Oval frames - hangers

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Susan May

Susan May

PFG, Picture Framing God
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Just wondering how you all tackle the problem of putting hangers on the back of a circle, or oval frame.

For example:
I have an oval frame, all the artwork is in the frame, the paper is attached to the back of the frame (as to how the paper is attached, we have already covered that in another thread.), now I need to know my EXACT top so I can attach my hangers. Then I need to know where to put the bumpons and store label.

(I guess my second question is... anyone come up with something better than screw eyes and wire for ovals?)

(I have a system, but I want to see how other people do this job, and then I'll share my method.)

[ 03-02-2003, 08:06 PM: Message edited by: Susan May ]
 
I cut a piece of cardboard that is slightly more that 2/3 of the way up the oval. Then I put the cardboard behind the oval, adjust the oval until it looks upright against the cardboard, put a dot on each side of the oval at the top of the cardboard. There I attach my hangers for my wire.

I have much more trouble centering our sticker and placing the bumpons
 
There must be a million ways to do this.


I lay the frame face down and move it over to the right edge of the table with the top edge of the frame lined up with the edge of the table where I am standing. I then lay a ruler across it approximately 1/3 of the way down from the top of the frame. I measure the distance from the table to the ruler and mark the spot where I want to put the hangers.
 
Since your ovals are probably standard sizes, start by taking a square (rectangular) piece of mat board and draw parallel lines on it 1/2" apart both horizontally and vertically.

Then cut an oval in whatever sizes you commonly stock. After you have fit the frame, but before you back it, place the scored oval mat into the back of your frame. Using a ruler follow one of the ruled lines to each side of the frame and score it, too.
 
Sue,
We have the same problem you do, but really we do very few new ovals, and practically no rounds at all. The ones we do tend to get are old ones, particularly the kind with "bubble" glass, and crumbling finishes. Talk about a pain! My mom is usually the one stuck with these jewels...the rest of us hide when we see them coming. :D

Leslie
 
Ok, I can see that there are VERY few ways to deal with ovals... So here is how I deal with them.

1) I lay the frame face up on a scrap piece of paper, and trace around it.
2) Cut out the traced shape. (Now you have a blank template the same shape and size of the outside of your frame.)
3) I fold the template in half, (so that the fold line will go from side to side, not top to bottom) making sure that all edges are touching, and not offset. This will give me an exact halfway point.
4) Then fold in half the other way. (so the fold goes top to bottom, by bringing the sides together) By these folds, I now know where how to find the exact top of my frame.
5) Open the last fold, and fold both sides in towards the center fold line. (Kind of like making a paper airplane.) I use these fold lines to place my Bumpons on the frame.
6) Compleatly open the paper, and fold the top down to the center fold line. This is the marker for my hangers. (I know that this give you a placement of 1/4 of the way down the frame, but I have found that 1/3 tends to make ovals and circles hang forward from the wall.)
7) Unfold the template, and use it to attach hooks, and bumpons. Step 6 is the hook marker, and step 5 is the bumpon marker. I use step 4 to help place my hook in the right oriantation. In other word, make sure it is right side up. :D

Keep the template for future use.

I hope this makes sense.
 
Sue, that's a great method for often-used sizes and wouldn't really take long on an oddball one.

Why didn't you just tell us that to begin with? :D

We've done a few ovals and like that idea. I don't know really what Mizz po used for hangers because I wasn't paying much attention to what she was up to, but I'm almost positive she used the D-ring hangers and wire. (This assumes that the given moulding is wide enough, etc., but these were pretty good-sized ovals in every case that I remember.) She would have either used the Sevalon clamping system with the plastic-covered wire or regular wire with heat-shrink tubing over the finger-pokin' wrapped ends.
 
Sue,
I told ya before that if I told ya I'd have ta kill ya! But, I won't use what I had because it broke and your method is better anyway. I'm gonna start using it.

So there!
 
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