The Framers Forum

If anyone has an established and foolproof solution to the following, I would appreciate your advice.

A customer rang this week
Wants to know if I can frame a rugby shirt - but so that it is glazed both sides.
To enable both the front and the back of the shirt to be viewed.

It is to be free standing. So I had thought of two frames, glazed, back to back, with the shirt on foamboard, supported from the base, in between.
Would this work ?
If so, or a variant, any details would be appreciated.

Thanks
Jack

Hi Jack, long time no see!

You've just reminded me why I owe a certain forum member a case of beer/bottle of single malt! It was bugging me.

Years ago I was asked to do this and as luck would have it in that month's issue of a trade mag, he described a method of doing it. It didn't sound like fun so I tried to scare the customer off with cost but it didn't work! Very long-winded explanation without the photos I never took anyway, but could have a stab - or maybe he could, no names but his initials are P.E.T.E. . B.I.N.G.H.A.M.

But here's a same-but-different method that DOES have pictures, scroll down for post by Steve N http://theframersforum.com/viewtopic.ph ... 7&start=40

(edit) actually I have described it before - post No 8 here http://www.thegrumble.com/showthread.ph ... -part-duex

Mmmm, that's not easy and I would guess that it won't be a cheap thing to do either!

I'm not sure about how you would fix the foamboard to the base of the frame in a way that is solid and also looks the business. I've never been asked to do a job quite like this, so I'm just thinking how I would probably approach this myself.

I don't know what this would cost, but there are companies which fabricate all manner of objects to order from clear acrylic and they know how to polish out any machining marks and also how to virtually invisibly bond two pieces of acrylic together and create one almost seemless whole component, from the two pieces.

If you could get the support which fits inside the shirt, made from one solid piece of acrylic with rounded and polished edges, perhaps about 20mm thick to create an adequate area of bond onto an acrylic base which can be retained inside the base of the frame between the two pieces of glass, then this might be the way to go.

I think that there would still be a lot of details to be worked, especially how to avoid showing any fixings, etc. I hope you customer is willing to pay what it is going to cost to get the acrylic work done. I'm guessing that it won't be a cheap thing to get fabricated. The acrylic insert would need to be a tight fit, so the the rugby shirt will stay securely in place. Also cleaning every last speck of dust out of a frame like this could be really difficult as well.

This could be one of those jobs that reputations are built on, so don't forget to photograph the finished result and don't forget to keep detailed notes of how you did it. Who knows, there might be more work like it!

Hello John & Mark.
Yes - long time no see, indeed. I would imagine that it has been quite pleasant for you.

John, I had to re-read your description several times before I followed clearly what you were describing. But I've got it now.
It sounds great.
I had it in mind to support from the base - but the concept of 'floating' sound much more professional.

I will try the concept you describe with a small article [a glove, or similar] & sort the wrinkles out with that.

Thank you, both for your ideas.
I''ll also look at acrylic costs Mark.

I haven't talked prices with the customer yet. Should be interesting

I'll do some photos of my prototype.

Once again, thanks.

I had completely forgotten Steve N's method, it's definately the most sensible method and we already know it works because Steve has proved it. I reckon that it's the way to go!

Very clever idea, Steve!

20mm acrylic is very very heavy, and mad money

i just bought a piece 9*6 inches of 25mm with diamond polished edges, it cost 14 euros plus vat

at full sheet of 29mm is about 700 euros

I'm not surprised, I knew it would not be cheap! That's another good reason for using Steve N's method!

I quoted for one last year done very similar to Robos description, they ran a mile at the price, which I thought was a very reasonable at £600, it was a sports jacket so everything was extra large.

Well the ones that I did were over £600.00 each if memory serves me right

£600 Gulp

I'll get Val to talk prices with the customer

£600 is a snip for the amount of time and work in the job.