World's longest picture frame
Mal Lansell
that is 12ft wide by 18 inches high when unrolled. I would like to make a
frame for it, but the question is how?! It would be nice to have a single
sheet of transparent material over the front, rather than building a frame
in sections, so I guess glass is out of the question (I would imagine that a
piece of glass that size that is thin enough for a picture would break very
easily). Would it be possible to get plastic in that size? The picture
will be hung quite high on the wall, so a fairly unreflective material would
also be useful.
Mal
James Day
wrote:
Hi,
I would have thought glass would be ideal - why does the thickness
matter. Obviously it will be heavier, but it will be easier to source
than a plastic (or whatever) sheet in that size.
Given that it will be supported on the edges, why should it need to be
any thicker than the glass used on a picture 18" square. I guess
transporting it may be difficult - but you could make a suitable
carrier for transport on a roof rack.
I think the hardest part will be finding a long enough piece of
mdf/hardboard/whatever to use as the backing sheet.
>
>Mal
>
>
James Day
The incredible Sulk
You know, I would like to offer you Sulks prize of teh day for the most
challenging and curious question.
In reality, I haven't a clue, but IO can't resist a bit of intellectual
speculation.
(i) Is 12' really that big, for glass? I don't think so. I have seen
lots of windows bigger than that.
(ii) Do you need to have the glass one unbroken (:-)) expanse? Leaded
lights? :-)
(iii) I am sure polycarbonate would do the job, but I couldn't say where
to get it.
(iv) How ae you going to *mount* this monster? 18 sq ft of glazing is
going to be quite heavy!. Perhaps you need to build a box in the wall to
take it, line it with MDF and then screw a farem and glass on the front.
By the way, thin glass is quite flexible. Provided you put something
between it an whatever you were pressing it against - self adhesive
draught excluder springs to mind - and didn't screw it down hard, it
will flex to take up the strain.
I know what *I* woudl *try* and do -
- build a very strong frame and backing, a bit bigger than the picture.
- have an MDF backing sheet for it, possibly covered in colored car, or
pianted, as a border.
- get some aluminium L section - I think there is some fancy stuff
around that might look good
- get my sheet of glass
- put soft foamy strip all the way round each side of each edge of the
glass
- drill the L section so that there is a screw about every foot, and
remeber to make th ehoes *outside* of teh galss area
- get a lot of safety goggles and gloves and *gently* put the glass in
place over the picture in and teh frame
- *gently* screw the aluminium down until the foam *just* tstarts to
compress.
I guess you could use standard wood framing instead of alloy. If you
wanted not to glue the picture down, then maybe leave out the rear foam
on the glass and get some clamp action going. Or glue s9omething thin
and resilient (poly foam for wall lining? *behind* the picture to press
against the glass and stop the picture sliding?
I think the key things are, that glass is really nice, and I bet you
*can* get it the right size. but it will need very careful thought in
terms of supporting it with a rigid frame assembly, and great care in
attaching it. Now my mind is wandering to teh ideal material for the
back of teh frame, light, very stiff and stable...Umm. How about spend a
couple of hundred grand and have the F1 boys mould you one in carbon
fibre composite!
Would look dead sexy as well - all that black fibre stuff :-)
Otherwise, its probably a wood frame and MDF. :-(
> Mal
--
Great Sayings of the past:
"He who sh*ts in the road will meet flies on his return" (Mr Natural)
"De Heffalumpis semper disputandum est" (Winne Ille Pu)
Peter Ashby
ja...@no39.net (James Day) wrote:
> I think the hardest part will be finding a long enough piece of
> mdf/hardboard/whatever to use as the backing sheet.
For a frame 12ft long you will need supporting fillets between the long
edges every so often or it will sag. Therefore the backing sheet will
need to be fitted into the fillets so will not be 12ft long. If an
uninterupted backing to the strip is wanted then some paper could be
laid a la wallpaper to give that.
