Advice sought - rules of thumb - narrow moulding

[Alzibiff]

Hello,
I have a customer who has asked me to frame a couple of prints using a narrow moulding - as narrow as I can get basically! (She doesn't like wide mouldings - and by wide she means anything approaching 20-25mm).

Both items are around 520mm x 390mm in size.
For one of them, she requires a narrow black moulding, the other requires a grey/green moulding.
Item 1 : Double mounted pretty standard stuff.
Item 2 : Effectively triple mounted in terms of depth. This is a double sided print of a map which she wants to pull down from the wall now and again in order to view/read the words on the back side of the map. The front will have a double mount with the back having a two aperture single mount. I intend to use 2mm glass at the front and an acrylic sheet at the back.

Just how narrow a moulding can I safely use here? Any advice gratefully received. I am building up a business - slowly but surely and don't have the experience which many of you will have in abundance.
If using a narrow moulding, is there a need to brace the frame in some way at the back perhaps? (Not for the double sided one though.)
Thanks in advance,
Alan

[markw]

You could go down to a narrow black - the thinnest i use is about 12mm. - you have two major problems when you go this thin on the double sided frame - you realy dont have much material to attach a hanger. If the frame wasnt double sided you could rivet the hangers to the back - narrow frame then presents no problem - second problem - again with narrow frame is taping it all up to stop the narrow frame from flexing.

my advice would be to use a frame with sufficient width on the back to allow attachment of hangers - deep enough to allow double glass/acrylic (i would use double acrylic and cut down on the weight)- paint back of frame black to match front - tape up with a black cloth tape that will give a neat - but practical finish to the back of the frame.

Lion sell Flanger hangers that work very well on large narrow frames.

[Roboframer]

It sounds like the costmetics of the back of the double-sided frame are not an issue - although it has to look neat of course, like any frame.

I'd go for aluminium - then she can go to 5mm wide with bags of strength.

[osgood]

Just tell your customer that for practical reasons there is a limit to how narrow you can go and show them the size you are happy to use. I do this all the time for dipstick customers who are obsessed with narrow frames.

Explain that there is a lot of pressure on the joints and they could separate (because there is not a large gluing area), then you will be the one that gets the blame if that happens and say you are not prepared to make something that might be less than satisfactory for the customer. This always works because people don't want the joints in their frame to pop open!

You are the authority on framing, the customer is not. Would that customer tell their surgeon how to operate on them? I don't think so!

[Merlin]

We had exactly the same problem with memorabilia maps that some Pongo (army type) brought back from the Gulf War.

As with Roboframer we managed to convert said 'non thinking' army person to go for a black satin finish aluminium, with the map showing on the face and a multi aperture mount on the reverse.

The reverse of the frame was finished with a black cloth tape, to hide the silver corner brackets. The hanging bracket was placed in the centre of the top bar of the frame but reversed so that is stuck outside of the frame - somewhat like a mirror bracket. This was painted with black celulose. Job done and looked quite good.

Grunt. Pongo. Army person happy.