Attaching a cannonball fragment?

Leslie S.

MGF, Master Grumble Framer
Joined
Apr 11, 2002
Posts
710
Loc
Waxahachie, TX
As usual, I have left all the strange stuff for last...what a procrastinator!!! Does anybody have any idea what kind of glue will hold a fragment of a civil war cannon ball, only about 3 x 3, but heavy! I am attaching all the other objects with mylar strips or sewing (bullets, nails, arrowheads, etc) but the shape and weight of this cannonball makes these methods unlikely to work. The customer was o.k. with glueing it, but I am afraid of possible chemical reactions , particularly being enclosing with the lead bullets. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks,
Leslie the Procrastinator
 
What are you mounting these items onto, Leslie? It seems to me that the concern with the weight wouldn't be with the glue (I can name one that would hold a gorilla in a shadowbox!!), but with the cannon ball fragment pulling the backing apart over time.

There are 2 part epoxy glues on the market that would undoubtedly hold a couple of lbs. of cannon ball in place or you could use Gorilla Glue which is also very strong. (See above note.)
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You may have to build some rod supports for it if the weight is that much so as to pull apart the mat backing. I and also Jim Miller have described in other threads how to bend brass rods and attach them for supporting heavy objects. I recently mounted a full sized solid body electric guitar using this method and feel confident that it would help support your cannonball fragment in conjunction with a strong adhesive.

Framerguy
 
Keep in mind that any glue holding weight in a
package that is moved may pull off either the
glued item or the support, if the frame is set
down, too hard. Brass supports are a better idea,
but they must be well formed to hold such a compact, dense object. Since the frame you
described sounds like a shadowbox, can your
design be altered so that the shell fragment
would rest on the bottom. You could glue plastic
tubing to the back of the fragment with electrical
grade (non-corrosive) hot melt glue and thread
thin wires through the tubes and the backing
board to keep it still, while its weight rests
on the bottom of the frame.

Hugh
 
Thanks for the quick replies, guys,
I think I may try the rod bending thing, I've done something similar before when mounting lots of little plates. I was planning on using rag mat glued to gatorfoam for the backing...I hope this is strong enough.
 
Originally posted by Leslie S.:
...I was planning on using rag mat glued to gatorfoam for the backing...I hope this is strong enough.
Don't count on it, Leslie. Matboard is paper, and its fiberous surface will shred. That is, when the cannonball fragment falls off, you will see the matboard's surface fibers securely held by whatever glue you use.

I would not rely on any adhesive to hold that item. You should use mechanical supports, such as bent rods. I suggest "piano wire", aka "music wire", aka spring steel rod.
 
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