Fiddling Around - Mounting one??

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Val

Val

PFG, Picture Framing God
Joined
Nov 21, 2005
Posts
6,729
Loc
Carson City, Nevada
Now that I opened my big mouth and said I'd frame a fiddle for Christmas, I need all the suggestions I can get.

Mounting it?? I searched the archives and found Jim Miller's suggestion for piano wire with shrink tubing. Customer wants it mounted on dk green suede matboard - the color of the inside of the case, rather then crumpled fabric, as Jim suggested in a previous thread. (I did some research before she came in...she called first.)

Jim....or anyone else....can you expound on that? Pictures, maybe?
 
Val, I think Jim's bent wire method would still work although not be invisible.

But afterall when you look at how violins and guitars are displayed at a music store it would be very similar. They often hang on such covered wires by the neck just under the tuning pegs. You would need to also fashion a support for the bottom to keep it in place
 
Suggestions?? Sure!!

1. Don't fiddle around until the week before Christmas and expect to finish this project! (HA!)

2. Be careful how you put the bow in the shadowbox, it doesn't look good when the viewer can see a "bow" in the shadowbox, ........................ bow in the shadowbox?? ............. bowed moulding ................... (DOUBLE HA HA!!!)

3. And lastly, I hope you figured enough C notes to do this project after searching throughout the web and all over the Grumble!! It may go up to the tune of almost double if the customer is fretting about all these little things like crumpled cloth and heat melt glue to hold his instrument in place.:vomit:

(OK, that last one was a stretch.)

No, I can't say I have ever mounted a fiddle, Val. But it was fun frankenthreading your request anyway.

Thank you for that opportunity.

Framerguy

P.S. Is that a flamingo flavored snowcone at the bottom of your post???
 
Glad you had so much fun Framerguy!! No dang help, but good for a giggle anyway!


That's my 20-yr-old WatchFlamingo, faithfully guarding my (soon-to-be-snow-covered) yard. Neither rain nor snow nor dark of night....all that.
Flamingo snowcone....ha.....ptooeey...feathers!
 
Hi Val.

There's a spot just under the scroll that will allow for near invisibility of mounting wire - it can literally hang by this, just use a strong filament, followed by other supporting elements like more filament at the end button and something or two across the belly. Being hollow, fiddles are rather lightweight, but probably wire in the most invisible spots - scroll and end button would be most secure, and filaments for the more visible spots.

Does the bow go in there too? That's even lighter. I'm sure you'll get much more expert advice on this than I can give, but, post pictures when finished, okay?

In shops and schools you'll see 'cellos, violins and violas hanging by that little under-scroll area all the time.

Good luck!

-Lisa
 
HoHoHo.... But I asked you first.
 
Ok, I got that out of my system. After atattching at the scroll you could stabilize it by "boxing" around the body by making some supports out of foamboard covered with your suede and glued to your backing board. You could even do this so it would ovelap the back edge of the violin in a couple places. It could be decorative as well as functional. Hey Pat, whens attatch-eze for violins coming out?
 
Just wondering out loud - why do we try so hard to make the attachments invisible? It's common sense that the object is attached somehow! How about some pretty dark green velvet ribbon laced around the neck in a couple places and through the matboard? :shrug:

Ok, If you don't like that idea, I've also have good results with 5 minute epoxy...;) :D
 
I'm not sure Charlie Daniels would appreciate pretty green ribbon laced around his fiddle, but it's a good idea for the next one, Sue! Not so sure about the 5-minute epoxy, tho....Ha!!

As for hanging it by the scroll, it will be hanging horizontally, not vertically. Bow goes in with it.

Keep those suggestions coming, girls and boys, I'm all eyes!
 
How about a couple of mannequin hands holding it with the bow hanging off one of the thumbs?

Mono filiment breaks down over time doesn't it?
 
Rogatory said:
Mono filiment breaks down over time doesn't it?
Click to expand...


