buldogge
Grumbler in Training
Hey guys...I'm new to the forum, and hoping I might get some help/advice on a large framing project I am working on. I am not in the framing business, but I am a collector of vintage prints/art and I'm tackling a large (re)framing project.
A little background...The print is quite rare, and quite large. It measures 100" x 36", and is linen backed to ~103" x 39".
I have owned this print for ~25 years...It was framed back then, but not appropriately. I chose the frame, which I very much like, but it is obvious now that it did not have the size/heft/depth needed to properly frame this large piece. Furthermore, the framer I used, only used (2) rag matboards, taped on center, and some cross wiring attempts. The glazing is 1/4" acrylic (I no longer remember the spec, and cannot find the paperwork). The rabbet is probably 3/8" width.
Unfortunately, I left the print in this condition until very recently. The frame is displayed leaning against the wall, as it is (almost) too tall to hang (could be hung by cleat with a standoff large enough to clear our 9" baseboards). This cause rippling/sag over the years, as you can imagine.
In the last couple of weeks of have disassembled everything, and have had the print resting between foam panels/barrier/and the acrylic...some decent flattening has been achieved, but not completely, of course.
I built a new 2" depth box frame from Sapele and added this to the perimeter of the existing frame (glued and screwed), and then refinished the sides. I added 5/16" of depth to the rabbet to allow for DCO mounting using a 1/2" (compressed height) of batting...3 layers of 1/2" used).
I then built a strainer of 5/4 radiata pine (biscuited/glued/pocket screwed) VHB taped to 3mm ACM.
Everything is very solid...but...I am getting bowing (outwards) in the acrylic, unfortunately.
I have tried removing batting on center 12" in 2nd layer, and 16" in 3rd layer (as "concentric windows")...this helped/lessened, but didn't solve the problem, and after the 2nd layer removal, affected the DCO/pressure on the center of the print...and allowed some of the rippling to more prevalent, again, as well.
I can only think of (2) other approaches (gathered from research on these forums)...(1) (perhaps starting/obvious), flip the acrylic in case of have accentuated a previous bowing, and (2) add a "fillet"/wooden mat IN FRONT OF the acrylic, acting as a wider rabbet width. Similar to what Rob Markoff did here: https://www.thegrumble.com/threads/questions-on-framing-an-oversize-linen-backed-antique-poster.72148/post-937447 Questions on framing an oversize linen backed antique poster.
I have about 1" of linen showing around the print, and could fabricate a wood spacer/mat/fillet of say 1.25". Also, I have about 1/2" of frame depth left to play with.
I have a attached a couple photos.
Any thoughts/guidance would be much appreciated.
TIA
-Mark
A little background...The print is quite rare, and quite large. It measures 100" x 36", and is linen backed to ~103" x 39".
I have owned this print for ~25 years...It was framed back then, but not appropriately. I chose the frame, which I very much like, but it is obvious now that it did not have the size/heft/depth needed to properly frame this large piece. Furthermore, the framer I used, only used (2) rag matboards, taped on center, and some cross wiring attempts. The glazing is 1/4" acrylic (I no longer remember the spec, and cannot find the paperwork). The rabbet is probably 3/8" width.
Unfortunately, I left the print in this condition until very recently. The frame is displayed leaning against the wall, as it is (almost) too tall to hang (could be hung by cleat with a standoff large enough to clear our 9" baseboards). This cause rippling/sag over the years, as you can imagine.
In the last couple of weeks of have disassembled everything, and have had the print resting between foam panels/barrier/and the acrylic...some decent flattening has been achieved, but not completely, of course.
I built a new 2" depth box frame from Sapele and added this to the perimeter of the existing frame (glued and screwed), and then refinished the sides. I added 5/16" of depth to the rabbet to allow for DCO mounting using a 1/2" (compressed height) of batting...3 layers of 1/2" used).
I then built a strainer of 5/4 radiata pine (biscuited/glued/pocket screwed) VHB taped to 3mm ACM.
Everything is very solid...but...I am getting bowing (outwards) in the acrylic, unfortunately.
I have tried removing batting on center 12" in 2nd layer, and 16" in 3rd layer (as "concentric windows")...this helped/lessened, but didn't solve the problem, and after the 2nd layer removal, affected the DCO/pressure on the center of the print...and allowed some of the rippling to more prevalent, again, as well.
I can only think of (2) other approaches (gathered from research on these forums)...(1) (perhaps starting/obvious), flip the acrylic in case of have accentuated a previous bowing, and (2) add a "fillet"/wooden mat IN FRONT OF the acrylic, acting as a wider rabbet width. Similar to what Rob Markoff did here: https://www.thegrumble.com/threads/questions-on-framing-an-oversize-linen-backed-antique-poster.72148/post-937447 Questions on framing an oversize linen backed antique poster.
I have about 1" of linen showing around the print, and could fabricate a wood spacer/mat/fillet of say 1.25". Also, I have about 1/2" of frame depth left to play with.
I have a attached a couple photos.
Any thoughts/guidance would be much appreciated.
TIA
-Mark
