The Framers Forum

Hi All

Those that make ready mades, or ship your frames, what do you do on the back of the frame in terms of hanging?

I'm thinking either sawtooth screwed into the frame, or mdf backs with sawtooth attached but how do folk achieve this without the expensive press fix attaching thingy?

Neither wessex or lion seem to do ready made backs with fixings. Just wondering what you all do

Thanks
Megan

You can attach those press-on hangers to an MDF board and without having to buy the rather expensive tool.

But you do need some sort of an anvil first.
I used a 12" square of 1" thick steel. I had to order this from a metal workshop. Maybe ask at a farriers about old anvils.

If you can get the anvil then all you need to do is locate the hanger in position and tape it down with masking tape.
Cover the two fixing points with a block of hard wood and give the whole a mighty thump with a lump hammer.

I used to make hundreds that way.

I never liked the usual ready made hangers, as a user or a framer.

One in the centre of the frame makes pivoting possible and you’re forever straightening your frames on the wall.

When fixed to the backing board the same applies plus if the frame has any weight the backing board can bow out.

So I simply drilled four pilot holes in the frame (one each side so it could go portrait or landscape) and included a small poly bag with two D rings, screws a coil of cord or wire and a pair of felt bumpers.

Most of my stock of ready made frames have those brass plated slip-over hangers slip on the edge of the backing board, they do look a lot nicer than the standard black slip-over hanger. When I last needed to buy them, I could not get them in smaller quantities, so had to buy a bag of 1,000 hangers, not expecting to ever need to buy anymore! My better quailty ready made frames are generally fitted with D-ring and picture cord. I wish that I could do something more distinctive, but it's not really viable any more.

Backs for customer framing orders are sometimes made from some off cuts of 6mm thick MDF, if I need something more ridgid. I still have two boxes of what were originally 1,000 clips, bars and the spit rivets, which I got in a job lot from a framer closing down, maybe I'll find a way of using them one day. Ready made frames definitely need something special about them to help persuade customers to buy them and doing something special with the backs seems to be the most likely option.

Thanks All

I think I'm going to go with John's suggestion and just provide cord and d rings.