So this guy comes in with a Fish....

[Julie Walsh]

....a beautiful Springer Salmon 40"x16" fresh from the taxidermist and carefully wrapped and secured to the wood crate. Our slogan is "If we can lift it, we can frame it!" and since I can lift it I need some ideas for framing this one.
In case you need to know, he caught it while on vacation in British Columbia, took about 25 minutes to land and a year to preserve and then was shipped to Toronto where he lives.

 

[johnny]

....a beautiful Springer Salmon 40"x16" fresh from the taxidermist and carefully wrapped and secured to the wood crate. Our slogan is "If we can lift it, we can frame it!" and since I can lift it I need some ideas for framing this one.
In case you need to know, he caught it while on vacation in British Columbia, took about 25 minutes to land and a year to preserve and then was shipped to Toronto where he lives.

Actually, from what I've seen for this one I'd look to buy a hand made frame and some background fabric from Baer, if he'd let me.

Good luck! Please post your progress!

 

[Rick Granick]

Does it have to be able to turn its head out toward the room and sing country songs?
Rick

 

[Richard Darling]

Be sure to use a fillet.

 

[Paul N]

And a fishing monofilament to secure it in place....

 

[Baer Charlton]

40".. jeez, the minimum here is 42 (Sturgeon).

I'm with the other guys, kind of .... a real nice moree with a water guilded fillet would be very alluring. A nice rustic frame with a gravity box so he can let it out to continue going to school.

Honestly Julie 40" and he kept it?

This one is only 43" and we got less than 20lbs of steaks off it..... but it was just one of those days.... keep it or go buy a steak...

What ever you do, remember that you are helping this guy tell his story, not just framing a chunk of fiberglass and skin.

I was serious about the moree fabric, rustic frame and gravity box.

 

[Jim Miller]

Julie, is any sort of mounting provision attached to the fish? Is it on a board? More description, please. In fact, it would be most helpful if you could post a photo of the back of the fish.

An acrylic box with a rustic frame makes good sense. If this guy is really proud of his catch, offer him an Optium Museum Acrylic box...filters harmful UV light, ya know.

 

[johnny]

Julie, is any sort of mounting provision attached to the fish? Is it on a board? More description, please. In fact, it would be most helpful if you could post a photo of the back of the fish.

An acrylic box with a rustic frame makes good sense. If this guy is really proud of his catch, offer him an Optium Museum Acrylic box...filters harmful UV light, ya know.

Those UVacrylic boxes are nice. We just put a new one on a autographed Evander Holyfield boxing glove. The sig was fading.

Someone has a large fabric and ropey, almost macreme (sp?) like piece on sticks... kinda hard to describe. It's in a large regular plexi box with no back. Thin plexi, square cut edges glued together, hung from the top through holes and with fishing line. She doesn't know what to do and her husband hates the plexi box. She wants it protected. I explained that the current plexi box offers zero % protection. The husband said "SEE!" I picked it up at their home, which just sold, and I'm storing it and several others for a few months until they move into a new place when we will look at all their artwork, rework the framing, and redecorate.

So, where I'm going with all this.... Maybe a good treatment will be the same thing I'm going to suggest for this piece. It would work if the fish is pre-mounted like Jim says, or if you can get someone to mount it. Visit the home where it will be hung and look at the space. If it works, suggest that a portion of the wall be painted an accent color in a square around the fish. I'll be painting the customers wall, if you want to go that far. All bets are off if it's paneling. The object gets hung directly on the wall. A frame is cut several inches larger than the fish and attached to the wall, coverering the edge lines of the accent color. The plexi box is attached with screws to the outside edge of the frame. It's a nice look and the frame only has to look good, doesn't have to be anywhere near shadow box depth because the plexi box takes care of that.

This will work for my customer because it gives the wife her plexi box and gives the husband the finished look he desires. I hope it can give you some ideas too.

 

[Rick Granick]

Johnny- why not have your plexi box made with a small flange around the outer edge at the open back. Then cut the frame so its sight opening just fits around the outer edge of the plexi box. The flange rests in the rabbet of the frame, so that the frame is outside the box. We use this technique all the time for deep objects. I'm not crazy about the look of an unframed acrylic box. I love being able to choose whatever frame looks best, without concern about its depth. Nurre Bevelwoods frames look good with very deep boxes because they slant in to the sight edge and the face depth helps relieve the look of a seemingly too-deep box.
Rick

 

[johnny]

Johnny- why not have your plexi box made with a small flange around the outer edge at the open back. Then cut the frame so its sight opening just fits around the outer edge of the plexi box. The flange rests in the rabbet of the frame, so that the frame is outside the box. We use this technique all the time for deep objects. I'm not crazy about the look of an unframed acrylic box. I love being able to choose whatever frame looks best, without concern about its depth. Nurre Bevelwoods frames look good with very deep boxes because they slant in to the sight edge and the face depth helps relieve the look of a seemingly too-deep box.
Rick

That sounds good! I like the look of the frame being enclosed inside the plexi box when the frame is shallow compared to the overall depth and it's freestanding on the wall without anything mounted inside it like I described above. It's just an aesthetic preference.

 

[Julie Walsh]

Does this have to be in a plexi box??? Does it have to be behind glass at all? The customer was considering an oval wood back ground (stained and lacquered) and the fish mounted to it; I'm looking for other ideas. Also, the fish does have hardware attached to it and has been attached to the box (it came with a bit to remove it). I'm reluctant to remove it at this time since I don't want to handle it too much.

 

[Jim Miller]

Does this have to be in a plexi box??? Does it have to be behind glass at all?

With no protection, routine dusting/cleaning of airborne contaminants (cooking oils, HVAC particulates, etc.) would be very difficult and might eventually ruin it. The fins are very fragile, and probably would be broken off by accidents during cleaning or handling. Disregarding the deteriorated appearance, once damaged, taxidermy repairs may be more costly than the frame would have been.

You should talk with your customer about how long he wants this fish to look good hanging on his wall. If looking good for just a decade or so, and then looking tattered for a couple more decades before it falls apart is OK with him, forget the glazing and tell him to be verrrrry careful with it. He doesn't need you. Any high school kid in wood shop can put it on an oval of wood.

But when it's gone, it's gone. I would recommend an acrylic box.

 

[Julie Walsh]

okay, I'm now convinced to go with the plexi box. Does anyone have any instructions on building one? I can cut the plexi; what adhesive do I use at the corners?

 

[Jim Miller]

I suggest having one built by an acrylic fabricator. Gemini Moulding/Showcase Acrylics in Chicago may be a convenient source for you, or you may establish a business relationship with a local industrial fabricator. Finding one that is suitable and does precise-enough fabrication for framing might take some trial-and-error, though.

If you want to make your own, start small and practice. You probably can get the solvent/adhesive from your acrylic sheet supplier. Cutting perfectly straight edges is sometimes difficut, but the hard part is getting them smooth and semi-polished before bonding. Most fabricators use a jointer or router for that purpose, I think. I have built a few, but they do much better job than most of us could.