Opinions Wanted fillet with canvas

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jmframer

jmframer

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Joined
Nov 14, 2009
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19
Loc
Garden City, KS.
We have had two customers recently that wanted me to put a fillet, mat and no glass over a canvas. The first customer wanted the fillet and mat because she had a large space to fill and wanted to extend the length of the framing without increasing the height. Made sense to utilize a fillet in this way. Yesterday, I was off for the afternoon and my coworker took an order for a 2" deep canvas to be framed with a 3/8" wide fillet, 4 1/2" wide mat and a 1" deep frame. The customer asked for that design because they had seen it dome where they purchased the canvas. I don't like it, but it could be that I don't like it just because it isn't something I would typically do. Are there others out there that will use fillets on canvas? Or are there other suggestions for this situation?
 
Welcome to the Grumble.

You have some structural issues that will cause this project to return to you for free repairs if not addressed. Paper mat even covered in fabric must be under glass or it will warp and return for free repairs. You also need to be able to support the weight of the canvas.

You can wrap a hardboard such as masonite with fabric to keep it rigid and then you need to add some lumber to create a rabbit. The most inteligent solution is to use a wide liner and you will not be making free repairs for the life of your business.

In the first case where the border will be different dimensions you can join the liner and then rip down the sides on a table saw.
 
What the customer is asking for is a liner or a 'panel'. (A liner that is wider than the outer frame is a panel. (At least in my philosophy). The issue is that they think you can use a mat for this purpose - just don't put glass in. Like Jeff says, there are reasons why this is not practical.
You could make a frame from a plain, flat section and glue the mat to this. (Might be a bit complicated adding the fillet, but not rocket science). This would give it the necessary rigidity. The next thing would be to varnish the surface of the matboard. This would undoubtedly shift the color and change the appearance. But without this the surface would look very dirty very quickly.
If I want this look, I paint a flat moulding. All depends how far you are prepared to go to accommodate your customer and if they are willing to pay for the extra work.
 
Check into Franks Fabrics for solutions to hand wrapping fabric onto liner profiles that might solve your issues.
 
So, when I came in this morning I had concerns about the structural integrity of this design. The replies seem to confirm my doubts. Based on this, I called the customer and expressed my thoughts and suggested that they use a gallery wrap frame. Wife calls husband, husband calls. This is an excerpt of the conversation. "How long have you worked there?" "Four years" "Well my brother had his done this way at your store before you worked there and it is fine. I'll have him bring in it to you so that you can see how it was done."

:shrug:

I'm getting the distinct impression that they want it done this way regardless and I just need to do the job. It will pain me to do it, but isn't this the choice I am left with? Brother plans to bring me the previously done frame on Friday so I "have a lesson in how to do this."
 
I'm betting he walks in with a frame that has a fabric liner with a filet. If not you can open it up and see what was done structurally and charge accordingly.
 
Actually, it's a good thing for them to bring the other one in. First, you will both be talking apples to apples and second, you can see how it was done and match it.
 
So our guy brings in the frame and doesn't have time to wait for me to open it. When I do so, I find a 3/4 inch canvas surrounded by 1 1/8 inch layers of foam core. All of this juts out of the back of the frame and is held in place with canvas offsets.

The canvas I have to frame is 1 3/8 inches deep. The moulding has a rabbit that is 5/8 inch deep. That means I will have at least 1 inch sticking out of the back of the frame. Not exactly what I want to do. I've tried talking them into another framing option, but they won't budge. I'm throwing my hands up in the air on this one.

This is what the customer wants and the boss says do it.
 
Sometimes you just have to do the best you can and move on.

In this case, I would create your mat/fillet package and join your frame. Put the mat in the frame and then line the sides of the frame with black foamcore high enough to cover the canvas. This will at least give a smooth clean edge to the exposed sides.

Then you can fill in with FC strips around the canvas. Put a solid back over the entire thing and glue/tape/pin/offset clip it together.
 
I have a painting at home that I framed at least 15 years ago pretty much as Dave just described, and it still looks just fine.
:cool: Rick
 
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