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Paul N

Paul N

SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
Joined
Jun 10, 2005
Posts
17,354
Loc
CT, not far from the LI Sound
OK, I got the largest frame ordered to date (in my humble shop):

A customer brought in a 112 x 57 WWII flag to be framed for her father. I am having trouble finding a supplier for the requested frame (or any similar frame for that matter, plain black, by the way) that could be joined, at that size.
It seems, the frame needs 10 ft+ sticks and the suppliers in questions (all 6 of them!) don't carry such sticks to join the frame for me....
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they all maxed out at 9 ft sticks, those wusses!

So, I may have to reduce the flag a bit and go with maybe with 108 inches instead of 112 width. which I really don't want to do, but I think I have no choice here.

Plexi: I know a company that can provide me with this size, so no problem.

Foamboard: 2 OS pieces joined with another board behind it + strainer to support all.

Spacer, for obvious reasons.

Question: Am I missing something? Or have I thought of everything to make this look great?

Also, What would be the best hangers for such a a behemoth? (The weight for the plexi alone is about 40 lbs).

And the best part: The finished frame might be too big to navigate upstairs around the staircase from the basement where we do our work. but I will worry about this later, (might assemble it upstairs).
 
Paul, this is the one where you make nice-nice with a local cabinet shop.

Poplar that is splined at the corners and or maybe even a sliding dovetail back spline, much like Titan had done on his large frames.

Then hose it down with black Krylon and rub out with black wax.

The cabinet shop can probably buy in for you 12/4 (3" thick) which would give you a net of a 2-1/2" under the lip for plex, spacer, backing and strainer... and won't look wimpy.
 
Try smallcorp http://www.smallcorp.com/

who make welded corner aluminum frames, they specialize in one of a kind things. I was not impressed with their cross braced strainers however, and believe you could get a better product from local woodworker.

Welded corner aluminum frames can also be special ordered other sources. I found a local source whose product was more expensive than Smallcorp, but it was also sturdier. And for such a large piece sturdier is better.

You might also consider something more rigid than foamboard for the backboard. Smallcorp makes a lovely lightweight aluminum honeycomb board, perfect for this application.

All of this will not be cheap, but it will make your life easier, be safer in transport and last a lifetime and more : )

Rebecca
 
Studio 27701 comes in 10 ft. sticks, we buy it by the box all the time, plain old flat black basic, not pretty, but so practical that we go through a ton of it. Check their web site and see if it works for you.
Lynn
 
6 suppliers and non of them carry a black moulding in a 10 ft legnth? Who are you dealing with?

LJ, studio, Gemini, TC (International), Nurre all should have a black in 10ft legnths.

Now shipping may be a problem but it is possible.
 
Good luck. We had to do a 90+ inch piece. It was a real pain. Make sure you charge enough. It tied up our shop for a while. We used a Larson Soho frame and a gold 1" wide flat piece (I don't know what it's called), also from Larson, to extend the lip so the plexi wouldn't bow out. We used double-strength plexi (1/4") and the piece weighed a ton.

We got advice from Grumblers on how to go about doing this piece. There's a thread about it somewhere.

It was for a school. I'm not sure how they ended up hanging it. We let that part up to them. We were considering Hangman though, before they said they would take care of it.

It turned out nice and we were proud of it, but it was an exhausting project from start to finish.
 
Thanks all for your input, very helpful.

Baer: Local cabinet shop is a great idea and would be my next choice if all fails (one more supplier to ask before I give up on them).

Jana: Thanks for the thread! It seems I have to go with 1/4 in plexi not 1/8, after reading the thread.

Rebecca: Thanks for the metal frame idea, but the customer wants wood.

And yes, I charged a lot (whatever that means..
for it.
 
I can definitely relate to your situation. The four confederate, warship "flags from h@11" just about put me down for the count. Three were 52x40 and one was 96x40.

Since eight-foot plexi was the max I could get locally, I put a "wave" in the flag to modify the length actually needed. The moulding was a heavy Larson (don't have the # with me) backed with a floater for extra depth. I used large wallbuddies on the first three and EZ-Bar, cleat hangers, on the largest.

All four were a major learning experience, and I was not completely satisfied with some aspects. However, the customer was pleased and the finished products looked great--they will long outlive him.
 
Lynn:

Thanks for mentioning Studio.

Actually Studio has 25501 which is almost a clone of the frame the customer liked (from Omega), and I just spoke to Studio and they can do it in this size!!

Thanks again.
 
Have you contacted Framer Market? They carry Studio and could probably save you a ton in shipping! Also DonMar delivers in CT and I get 10 and 12 foot sticks from then. Presto is also in CT and they have long sticks.
 
Make sure you can get it out your door and into the customer's once you get it togehter. Speaking from experience here.....
Did a peice one time that was so big I had to frame it in the customer's living room. Brought vises, and all the tools needed, The plexi just fit through their double front door corner to corner, but with the frame on it would not have fit.

Boy did they pay for that job!
 
