The Framers Forum

Looking for ideas, for framing some medals and a photo. Frame needs to open for removal of medals when they are needed to be worn. Initially thinking of a removable back rather than a hinged frame to keep it simple.
For holding the medals, I have got as far as mylar loops as a possibility.
This is really not my area by choice, but he's a regular...
Go crazy, any advice, ideas and especially photos (preferably in focus), it's time we brought some colour back to the forum!

Indeed, the forum needs a reboot & this sort of post (not mine but the subject) is what we need - some real work stuff again.


Framing medals that are removable have been a real bugbear of mine. It's not an idea solution but what I usually do is glue mountboard to some MDF and then screw some small eye pins into the combined package. Most of the medals we do are already attached to a mounting brooch and the large pin just goes through the eyes. As I said it's not ideal but it's the best I can come up with.

I did have a post a few years back asking the same sort of thing and in that I had found something in a charity shop with little fixings that were ideal but I could never source them. I'll try to find it and post it below

Sorry I don't have any photos.


Here's my previous post ....
https://www.theframersforum.com/viewtop ... 32&t=10977

Great thanks, that's got me thinking again.

Justin,

We have done a few of these, I will try to explain (not sure if I have photos on the shop computer). Normally made for customers that want to take out the medals to wear on Remembrance Sunday.

This is easier if medals are still mounted on the pin to attach to uniform (known as swing mounted or court mounted). Construct some form of protrusion that the long pin just hooks over, we use a piece of 2mm acrylic glued to a slightly shorter piece of MDF. This is screwed to the background mount and backing board.

Construct a frame to the size of the background mount.

Cut top mount(s) with suitable aperture(s).

Construct a second frame with a deep rebate the inside dimension is just a tiny bit bigger than the outside dimensions of the first frame.

Fit glass and mount(s) inside second frame and tab in place.

Deep rebate frame slides over the front of first frame and a couple of cunningly placed rare earth magnets on the outside of first frame and inside rebate of second frame hold them together.

If this doesn’t make sense I will try and produce a couple of drawings or give me a ring - numbers are on our website.

Can’t remember if this one was a lift off but may help visualise.

I think it would be much easier just putting in a removable back with bendy tabs rather than a hinged frame or anything equally as complicated.

All medals I've done have been fixed but I think if they wanted them to be removable it should be easy enough to just mount them on the bar that they are on anyway and just have a couple of small hooks for them to sit on.

Thanks Steve YPF, great visuals, the front mount should hide any mount wear and tear over the years of removal.
Pramsay, yes I agree, removable back this time although I'm dying to try the double frame magnets one day. Invisible hooks/loops are on my research list now. I'll update when I find something.

With the removeable back - easier (and slightly nicer looking) to use either turnbuttons or the totally flat canvas offsets - as flexitabs can all too easily break after repeated bending or they often just fall out.

Thanks Jo, I hoped you'd drop in.
As for hanging the medals, I know it sounds crude, but I'm wondering about passing cable ties on their side through the mount, tails fixed to the back of the mount. I guess once I have the medals in my hand I'll know.
Anything else I need to remember to ask the customer? I seem to remember talk of an order to medals? Is it just the order in which they should be worn therefore displayed? Thanks all.

If medals have been professionally mounted then they should already be in the correct order. It is quite easy to investigate correct order - if you need help just put up a photo of the medals and I (and probably others) will be quite happy to advise.

I did have a set in for reframing not so long ago where the previous framer had managed to display one of the medals backwards!

One of our real bugbears is where framers have arranged medals in an "aesthetically pleasing arrangement" rather than the correct one. It is so important to get that bit right. So we're also up to give help and advice on the correct order if anyone needs it. There is also a CPD short produced by the Guild that members will be able to access (it was in an edition of AFT too) which gives help and advice on this.

For mounting, we use a "medal block" that we created ourselves that you can fix to the backing board and thread the bar onto for quick and easy removal and refit. Effectively it is a small wooden block (we tailor it to the size needed in each case) with a hole drilled through to feed the bar onto - we use one or two as needed depending on the size. You then screw that block through the backing mountboard and into a rigid backing board (usually MDF for strength). It sits neatly behind the medals and isn't visible but does provide good, rigid support. The block(s) need to be spaced so that the medals don't try to tip forward.

Before we started using the medal blocks, we did adapt and trim down some CWH hangers to create a support. I will post a few pictures up to show how we did that. Someone might find it useful.

This was a hinged frame, front opening. CWH hangers were trimmed and painted to match the backing board.

The finished article. Front hinges open from the top and it was in a frame to match the rest of his framed military collection in his home office.

Wow that simple! I like the cutdown CWH2 idea.

Good post. I’m all for a forum reset and images to help convey ideas is crucial.

This was such a rewarding job to do. These came to us without ribbons, very tarnished in a sad and tatty box. We have a long standing customer who also court mounts medals and gets lots of clients through the military. We are on the edge of a Salisbury Plain and have dozens of army camps around us. She points servicemen in our direction for frames and we refer clients such as ours to her for court mounting. As we knew these were to be taken in and out for wear we had her stitch the fluffy Velcro onto the back of the medals. The receiving spiky stuff was simply stapled to a batten which gave clearance for the broach and mounted where required. Very easy for the client to take in and out without the need to do too much fiddling as he was in his later years!

Lovely job and thanks for the back story.