Peter
--
Peter Ashby
Wellcome Trust Biocentre
University of Dundee
Dundee, Scotland
Reverse the spam and remove to email me.
Keith Wootten
<m...@artworks.co.uk> writes
[snip]
>In a moment of madness during a trip to China, I bought a watercolour scroll
>that is 12ft wide by 18 inches high when unrolled. I would like to make a
>frame for it, but the question is how?!
It's a scroll, so leave it scrolled between two (motorised?) rollers in
a windowed box. Use an old TV.
Cheers
--
Keith Wootten
Mal Lansell
news:3b9deab0....@news.demon.co.uk...
> I would have thought glass would be ideal - why does the thickness
> matter. Obviously it will be heavier, but it will be easier to source
> than a plastic (or whatever) sheet in that size.
>
> Given that it will be supported on the edges, why should it need to be
> any thicker than the glass used on a picture 18" square. I guess
> transporting it may be difficult - but you could make a suitable
> carrier for transport on a roof rack.
>
> I think the hardest part will be finding a long enough piece of
> mdf/hardboard/whatever to use as the backing sheet.
A sheet of glass 12ft long would be hard to handle without it breaking (I'm
talking about getting it from the store, and putting it in the frame). Like
you say, once in the frame it would be fine, but I don't see me getting it
to that point in one piece! Thick glass (like you would find on large
window for example) would be too heavy for my liking.
Mal
Mal Lansell
"The incredible Sulk" <Pou...@Sulk.nospam> wrote in message
news:3B9DF277...@Sulk.nospam...
> You know, I would like to offer you Sulks prize of teh day for the most
> challenging and curious question.
Thankyou, Thankyou. I would like to thank my agent, my parents...
> (i) Is 12' really that big, for glass? I don't think so. I have seen
> lots of windows bigger than that.
Those windows have quite thick glass, which may make the picture look like
Mr Maggoo's view of the world :-)
It would also be very heavy.
> (ii) Do you need to have the glass one unbroken (:-)) expanse? Leaded
> lights? :-)
Although the painting is divided into a set of twelve figures and could be
divided in neccesssary, I would prefer to have a single stretch if possible
(if only to emphasise the unfeasibly long nature of the picture!)
> (iii) I am sure polycarbonate would do the job, but I couldn't say where
> to get it.
>
Anyone?
> (iv) How ae you going to *mount* this monster? 18 sq ft of glazing is
> going to be quite heavy!. Perhaps you need to build a box in the wall to
> take it, line it with MDF and then screw a farem and glass on the front.
I was planning to make a wood frame with MDF backing (and plenty of
bracing!). I just don't see me transporting a suitably large, thin sheet of
glass without it breaking. The frame would also probably flex a bit, and
probably by more than the glass would like.
Any final design would also need to have a traditional appearance - the
picture is going into a victorian dining room where aluminium and carbon
fibre would look a little odd :-)
Mal
Nightjar
"The incredible Sulk" <Pou...@Sulk.nospam> wrote in message
news:3B9DF277...@Sulk.nospam...
>
> (iii) I am sure polycarbonate would do the job, but I couldn't say where
> to get it.
You can buy it from most plastics stockists, but I'm not sure that any
stockist would have a sheet larger than 8ft x 4ft.
Colin Bignell
Mike Costello
It may be a boring reply (i.e. not joining in the spirit of the intellectual
challenge) but have you tried the 'experts'.
There is a company called Lion who supply just about everything you could
think of for picture framers. They are extremely helpful and I would
imagine they would be only too happy to advise (they always do when I ask
them ridiculous questions). Your problem will be getting them to take you
seriously and not thinking its some kind of wind-up!
Although they are trade suppliers, most of their customers seem to be
amateurs like me whenever I go there, so don't be fooled by the 'trade'
thing.
Lion Picture Framing Supplies
www.lionpic.co.uk
tel: 0121 773 1230
12ft indeed!
