Glass cracking

Drumstick

Grumbler
Joined
Sep 7, 2022
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46
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Copenhagen, Denmark
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Framing Workshop
I have a new pneumatic stapler at work, of the brand OMER.
I tried pasting picture from URL but it does not work.

It has a 45° angle, so the staples are shot diagonally into the moulding, through the back board.

If I use acrylic glass it works perfectly, but with real glass it sometimes cracks the glass, no matter how careful I do the work.

Does anyone know why this happens, and how to prevent it?

Thanks in advance!
 
Whoever invented this stapler didn't understand that the backing will expand/contract with changes in humidity and will buckle. t is common practice to have the staples or points left slightly above the backing to allow for this. Perhaps this stapler wasn't designed for picture framing.
 
Agreed, driving the staples through the backing material and into the frame completely disregards the concept of contraction/expansion cycles of all the different materials encased in the frame package.
There are pneumatic frame point drivers that function the way Greg explained in the previous post.

You may be using the wrong tool for the job.
OMER makes picture framing specific tools that use a flexible flat tab (framers point), not staples.

It might be worth looking into changing the tool you are using, to save yourself the troubles you are experiencing.
 
A bunch of factory made plastic frames use the method of firing staples through the foamcore to reinforce the flexible frame.
In general custom framing shouldn't be done with staples through the foam.
There may be a replacement head for your stapler, that would fire the staples inline with the foamcore.
 
This is a thing in UK, obviously other areas of Europe too.

One reason, or justification, is to attempt to make a far too skinny frame safer, using the backing board as a brace. It’s a horrible practice.
 
And for future framers, this is a pain to take apart. Use framer's point
I have a friend and former business partner that brings stuff in for me to reframe using whatever is in my discontinued stack. When she brings in one of those monstrosities, I hand her the long nose pliers and make her take out the 200 (or so it seems) staples. Free framing comes at a price.
 
Thanks for all your answers!

You confirmed a lot of things, like that it has "no place in a proper framer's workshop".
In the previous framing shop I worked for, we did use the straight flat ones instead of stapling through the backboard. It was much better.
The company I work for now has a 'discount' way of doing things ("quantity over quality"), which I don't like.

I will see if I can make the change to the flat ones, and get a Fletcher FrameMaster, without my boss knowing ;)(it's his idea to do it the "discount" way, but he has no experience with the process).
 
Thanks for all your answers!

You confirmed a lot of things, like that it has "no place in a proper framer's workshop".
In the previous framing shop I worked for, we did use the straight flat ones instead of stapling through the backboard. It was much better.
The company I work for now has a 'discount' way of doing things ("quantity over quality"), which I don't like.

I will see if I can make the change to the flat ones, and get a Fletcher FrameMaster, without my boss knowing ;)(it's his idea to do it the "discount" way, but he has no experience with the process).
It fits the expression "penny wise and pound foolish"
Save on Staples, but throw away a bunch of glass.
 
I disagree about stapling through the backboard as bad practice - it uses the backboard to reinforce the frame - but it needs good aiming to make sure the staple goes through the board and into the frame at an angle which won’t risk the glass touching it. It’s thin profiles that benefit from this mainly
 
I used to staple through the fome of customwood backing with very few problems.

if your stapler shoots at a fixed 45 degree angle that would be your problem - you need a stapler with a straight and visible "nose" so you can aim precisely. Ideally the staple should emerge from the backing about halfway through its thickness, well clear of the glass and with a bit of practise this become instinctive.

As to the preference for points I never liked them. Staples do not impede expansion ar contraction and their action in reinforcing the frame is sometimes useful. They also press the package together more strongly than points.

I am all for conservatuion framing when it is necessary but also did a lot of simple framing of inexpensive artwork for which cheaper materials are quiite acceptable.
 
I disagree about stapling through the backboard as bad practice - it uses the backboard to reinforce the frame

It's probably better when the frame supports the frame package rather than the other way around. If the frame is too insecure to support the package, a strainer would be a better way reinforce it.
 
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I have been interested in thoughts about stapling through vs more loosely on top of the backing. I had been taught the top method was the correct, conservation way - I find myself working with someone who likes the through method to secure the package.
 
If the idea is to have a "loose" fit to allow expansion/contraction cycles, this is a factor to consider even for "inexpensive posters".

The cost of the item has nothing to do with physics.

A cheap poster will buckle if too tightly constrained, just as easily as an expensive art print.

Perhaps even more susceptible because cheap posters are usually on thin low quality paper which could more readily deform than a high quality art paper.

It seems logical that not stapling through the backer achieves a few things.
1- allows for expansion/contraction regardless of the value of the item
2- minimizes the risk of cracking the glass by keeping the staples entirely away from the glass
3- can make removing staples easier and less damaging on those occasions (which we have all had) when a customer wants to change mat or reframe the art work
 
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