good job.

If you do use it, back it up, either with formed rods at the bottom or just by sticking the big yellow area to your mounting board with something seriously nasty, it's not part of the artwork but like I said above, I'd ignore the whole thing - probably remove it altogether. The final framed plates may not always be hung on a wall, for a kick-off they have to be transported home, is the customer going to be a good customer or is s/he going to stand it on its side at any time, or face down .... or the same at any time in the future by him/her/anyone else that inherits it?

To say that if something fails that you did not provide is not your responsibility is a cop-out, unless you have given the customer options and that's the chosen one; you should be advising something that won't fail.

If I was going to stick these I'd use normal mount board bonded to something more substantial; If I was going to use formed rods I'd firstly bond mount board (and much darker than yours, I think it looks bland FWIW) to correx and use the channels in the correx to fix the rods .... and then bond something else to that, probably more correx but with the flutes going the other way.

[Not your average framer]

Cop out, or not, it saves a lot of other problems. It was supplied with the stick plate hanger and for me, that's the orginal condition of the piece and it also provides to easiest solution.

Sticking it in place with other adhesives may create future reversibility issues, where as using the original plate hanger does not and a small D/S foam pad will adequately prevent the bottom of thing from moving about. I've had a good look at some of those plate hangers and that small paper tab is made from a very tough, very strong material, probably elephantide, Nomex, or a similar product under another brand name.

It might be informative to do an internet search on the properties of Elephantide and Nomex, which are not just paper products, but are also extremely strong engineering materials. As an ex-design engineer, I used to specify the use of materials like this in products I used to design and the force required to tear even a very thin piece of elephantide is quite extraordinary.

BTW, I've used those plate hangers a number of times when framing various items and I find them a useful solution to all sorts of problems. and my experience is that they are a strong, secure, simple and reliable method of fixing many things.

[IFGL]

Araldite the one with the white and blue tubes(epoxy resin), anyone with an oven can remove it , the right product will hold and stay held but will start to sofen at 60c will wipe off at 90c these plates will easily take that, everyone has access to an oven, simple, reversable, easy as peas.

I would use 2 cove box's though, I attach these to the mount by making a v grove on the back of your mount one around each apature, fill with PVA and insert the edge of the cove box tape down, a second cove box is made from craft board and pva glued to that one, just the thickness of the craft board bigger, strips of craft board are pva glued to the back of the mount in any exposed areas, I then would use pse or scrap moulding to make a sutible box to go around the whole thing and a backboard over all of that.

sounds complicated but it really isn't the pva and craft board once set are incredibly strong, the smaller cove boxes look better because they close off each apature and are stronger because of the smaller back area.

p.s your choice of backing colour is perfect, it makes the important bit jump out, that being the prints, subtle and elegant anything but bland.

[IFGL]

the only criticism on aesthetics is your apatures are a bit small and will likley cast a shadow inside making it look a bit dark, when object framing I always leave a bit extra space to alow light in.

[prospero]

One advantage with sticky foam is that the tabs are thick and spongey so they absorb any movement and shocks. They can also be easily freed by simply slipping a blade in the gap and cutting though them. The remaining bit that is stuck to the back can then be removed by rubbing with your thumb. The piece looks glazed so no residue should remain - but in any case it's not really ever going to be an issue.

Stick eight small tabs around the perimeter and tie the existing ring to the backing. It will never drop off. I'll put money on it.

[Bagpuss]

Thanks ever so much for all your thoughts on this, there seems to be quite a number of options doesn't there ?
I do like the idea of making use of the sticky plate hanger on the back of the plates and I do want to get some of this super sticky double sided Foam sticky tape ? WHERE CAN I GET THIS ? I just went into Wickes and they don't stock it there but the guy serving in there suggested I try the Pound Shop ?? This would stop the plates from "flapping about" once tethered to the backing board using the D-ring on the Sticky plate hanger. I'll probably do 2 cove boxes as suggested, this will make the final positioning a bit easier I think : )

I'll post a photo when it's done, thanks again.
Adam

[Tudor Rose]

Homebase do it, possibly B&Q

[Roboframer]

We sell them, thick, thin, round, square and I often nip in to the shop from the workshop to do a bit of shoplifting for useful things - haven't felt the need to nick any of these yet though

[prospero]

Try a stationers. The Sellotape brand is "Sticky Fixers".

I first encounted this stuff in model aircraft making. Used for fixing the radio control servos. The idea was that if you have a crash (which I often did), the foam absorbs the shock and the servo doesn't get damaged. I've have 'planes completely mangled with just a bit of balsa wood still stuck fast to a servo.

[kevin]

plate hangers are the safest bet.
a few weeks ago i had to frame a heavy hotel issue square dinner plate.
some guy proposed to his girlfriend in the hotel.
the hotel chef put two doves, a heart and the words will you marry me on the plate, all made from chocolate. i used plate hangers and put thick sticky foam under the bottom of the plate [out of sight] to keep the plate from moving. my biggest problem was getting the guy to collect it for fear of the chocolate melting or slipping of the plate. LION do heavy duty plate hangers. She did say YES. what if she had said NO. There would have brown running stuff elsewhere.

[233ART]

As Kevin says.I can recomend Lion`s plate holders...

[Bagpuss]

Well I finally finished it off and although it was a bit of a pain to do and probably under priced, I'm quite pleased with it ( see below ). I decided against a foamcore cove box, I actually built a wooden tray for the 2 clay plates, I threaded wire through the plate hangers already on the plates, threaded the wire through a hole in the back of the tray and hot-glued the wire to the backing. I had previously stuck white mountboard onto the MDF tray and used silicon adhesive to hold it in place and then attached the tray to the back of the frame, Thanks for all your help with this.

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[Bagpuss]

Oh and the customer found my Facebook page and posted the photo to it with some nice comments and 7 of her friends who I don't know Liked my page : ) I set the Facebook page up a few months ago and didn't tell my customers about it ?!! NOTE TO SELF - e-mail all your customers and get them to look at my Facebook page... doh !