to see both sides of an item

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Stacey

Grumbler in Training
Joined
May 22, 2005
Posts
3
Location
Westport Washington
Greetings!
I was wondering if anyone has info about framing something so that both sides can be seen. I have a customer that has some old hand-written letters that have writing on both sides and they want to preserve them. Is there a certain type of frame that would do the job? What about the hanging system... how would one go about hanging something like that?
Any info would be greatly appreciated! Thanks and have a great Memorial Day!!!

Stacey @ Art Talks in Westport WA
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Stacey,

This is actually easier than it sounds - you will need access to a small table saw, preferably with a blade with a kerf that matches the thickness of the flat part of the fillet. You will also need to make up a little jig to support the rabbet of the molding while cutting a slot.

Make up a package of glass, front mat, back mat and glass. Hinge the letter to either of the mats. On a moulding (min rabbet 9/16") that has a finished back or that you have painted, cut a slot to hold the fillet of your choice the distance down the rabbet to match the thickness of the package.

Join 3 legs of the frame to form a "U". Insert the package and 3 legs of the fillet. Then add the fourth leg and fillet. I recommend that you use brass screws in pre-drilled holes to hold the last leg in - the frame is now reversible as in undoing as well as visually. A saw tooth hanger is the least offensive hanging system to allow viewing of the back.

You could put brass feet or some other method of support for desk-top display. Or, if there are multiple letters or pages, you could hinge them together like a screen.

Pat :D
 
I've had to produce a real quick glass trap for a double sided certificate. Build a simple black frame with a rabbit deep enough to accomodate two thickness of glass, the letter and quarter round cut to fit each leg. Pre drill quarter round, Paint all the raw wood with black acrylic and assemble. Hang or set in a little brass easel.
 
A simpler (I think) way:

Cut two identical mats. Attach the letter to the back of one, attach the second mat to the back. Now you've got a double-sided mat (we'll call it the mount mat)with the letter sandwiched between. Reverse bevel cuts add a nice touch.

Now you can add another mat (float it above the mount mat if needed) to fill the rabbet competely. Fit and finish as desired.

We have one that was done years ago. Float mat, mount mat, and 2 joined frames. It's thick enough to stand on a shelf (no mounting to the wall) so there's no concern about hanging. You can also cut a small frame to use as a stand for your frame to make it a tabletop. I can post a photo if you'd like.

Gets lots of compliments and second looks in the shop.

Tony
 
Do the double sided mat idea but use a metal frame. The back is finished looking and you can use a universal hanger a D ring type hanger for metal frames from United, I do these all the time. Fast, easy and it looks nice.
 
Tony, I'm struggling to vision what this should look like, myself. I have Bible pages from the early 1600's that I finally gave up on and matted/framed one-sided. It would be great if I could master the double sided display. Would you please post a photo (or more!) on how you achieved this? Thanks, David. deaconsbench@yahoo.com.
 
FrameTek makes a special spacer called FrameSpace 1/4 Double that is designed just for this project. It holds 2 pieces of SSB glass 1/4 inch apart.

Attach the document to the back piece of glass with the teeeeeny mylar corner mounts. (Tell your customer that you are a framer, not a magician)

Bond the FrameSpace to the lip of the frame rabbet with clear, flexible, adhesive-sealant found in the hardware store for exterior house caulking.

You can see a cross section of this extrusion on the FrameTek web pages.
 
Stacey:

There are several good ideas here for constructing the frame, but watch out for the mounting.

How much preservation do you want? If protecting the document is important, please consider a clear film encapsulation (sandwich) mount. That would show both sides and all of the edges, and requires a mat on both sides -- not only for decorative effect, but also to provide an insulating space between the mount and the glazing.

You can find detailed instructions in the archives. But vasically, you sandwich the document between two sheets of Melinex 516 clear polyester film, and hold them together with strips of 3M #889 tape, placed at least 1/8" out from the document's edges, but no farrher out than 1/4". Cut the front & back mats of equal size, so the the windows cover the tape strips, but show the doc's edges.

One more thing: All clear polyester film has curvature, and if you get it wrong, it will look bubbled. When you position the clear film sheets, make sure their curvatures are together in the center, so that the edges are pulled down & the sheets are perfectly flat on the document.
 
OK here goes:
This piece is about 10 years old, so some details about construction may be fuzzy.
The 2 frames are cut exactly the same size. Then the 2 inside "mount mats" are cut. The artwork is attached (use the best applicable method - I think we used corners on this) and the mats attached to each other. Didn't know about encapsulation back then - we'd mount it that way if we were to re-do this. It's a postcard so it's pretty thick stock and there's no need for the extra support.

The frame is "filled" so the mount mat is flush to the back of frame 1. This creates the floated look of the mat. Frame 2 is filled the same way, and the 2 frames joined together.
You could nail, glue, or silicone (!) them together. Rare earth magnets also work great, with the advantage of being able to take the piece apart without destroying it. The joined frames in this case are thick enough to stand on the table without easel or stand, but you can easily cut a third frame to act as a stand.

Side1:
2side1.jpg

Side2:
2side3.jpg


Hope that helps....

Tony
 
Thanks one and all for the great ideas and wonderful support for your fellow framers! Now I can offer my customers more great preservation ideas/options! This is a fab forum!!!

Stacey
 
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