Bob:

I did speak to Framers Market, and they couldn't do it.

There are certainly suppliers who will have 10+ ft sticks, but not the kind / color / shape the customer specifically wanted.
 
Paul, The folks that sell unfinished mouldings usually run them in random lengths. If you have an inkling to finish it yourself check with Bosley, Xylo, and Foster's. I had a vintage poster to frame that was a tad over 11 feet long and got components from Xylo to make the frame.
Do a dry run on the logistics...can save you a ton of heartache.
How are you attaching the flag? What besides laminated FC are you using for backing? Is it all archival? Should it be?
I would recommend an industrial strength strainer frame and polyflute (Coroplast) support with a spliced 4-ply mount. Stretch washed unbleached muslin over all of these and stitch the flag to the muslin (or stitch the flag and then stretch...depends on your sewing skills).
Make sure you charge for the extra hands necessary for a job like this.
Good luck...post a picture.
 
Use Z bars for hangiing the bad boy. Larson carries them and are ideal for oversize pieces. I ASSUME they still carry Zbars

Use Wally's idea too on the coroplast. Don't know if Sintra's archival just forgot
 
We have a Matte Black Wood Stem, 3/4 face x 1 3/8 rabbet in 11' lengths.
I could ship it cut or in full length.

Feel free to contact me.

Richard Allan
604 253 5800
 
Wally:

Thanks for your ideas and recommendations. I will be using an industrial strength strainer frame. And will also use unbleached muslin and stitch the flag to it.

And I will definitely post a picture of that baby!

Mike:

Z-bars it is ! Thanks.

Richard:

Thanks for the info. But we decided to go with either the original Omega (108 instead of 112 inches) or the Studio frames (they can do 112) the customer wanted.
 
I just finished a snakeskin measuring at 115 X 12. It tool awhile to find moulding long enough to make it , but after several calls to my reps we were able to get a handful of samples for client to choose from.
 
You could always use two pieces of coroplast-light waeight and strong. Use one sheet with the flutes running = and the other running ll and adhere them together with 989 atg.

good luck
Patrick Leeland
 
how about metal frames??

I believe that the decor line has some that we get in 12' lengths. can't think of the # right now - (I'm at home) but wouldn't that work for you?

strange - we get 11 and 12' sticks of wood moulding all the time......
 
Sandra:

I usually don't care much for metal frames, but in this case they would have been perfect.

But the customer wanted a certain wooden black frame from Omega (it looks quite nice actually). They do carry 10+ sticks, but not this particular frame.
 
Hi Rebecca,
When I sewed the flag to the linen backing, I folded the flag back on itself and stuffed a small amount of batting to keep it from being too flat. The fold was allowed to lay naturally rather than perfectly straight. Hope this makes sense to you. I will post pictures as soon as the customer and I can get together. I could not get the overall effect otherwise.
 
Sorry for not responding right off. I posted a similar quiry a couple of months ago. I had a vintage poster 117 x 58 (still in the works). I couldn't find a moulding that came long enough to accomodate the print. You first have to realize that you need longer than 10' to do a 10' piece due to the width of the moulding. I called every major supplier in the USA of prefinished mouldings. Most mouldings these days come in 3 meter lengths (just under 10', like 9.875' or something). So I turned to my closed corner connections. David Munn at APF is having a 3 wide metal leaf finish frame made for me and shipped to my store in California. It costs more than a prefinished moulding obviously but you have to do what you have to do. I haven't read many of the responses here but just a little food for thought(if this has been said disregard
You will need to use at least 3/16" plexiglas for this job because 1/8" will tend to warp on larger pieces. Make sure you can get that size plexi in any thickness from your local plexi supplier. They won't always carry it. Also make sure that whatever moulding you do end up with is strong enough to handle the weight of all the materials you will be putting in it. Oh and don't forget about backing. I know that Rising matboards come up to 120 x 60" but its hard to find a local supplier that will sell you one sheet only.
 
Originally posted by Richard Allan:
We have a Matte Black Wood Stem, 3/4 face x 1 3/8 rabbet in 11' lengths.
I could ship it cut or in full length.

Feel free to contact me.

Richard Allan
604 253 5800
Click to expand...
richard, you can't build a frame that large with a moulding that skinny!

silly!
smileyshot22.gif
 
Originally posted by Patrick Leeland:
You could always use two pieces of coroplast-light waeight and strong. Use one sheet with the flutes running = and the other running ll and adhere them together with 989 atg.

good luck
Patrick Leeland
Click to expand...
you mean 969?
 
Brian:

Thanks for your reply, and very good advice.

I decided to use 108 inches of the 112 of the flag and Omega said they could furnish such a frame, (which was chosen by the customer).

As for Plexi, I will be using at least 3/16 thickness.
 
As promised, here's a picture of the largest item I framed: A US flag 108 x 57 1/4!

For comparison purposes, the botanical on the wall to the right is 14 inches wide.

It is quite heavy by the way! The plexi alone weighs about 60 lbs.

BigFlag.jpg
 
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