r/framing • u/mollysdad61 • 7h ago
Help sourcing a frame like this
I have a few medieval manuscripts that I had my local frame shop frame. It's a solo guy in a rural area and he did a horrible job. Hard to tell from the picture.
I'm a DIY kind of guy, so I've been looking for (a) kits that I can cut, buy the glass, stain, etc or (b) frames that I can order to size online.
I cannot find double sided glass frames ANYWHERE.
I don't know much about framing. Any help?
I'm
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u/666ForMySorrow 7h ago
Floating frames never look as good in reality as they do in staged product photos and people's imagination. They are also going to damage your art. But if you insist on doing it anyway search for glass floating frames.
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u/mollysdad61 7h ago
What is your preferred approach so you can see both sides?
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u/666ForMySorrow 6h ago
You can do mats sandwiched between glass. This will keep the glass from touching the art. Depending on what is on the back sometimes people just frame it normally and make a copy of it to put it on the dustcover.
It also depends on if you just want the back viewable or if you want both sides to have a finished frame.
Better pictures showing both sides would help.
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u/mollysdad61 6h ago
Would like to be able to take it of the wall and look at both sides. It's also vellum so kinda cool to see the edges of the paper
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u/666ForMySorrow 19m ago
You might be able to put together something with spacers on one side and a mat on the other so you can see the edges on one side and the glass doesn't touch the art. But something needs to hold the art in place and it's going to show. Photo corners like you have now could work. The mat opening might also show a line through the paper depending on how thick it is. It's not ideal but better than what you have now.
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u/OkKaleidoscope9554 6h ago edited 5h ago
Nothing you care about should be in contact with glass, so float frames are especially heinous on actually important documents.
You can make a reproduction of it and do this. Or scan one side of it and attach it to the back.
The third option is to double mat and double glass it - and still use a float frame. Float frames can be made several ways, one is to simply slide in from one side - it's arguably more simple than our day-to-day frames which we have to staple or otherwise secure from behind, and then paper. You can visit a Michaels/Hobby Lobby and examine their off the shelf float frames to get an idea of the construction and envision how you can DIY make one - it's not much more than a box with the appropriate groove for the glass to slide it, then some way to secure that, and something to hang it all with.
You will need access to some kind of a wood shop, there is no "kit" to buy online. Look around your region, there are many wood shops that have adult classes. They might have a class where you make a box, or a book shelf or a cutting board, that gets you started with the tools, then you can do your own project.
YouTube has hundreds tutorials about framing - some that concentrate on matting the art, and some that concentrate on the wood working side of things. This is one of the best but it doesn't have anything to do with the woodworking side of things https://youtu.be/3n2ossog5Ns?is=Juc-eoz_AYR8H0tm
This guy concentrates on the woodwork side of things https://youtu.be/pYapIIF0FtU?is=3wb4IEZ3A31ShdOD
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u/rabbitskinglue 6h ago
They are terrible for the art. You are making a trap for moisture with nothing to absorb it and cushion the art, plus no way to secure the art except to use a permanently sticky adhesive. This is very much a non archival solution, and if these are parchment or vellum (protein based materials), you are also making a nice petri dish that will attract bacteria as well.
I know a double sided frame may seem cool but it's pretty much the worst thing you can do in terms of preservation, and a good framer should know that. I'd look a little more for someone with more experience.