Framing a stone

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If you are talking about a

(are ya ready for this???)


ROCK BOTTOM PRICE, :faintthud: I'd glue the sucker in with silly-cone and collect the cash!!!!!

OK, if not, then I would wrap it in some sheer tulle or that other fine stuff that almost disappears when you use it against anything but clear glass and attach the tulle from the back as is normally done with objects such as this one.
 
If the stone is of a sufficient hardness that it has been polished - I would use an adhesive to glue it in place, providing your substrate was sturdy enough to not pull away (like cloth) - believe me - I know we got into this argument a long time ago over arrowheads - but they are made from a much softer kind of rock (read possibly absorbant) but a rock that is polished would be pretty much impervious to even silicone, IMHO.

I siliconed about 2 dozen mineral samples from my own rock collections about 30 years ago and when I reframed them last year the silicone just peeled off of them with no residue. Reason for re-framing? To put them into a shadowbox this time with glazing so I wouldn't have to dust them! ;)
 
I've found Lascaux 498 adhesive to be excellent at holding such items if not too heavy. It would be removable with acetone down the line.

I tested the adhesive on everything from paper and wood to fabric, steel, stone, palstic, aluminum, brass and a number of other materials and two years later the bond is still strong.

Dave Makielski
 
I ordered from University Products. You can request a catalog at www.universityproducts.com.

They carry a wide variety of archival products.

Another source that I'm sure must carry the Lascaux family of adhesives is Talas.

www.talasonline.com/

Dave Makielski
 
Framar, I just knew it...you do use silicone! I was the one who got beat up on that long ago thread.

It sparked alot of debates but in the end, we all know there is a place for silcone in great custom framing! Not on everything, but as with anything, use in moderation!
 
there's always room for silicone!
 
When I saw the title, I thought you were going to ask about a record album.

Geesh, I'm old! :faintthud:
 
I framed a number of pieces for a soapstone carver. As we were planning this project the carver indicated she wanted the mounting to be really solid as she had a number of stones fall apart after previous framing. The stones weighed on average 3 pounds each. As I looked around her carving shop I enquired about drilling the stones which she indicated was not difficult. She drilled into each stone about 1/2 inch deep and epoxied in threaded brass rods. I used 1/4 plexi with a mat on top as a mount board. Positioned the piece, marked and drilled the mount board, and attached with nuts and washers. Very solid.

Some rocks may be difficult to drill even with diamond drills.
 
I favor mechanical mounting provisions and generally distrust adhesives. Usually the glue does not fail, but one or another of the glued surfaces fails. For example, fabric could shred from its support, paint could peel or chip away, paper fibers could come loose in the glued area. Even if silicone, epoxy, or another adhesive would stick to the stone so that it may never be removed, the surface of the mount board could disintegrate.

What's the shape of this stone? Could you use a nest hole and two or three clear film straps?
 
J Phipps TN said:
It sparked alot of debates but in the end, we all know there is a place for silcone in great custom framing! Not on everything, but as with anything, use in moderation!
Click to expand...

Well said Jen.
 
My house is built from stone and some of my shop is built from flint.

All of my workshop is built from flint and it's one of, if not THE oldest building in the village. 17th century easy and it's not sealed from the elements!

So, the answer must be mortar!
 
Well, I must say that I really haven't used silicone in years - now I use gel medium and let it set up for a day or two - it penetrates the substrate a lot better than silicone which mostly sits on top.

But I did notice that the harder the rock, the easier to pull off the 30 year old silicone. Only problem I had was one unidentified flaky pyrite/mica kinda rock - the silicone pulled off a layer of the rock - PLUS I also point out that these specimens were 1" -2" in size - nothing huge or weighty.

If I make the time, I'll photograph the rather unique method I used to frame these, my favorite rocks of all time - they are in a "book."
 
The stone isn't very big, only about 2 inches long by an inch wide. It is roughly oval, slightly on the kidney shaped side, polished very smooth (I'm thinking rock tumbler) and dark red in color. The box is going to be lined with a Alphamat in a parchment pattern.

I was kind of leaning toward some kind of mechanical attachment, possible making a nest hole for it like Jim suggested, I just am not sure what to attach it with from there. There is also a silver dollar that is going on the opposite side from it. I have Mighty Mounts for that, just don't have any that fit a stone!
 
A kidney shape would be perfect for one clear film strap in the middle. I don't remember seeing the weight, but a 1/4" to 1/2" wide strap probably would do nicely. That would be much less conspicuous than Mighty Mounts, which I do not recommend because they fail over time. Instructions are in the archives -- here's a link to one of the threads:

http://www.thegrumble.com/showthread.php?t=16047&highlight=clear+film+straps
 
This may sound like overkill but we have used patches of Silicon alternated with dabs of Epoxy. If one fails the other will probably hold. You probably will not damage the surface of the stone since it has been around for about 4.5 billions years and still here.

Jack Cee
 
Silicone AND epoxy? I guess you could encapsulate the whole thing in clear acrylic, too.

In about the same amount of time it takes to mix up the two-part epoxy, you could install two clear film straps and be done with it -- no time needed for drying or curing.

Mechanical mounts are consistently more dependable, more supportive, less invasive, completely reversible, and often require no more time than destructive, glued mounts.
 
I just measured the stone. It is actually smaller than I thought,
1 1/4 inches long by 3/4 inch wide at it's widest point. Jack, epoxy plus silicone sounds like overkill in this case. It's a small stone.

I'll probably play around with mylar or tulle and see what works. If I don't like either one, I might make a jewelry type mount from brass wire. I don't think the customer would have a problem with that.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.
 
I had a plaster gargoyle to mount back at Christmas.
With customer's permission I took a masonite bit and drilled a 1/8 hole in the little guy. Covered a dowel rod with Tacky Glue and stuck it in the hole. The other end of the dowel rod was glued and pressed into a block of foam.
Worked great! Could you do that with this rock?
 
Silicone would peel off (usually). Epoxy....not gonna happen. That is definitely not a good thing to use -- EVER. I used to use epoxy all the time, but I realized the error in my ways.

dave.
 
My Rock Collection

Here is that project I told y'all about. An artist friend gave me this wonderful cedar book box. She had never been able to utilize it in any of her artworks so she parted with it and I kept it for several years before I got tired of dusting my previously siliconed, unglazed rock collection.

Here is the outside of the book, with a brass plate for the title, "Geologia," and some handmade paper glued onto the front to cover whatever was written on it originally. I also covered the "spine" with appropriate fabric and edged that with grosgrain ribbon.

10_25_43_Geologia.jpg


This is what the "book" looks like when it is opened. The frame inside was made from a really old leafed liner - most of the leaf was missing but I liked the look. Some of the larger rocks are glued down with gel medium, but since this sits on a table instead of hanging on the wall, most of the rocks and crystals are just placed into the box. Right now the edges of the "pages" are painted gold with acrylic but some day when I get ambitious I plan to leaf them to make them look more like a real classy book.


10_26_03_Geologia_opened.jpg


The blue ribbon tabs at the top and bottom of the frame serve as handles so the frame can be pulled out (when I need to add more rocks!). The backing and inner edges of the frame are dusty blue suede matboard.

10_26_17_Geologia_frame_removed.jpg


This is my very own "coffee table book." It measures 8 1/2 by 13 inches.
 
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