Why yes. Yes it does. I believe it's the exposure to light that does it, and I've seen it even with UV-filtering glass in place. It turns a lovely milky white (no longer invisible) and becomes brittle. Before that happens it'll often stretch first. Ever looked at an old roll of fishing line?

And that "invisible thread" sometimes mentioned is just a thinner version of fishing line.
 
Val, there was an article in the January 2006's PFM Magazine by Jim Miller, titled "Problem-free Object Mounting" (p. 76-80). I had printed a copy off their on-line magazine version at that time. On the first page of the article is a picture of a violin which Jim had mounted using 3 spring steel rods. I quickly tried to find a link to the article for you, but couldn't find it. If you have that issue of the magazine you may want to check it out.
 
The violin is fastened at the head as has been mentioned. The body rests on a "box" prefferably with little slots for the edge to set in, or simply a rectangle of your suede board glued to a smaller piece of foamboard that acts as a spacer. The edge of the violin back rests in the little space provided by the fb spacer. The bow is attatched to the "box" that the violin body is resting on.The top edge of the violin body is secured by a couple of clips. The type Jim uses or mighty mounts or make them out of fb & mat the same or similar as under the violin. Or, if it has a chin rest you could secure it through that.
 
Val,

Here's your picture....

Nothing spectacular but intended to be functional. The violin rests on 2 long red oak shaker style pegs. The neck is held with the cord. The bow is held with mightymounts. The frame is piano hinged so the violin can be removed during family get-togethers for a fiddling contest. We did this several years ago, but I think the box was 5 inches deep plus the depth of the LJ Stratavarius moulding.

I would think that you could get a similar mount to work horizontally.

Violin.JPG
 
Rick, that's so nice!

Some great ideas here.....and my brain is working double-time.
This will be fun, but I wish I had more time for it.....'tis the season, eh?
 
Where can I find shrink-tubing?
 
Violins are fun.

Sorry to be slow with this, but it's busy here, and I had to resize these photos.

This violin hangs in our gallery, as a demnstration of the Gravity Groove frame design, and formed rod mounts.

The formed rod mounts are covered by polyolefin shrink tubing, and then embedded by hotmelt glue in the air space between the flutes of the 10 mm fluted polypropylene. These are quite secure and enable the violin to be positioned at compound angles, standing off the background.

The background board could be anything you like, instead of the rumpled fabric. If the mounts are visible, cover the rods whole area with shrink tubing, or cover the non-contact areas with paper or fabric, or paint them to match the background

If you want to make non-removable mounts, formed rods could still be used. Or, two clear film straps would do the job; one at the neck and one at the other end. If a chin rest is securely attached, that would make a perfect place to put the strap. Unfortunately, those are often too loose to serve the purpose -- one bump and it might separate from the violin.
 

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Encore!

Jim, that is truly a masterpiece. The angle at which the violin sits somehow adds elegance and flair.

The rod mounts are superb. I have only fashioned simple ones, your sample opens up many new possibilities in my mind.

Edie the bravo goddess
 
Fit as a Fiddle!!

I did it. The fiddle is finished, and so am I. Whew!

Nothing as elegant as Jim's or Rick's, very simple, considering the time I had to work on it, and the woman's budget, but all-in-all, I'm happy with it.

I ended up wiring with piano wire and shrink tubing. Had to make an extension for the shadow box frame so it would be deep enough. I'll take better pictures in the morning when the light is better and I have enough strength to hold the camera.....I'm one pooped puppy, it was my last Christmas order.

Thanks everyone, for all your suggestions, pictures and encouragement. Let's hope she likes it!!
 
AND SO DID RICK!!

Not me. Customer was the one that called from Michael's and asked if I could frame a violin, frame it by Christmas and....

"Will you honor Michael's 50% discount?"


LetmethinkaboutthatNO. But she got it framed by Christmas (full price) and got it framed properly and how much is that worth?

Stradivarius sure woulda been nice though. But considering it was for an autographed-by-Charlie-Daniels-fiddle, maybe the Stradivarius would've been a bit over the top...certainly was for her will-you-honor-M's-50%-discount budget!
 
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