Securing a chain....

[Gus]

I have some naval objects to frame, glass size will be no more than 400 x 300mm. One of the items is a bosun's whistle with a 48" chain. I am having trouble in finding ways to secure the chain. The customer has left it up to me to do something with and will be quite happy with whatever I do (so he says!)

I have thought of 3 options:
1. Take the chain off and don't include it in the frame.
2. Only display a few inches of the chain, hiding the remainder in the void (it's a box frame)
3. Fold the chain into 4 so it is only 12" long and fasten that to mount board.

My problem is: How do I secure the chain to the board?
I have searched the forum and can't find any old posts or pictures. Any ideas gratefully received.

Also, mylar has been discussed before - is this the same stuff as the old overhead projector slides that were used in presentations before powerpoint came out?

Thanks as always.

[Roboframer]

Nothing like it, that was (is) acetate.

How are you intending to secure the whistle and the other objects? I'd've thought the chain would be easier, it's a load of holes - connected links, fasten it with a few stitches of button thread, or metallic thread - to match.

But of course there's no need to see all four feet of it, unless you could use it as a 'border' around all the other objects, which might look quite good, otherwise show some and pass the rest through the mounting board, maybe through an eyelet; maybe under one of the other objects.

[Gus]

The photo will be t hinged, the medal pinned, the 'tallyband' stitched and the whistle I was intending to sink and stitch.

I will experiment using the chain as a border, could look good, thanks.

Ah yes, acetate - of course. Another silly question but can I buy only a few sheets if mylar or does it have to be mega amounts?

[Roboframer]

Mylar/Melinex/clear archival polyester (it gets confusing!) comes in many forms, but rolls are best for many reasons, mainly economy and versatility (no need to sink that whistle, a couple of practically invisible thin straps and you could show more of it) but also if using for encapsulation the curve helps - like this
)( as it does in many other applications.

Here's PEL's rolls, but check the associated products to see how the stuff comes in other forms - I've never used any, just the rolls, if I needed any of the other stuff I could make it from the roll. One of these would make life easier, but not essential!

[Gus]

Thanks for the help roboframer, I will definitely check out pel, the rolls are better value than I imagined - but the machines may prove too much!

I will try and post a photo when I have a rough draft for any further comments.

Many thanks.

[Merlin]

The correct term is 'Bosuns Call'. I am ex RN and the proud owner of a silver plated one which I was presented with in 19 (Oh such a long time ago).

The chains make it quite difficult to frame. As Robo suggested - invisible button thread around the barrel will hold it in place. They are not heavy items.

However, a quick Google came up with this idea

bosuns call.jpg (10.68 KiB) Viewed 4805 times

[Gus]

Yes that's the same one - apologies for calling it a whistle, as an ex Army lad from 19** I guess I would get a 'ship' and a 'boat' mixed up as well!

This one has his name engraved on it too. I have ordered some mylar and will use the invisible thread to arrange the chain as attractively as I can.

[Not your average framer]

Nothing like it, that was (is) acetate

Acetate is a product of organic chemistry and is produced from acetic acid. It is more than likely to be degraded by long term exposure to ultra violet radiation. I don't think that it is at all suitable for your intended use.

Have you looked at A4 laser printable overhead transparency sheets? These have to be made out of materials which are stable and do not distort when exposed to the temperatures used to bond the laser printer toner to the print media. This largely rules out the use of acetate, because normal (un-modified) acetate is a hydroscopic material and will distort when rapidly heated, if it has absorbed enough atmospheric moisture.

Not only that, but as laser printers have improved their printing speeds over the years, the fuser roller temperature have increased. This has restricted the range of materials suitable for making laser printable transparency materials. Not all laser printable transparency materials are made from polyester, but it is one of the range of materials in use by some suppliers. (Mylar is a trade name for polyester).

You need to ask for a suppliers product data sheet to know for sure.

Polyester is one of the leading polymer materials suitable for laser printing, hot foil printing and silk screen printing, which is why it is manufactured as so many different variations in film, or sheet form. Polyester is an extremely strong, stable and durable polymer, which is why it is the obvious choice for object framing applications. Other clear polymer films are not the same, so take care what you use!

[Not your average framer]

Just a thought! This might sound silly, but what about thin flat magnets behind the mountboard? If the chain is made of plated steel, it might work quite well!

I've successfully used flat rare earth disc magnets on some framing jobs in the past. It can be a good move, when none of the usual ideas are quite the right solution.

Not always as cheap as you might have hoped, but it does look amasing when people can't figure out how you did it. Perhaps some sort of warning label should go onto the back, to protect those with pacemakers. (Pacemakers can malfunction if too close to powerful magnets).

It's worth shopping around, because the price of magnets can vary a lot from one supplier to another.

[Gus]

Right, this is how it looks so far....

IMAG0118.jpg (786.52 KiB) Viewed 4739 times

Reasonably happy with it - a lot of time has gone into this, not that it shows! It looks better in the flesh - 3d - so to speak.

The chain went on ok in the end, drilled holes in the mount board and secured with invisible thread and taping at the back. The Bosun's Call has a 'Z' clip in the nozzle to hold it secure. The tallyband is stitched - not too sure about its position, but needed to get the bow in somehow without it taking up too much space (I tried different ways, but this was the best I could get too).

Not completely finished at the moment, have to add a spacer to the frame, etc.

Always looking for ways to improve, so any comments gratefully accepted, as always.