Mike
"Mal Lansell" <m...@artworks.co.uk> wrote in message
news:9nkki8$eb4$1...@ayres.ftech.net...
The incredible Sulk
Mal Lansell wrote:
>
> "James Day" <ja...@no39.net> wrote in message
> news:3b9deab0....@news.demon.co.uk...
> > I would have thought glass would be ideal - why does the thickness
> > matter. Obviously it will be heavier, but it will be easier to source
> > than a plastic (or whatever) sheet in that size.
> >
> > Given that it will be supported on the edges, why should it need to be
> > any thicker than the glass used on a picture 18" square. I guess
> > transporting it may be difficult - but you could make a suitable
> > carrier for transport on a roof rack.
> >
> > I think the hardest part will be finding a long enough piece of
> > mdf/hardboard/whatever to use as the backing sheet.
>
> A sheet of glass 12ft long would be hard to handle without it breaking (I'm
> talking about getting it from the store, and putting it in the frame).
I doubt you get that from a store. Glaziers have special trucks with
padded racks to deliver large sheets of glass. It'll get there OK. Maybe
it would come in special packing.
> Like
> you say, once in the frame it would be fine, but I don't see me getting it
> to that point in one piece! Thick glass (like you would find on large
> window for example) would be too heavy for my liking.
>
I think it wouldn't be worse than carrying a sheet of balsa wood in a
gale :-)
The incredible Sulk
they would know a lot about the handling and treatment of large areas of
glass.
--
James Day
wrote:
>
>
>> (iv) How ae you going to *mount* this monster? 18 sq ft of glazing is
>> going to be quite heavy!. Perhaps you need to build a box in the wall to
>> take it, line it with MDF and then screw a farem and glass on the front.
>
>I was planning to make a wood frame with MDF backing (and plenty of
>bracing!). I just don't see me transporting a suitably large, thin sheet of
>glass without it breaking. The frame would also probably flex a bit, and
>probably by more than the glass would like.
So make the frame - stiffen it up temporarily (screw a couple of
3x4's) to the back and take it along when you collect the glass.
(you might as well take the scroll along as well)
Then return home with the completed picture - hang it up and spend the
next ten years wondering whether its upside down.
James Day
Ian M. Stewart
wrote:
>Although the painting is divided into a set of twelve figures and could be
>divided in neccesssary, I would prefer to have a single stretch if possible
>(if only to emphasise the unfeasibly long nature of the picture!)
>
>
>> (iii) I am sure polycarbonate would do the job, but I couldn't say where
>> to get it.
When I first took up framing my wife's artwork I was given some
polycarbonate intended for picture framing - so it *is* available
somewhere. Sorry, I don't know where.
Why not ask a glass supplier if there is available a strengthened form
of picture glass for large pictures? It may need to be strengthened
*after* being cut to size.
>I was planning to make a wood frame with MDF backing (and plenty of
>bracing!). I just don't see me transporting a suitably large, thin sheet of
>glass without it breaking. The frame would also probably flex a bit, and
>probably by more than the glass would like.
>Any final design would also need to have a traditional appearance - the
>picture is going into a victorian dining room where aluminium and carbon
>fibre would look a little odd :-)
The transportation is definately the main problem, but remember that
an unexpected shock (door slamming?) could crack such a length of weak
picture glass as well. The idea of a stiff backing board is good.
Would quality (marine?) plywood not be stiffer than MDF? The top and
bottom rails of the frame would also need some bracing, either by
verticals at intervals or by connection to the backing board, to
prevent them curveing and also twisting. This complicates the normal
sequence of framing. I would suggest a ladder style sub frame placed
behind the backing board but marginally within the framing profile,
which is then attached to the frame only, leaving the backing board
floating within the rebate. The sub frame could be diagonally braced
across each end section to prevent it going out of square. This
ladder would then be the component used for taking the hanging weight.
Good luck.
--
Ian
The second half of life is spent trying to escape the effects of the first half...
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