Heavy dinner plates

Create a Post
CAframer

CAframer

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Nov 19, 2003
Posts
3,834
Loc
Orange County, CA
I have 5 heavy decorated plates (dinner plate size) to go into one large shadowbox about 40x27.

The customer wants to ship after framing ... they'll handle shipping.

Because it's being shipped I'm concerned about the best way to mount. I figure formed wire rods or acrylic holders may be prone to flexing when roughly handled.

I'm thinking about adhering them to ply backing faced with a fabric sink mat. Strainer behind ply. Obviously acrylic glazing.

Thoughts please!
 
When they unload this sucker (throw it off the truck) and the plates break, will the framer be blamed? Possibly.

I don't have any good advice about doing this job except to get the customer to understand that you use "best practices" framing and that no matter how they are mounted, shipping them in a frame will not be as secure as individually wrapping and cushioning them.

I would try to talk them into shipping them packaged correctly, separate from the frame and having a framer at the other end put them in.

Good Luck!
 
Andrew,

Whatever method you use to mount these, ensure when it's packed (if you are doing this) that the plates are facing upward horizontal, and mark packaging this way up etc.
Ensure they use someone that ships like that, not post etc.
Take pics when finsihed and / or as you pack it to show it is all intact at the time.

My thoughts on mounting are plastic tube coated heavy rod, when taking it through mats and backings, ensure a double foamcore or better ply / mdf backing, so there is greatly reduced sideways movement of the rods.

IF the plates aren't porous, ie they are glazed, then this would be a suitable case for a few small spots of silicone in a triangle on each plate base to assist with holding.

Ensure neutral cure structural silicone is used, that it has at least a week to dry and outgas *, and that you 'key' the mat by drilling small holes (where the silicone spots will be) so the silicone will grab. Force it through the holes to the backing foamcore / board.

When silicone gets onto porous substrates like paper / timber, etc it will eventually let go unless keyed.

* Silicone generally take a week or so to dry properly for say 1/8" thickness, leave longer if needed.

Good luck.
 
might you at least have the possibility of filling the SB cavity with bubble wrap &/or "s-foam" (obtained from a shipping biz--ups/postnet, etc) to absorb a little of the xport shocks???? :shrug:
 
Last edited:
Andrew,
You are on the right track. See any of Jim Millers articles on bending the rod and slipping the shrink tubing over to protect.

I would also suggest that the "foot" of each plate be set down into a sink mat that is a snug fit.

Then the most critical..... get the contract for "crating" this sucker to ship... and put on a Pallet. Face up with a crate built over the well padded and foam protected frame job, and yet attached [the crate, not the frame] to the pallet skid.

This will force them to use a pallet jack, or two people to lift and set... instead of grab and throw.
We have done this in the past with very delicate stuff that had to go ground...they hate it.... but very successfull.

Just make sure that "crate" can be stacked with 3-500lbs on top; 'cuz they will :party: :icon10:
 
CAframer said:
... I figure formed wire rods or acrylic holders may be prone to flexing when roughly handled.

I'm thinking about adhering them to ply backing faced with a fabric sink mat. Strainer behind ply. Obviously acrylic glazing.

Thoughts please!
Click to expand...

You're right -- formed rods of spring steel/piano wire could flex on impact. However, they might retain the plates OK anyway. You could minimize flexing by using larger-diameter rods. Of course, if impact is strong enough, the plates would break out of rigid mounts, so some flexing could create shock absorbing mounts.

Acrylic mounts (Mighty Mounts) would simply break and crash the plates. They have very limited impact resistance under load.

When you say, "Adhere them to ply backing..." please tell me you aren't considering gluing the plates to a fabric covered board. Almost any glue bond would fail under strong impact. More precisely, the glue itself might not be the weakness, but the fabric might shred or tear away from the board.

The best suggestion I cann think of would be to mount the plates using formed rods & shrink tubing, then block the plates in position with secure padding. Do a temporary fitting with glazing in place, and leave the masking on the acrylic. Then, contact a framer at the destination and arrange to have the masking removed from the acrylic, the padding removed from the plates, and the fitting completed.

You may pay the other framer and charge your customer accordingly, so they will not have to deal with money on the receiving end.
 
"When you say, "Adhere them to ply backing..." please tell me you aren't considering gluing the plates to a fabric covered board. Almost any glue bond would fail under strong impact. More precisely, the glue itself might not be the weakness, but the fabric might shred or tear away from the board."

Jim

Absolutely not ... what I have contemplated given the scenario is to cut openings in the face mat to create a sink allowing the plates to be adhered directly to a ply backer ... for the very reasons you mention.

I figure that if I combine this with formed rod mounts that's about the best that can be done under the circumstances.
 
Never under estimate the ability of UPS, Fed Ex or any other handler to break what you ship. Perhaps the plates should be shipped as a separate item and assembled by a framer at the destimation?

Jack Cee
 
The good news is that she's agreed to change the order ... after another extended conversation she agrred to reduce the number of plates so that it'll make a smaller piece enabling her to hand carry it!

Thanks for all the suggestions!
 
Create a Post
Back
Top