Things I learned today..............

[Candy]

1. Shadowboxes are rarely as easy as one would think......

2. Mylar D...............um....................

3. I want a new profession................maybe...........

Ok, I decided to try Mylar D on the large military shadowbox, about 45 pieces. Things are going slow, but going. It is taking way, way too long, but it must be perfect, or nearly. I have 13 medals that are more like large coins. There is no way to attach these .... years ago, I would use glue, but no more. I really didn't like stabilitex, so that leaves mylar D. I did it the way Jim Miller teaches and it was okay. I just know that there has to be some little trick that makes it much easier and quicker. They came out okay. I will probably be the only one who looks at it and says it could have been done better. The overall piece is really good, except that the mat is 1/2 inch smaller than the frame, the glass I cut is scratched, and I finally went home to mull this over.

 

[FramerDave]

A few things come to mind:

If a bunch of the coins are the same size, make a matboard template to cut the Mylar with. It'll make that part a lot faster. Just hold it down on the Mylar and cut around it. Same goes for the wider strips you're using to go through the pin backs.

Pre-cut a whole slew of 889 and 887 tabs and have handy.

Mount the objects in smaller assemblies and then mount those to a larger background. Makes for a more interesting design and saves having to wrestle with a huge board.

 

[Jim Miller]

...I did it the way Jim Miller teaches and it was okay. I just know that there has to be some little trick that makes it much easier and quicker...

Thanks for that glowing endorsement of my technique, Candy.


Seriously, clear film mounting a typical medal should take about 7 minutes, after you practice and get familiar with the procedure. I always trace the shape on a scrap of matboard, draw in the straps, tape on a piece of clear film, and trim it out with an X-Acto knife. Then I use the scrap piece of clear film to mark slot locations on the mounting background, poke slots with the X-Acto knife, pull the straps through the slots and tape them on the back using 3M #889 and #887 tapes. Finally, I use a 1/2" to 3/4" wide strap to secure the pinback.

By that method, those 13 medals should take a little more than an hour and a half of direct labor. However, if your schedule is anything like mine, that labor time would be split up into 5-10 minute segments by phone calls, doorbell rings, and other drop-what-you're-doing-and-take-care-of-it activities.

Mounting medals by tulle, Crepeline, or Stabiltex is even faster, but the fabric may be more visible on some medals -- especially the glossy ones. The procedure is very simple: Make a hole in the matboard where you want to mount the medal, about 3/8" smaller than the medal's perimeter -- if you have a CMC, that's very easy to plan and execute. Then, wrap the medal in a piece of the fine mesh fabric that exceeds the size of the medal by at least an inch all around. (Make a neat slot for the medal's eyelet). Pull the fabric through the hole, smooth out the pleats, and attach it to the back of the mounting board using hotmelt glue or 3M #889 double-sided tape.

Yes, these methods take a bit longer than unscrewing the cap on a tube of silicone. On the other hand, these methods are non-invasive and completely reversible. And I have never heard of such a mount failing, no matter how rough the treatment.

Like all of the other manual skills in framing, mounting by these methods requires some practice. The more you practice, the better and faster you will be able to do it.

 

[Candy]

Jim, Thank you for your tips. I think I just want to be perfect and know all the fine tuning the first time I try it. It doesn't usually happen and I end up being humbled by how much I really don't know yet. This piece took almost a day and a half to put together. However, after showing it to a couple of people, it appears that I am the only one that can see the flaws. I wasn't too far off from your suggestions, but enough to give me a headache.

Dave, I like the idea of smaller pieces, that would have worked really nice on this piece.

And, yes, I was getting constant interruptions during this process.