The Framers Forum

I have been asked by a customer for a gold slip to be put in a elm veneer frame - this is my first time doing slips and the only info I can find on the subject is applying slips to mounts!

I have the slips cut, but wondered what is the best way to attach them to the made frame - there is not a lot of depth for pinning with veneer pins and wedges are definitely out by the look of things (depth again), so would wood glue be adequate enough as when the whole thing is put together the slips shouldn't come out?

I realise the method may be perfectly obvious to some, but just want to check and ensure a good job as it is a lovely antique map going in the frame and will look very swish when done.

I glue in slips to frames and find that method fine, providing my slip is nice and snug in the frame.
I also add two frames together (sometimes more frames), a gold inner frame and a dark outer frame, this works really well and adds the effect of extra debth.

Is the slip going over or under the glass?

In most old frames the slips are not joined and when all the frame is assembled they should not move. There is no reason not to join the pieces if it makes assembly easier and it will assure that the corners stay aligned. A bit of tape across the corner at the back will do the trick. ( or a dab of sluperglue and a staple). Shallow wedges are available for underpinners, but it's not really worth buying a boxfull unless you are going to do slips regulary.

btw. Underslips don't work well with mounted (matted) work. Without the glass covering the surface of the mount the mounts tend to curl up and show gaps. If the work is mounted, put the slip on top of the glass.

thanks for that - the slip will be outside the glass - I hoped that would be the answer I got - feel a bit more confident about actually putting it together now!

Staples are so obvious - never thought of it tho

I'm sure the finished article will look really nice and hopefully the customer will appreciate it.

Forgive my ignorance (probably the difference between Brit and Yank speak) but what is a “slip”?

Try this Fillet tape from Lion, use it to fix the slip/fillet to the underside of the frame.

Hi Catcher,

How does the adhesive perform on Lion's fillet tape perform with fillets used on window mounts? I have had problems with some double-sided tapes in (excessively) hot locations - my gallery window, for example. (Not the best advertising I have ever produced for my services... ).

I put a bead of glue along the rebate and then either put the glass in, with a bit more weight on top until the glue dries, or just secure with framers points and remove when glue is dried.

Well, have got it all together - quite a large one - 866x742, and it looks pretty good - a tiny bit of filler needed on the slip mitres but otherwise a satisfying result - waiting till the morning to finish all the pinning just in case of any lurking dust! Should sleep better now!

Thanks for your help - my first year in business come the end of Dec and this forum has been a huge help!

Bill Henry wrote:Forgive my ignorance (probably the difference between Brit and Yank speak) but what is a “slip”?

The term 'slip' is a bit ambiguous but to me a slip is a flat moulding with no rebate (sorry, rabbet. ). Originally used as a spacer under glass but more often used to add a gold sight edge to a larger outer moulding.

If a 'slip' has a lip on the upper suface it becomes a fillet.

If it has a rebate/rabbet it becomes a liner, except when it is wider than the outer moulding where it becomes a panel.

That's my terminology anyway.........

I found those definitions, and indeed some new terms I had previously not come across, very helpful!

Bill Henry wrote:Forgive my ignorance (probably the difference between Brit and Yank speak) but what is a “slip”?

many a slip twixt cup and lip.

markw wrote: many a slip twixt cup and lip.

I ain't gonna put any of my body parts near the rebate of any frame, thank you very much!

I use slips quite extensively (that's what we call them here - I thought a fillet was a decorative /textured foil to use between mattes) and always join them with a wedge (3mm) after cutting to size. Once joined at the corners, I apply a double sided tape to the unseen edge and then position it in the frame. In the event of glass then being added, I first apply a number of squirts of hotmelt glue along the inside edge(touching slip and frame ) and then make sure that the glass is cut to a size within these bits of glue. No staples if glass is under the slip because if one bugger is not driven home properly the glass is sure to crack on that spot when putting the whole package together. If no glass is being used I invariably use a staple of the correct depth here and there to keep the slip in place but I do find the hotmelt glue gun to be the most handy tool because it sets in seconds.

Áine the tape alone is disastrous. The board pulls away from the slip eventually so there again I use the hotmelt glue gun to keep board and slip together

Thanks for the tips, Alan! I solved my window display problem by using PVA to bond the fillet to the mount. Must give it a whirl with the glue gun after Christmas, when I'll have more time for experimentation & practice!

Moglet wrote:I solved my window display problem by using PVA to bond the fillet to the mount.

I do something similar - the slip/fillet/wreltney needs to be made flush.

The flush-making board is butted up to the slip and FP90 (at best - sometimes magic tape) is taped across the slip and the flush-making board - the slip is pulled towrds the board before pressure is applied to the tape.

But the slip will also have a bead of PVA.

Now - what I want to know is this ...... nah - I'll make it a new topic

Wait out.

Moglet wrote:Hi Catcher,

How does the adhesive perform on Lion's fillet tape perform with fillets used on window mounts? I have had problems with some double-sided tapes in (excessively) hot locations - my gallery window, for example. (Not the best advertising I have ever produced for my services... ).

Hi Moglet, haven't tried it on window mounts, so can't answer that one.

Haven't had problems on mouldings.....yet

Roboframer wrote:
Now - what I want to know is this ...... nah - I'll make it a new topic

Wait out.

Forget that - was wondering why I could use adhesive all around a mount slip but not around the back of a frame on a stiff dustcover.

This is the old conumdrum about a piece of wood with a hole in it. If the wood swells up, does the hole get bigger or smaller?