Well, I started a project 6 months ago to build some picture frames. I've never built a picture frame in my life before, let alone a big one.
My posters are typically huge (as some of you might remember when I used to post here a lot long ago) however they have lived rolled up in tubes or folded in boxes, rarely displayed and when a few were they were tacked (to the linen excess backing) to a wooden rod and hung from it.
I thought unless I start to display them, what's the point having them and they're a pain of dealing with the storage. Sell them/toss them or else show some.
I wanted front loading frames as if I had the usual frame design of opening at the back I new I would only swap out posters every year or ten(!) because they are so heavy. With front loading frames, the idea was to basically leave it on the wall when swapping out posters. Inspiration was snap frames and also T's lift out front opening frame.
So the project has been to build the following 5 frames (as shown left to right in image below):
- 6 sheet frame
- 3 sheet frame
- French bus poster frame (2.8m ~ 9 feet long)
- French Grand
e frame (1 panel)
- Italian 4F frame
I designed the frames and got a metal fabricator to make them as per photo above (in Stainless 316). From there I plan to do the rest.
You might think darn they will weigh a ton frames made of metal. Well I don't know how heavy normal wood huge frames are but you can see there is not much to these (mostly 3mm thick). The only other metal to be used is thin aluminium angle.
Well, I progressed and made the backing boards out of Corflute temporarily positioned in place in the frames
Cutting to the chase, the first frame, the 3 sheet frame, is now (finished?) up on the wall. I am going to think about it - if I like it enough to roll out the design to the other frames.
Things I'm thinking of is mainly around what I call the outside frame - the part that lifts off from the front. (The images above I call the inside frame.)
- Do I like it in white? Well at the moment I do because black I feel would be too dominating and close up the room. Generally I prefer black frames though. I live in an apartment and like the area looking as spacious as it can. Plus another factor is for some frames like the Italian and French 1 panel, they will have posters swapped out of different sizes (advertising posters) where some are the full height but narrow leaving large white areas to the left and right and a black frame would make these uneven sizes look odd I think. I am not too precious about perfection, so I am open to even spray painting the outside frame black or whatever colour or even attach some wood veneer or black powder coated aluminium, whatever. Though I could just make a new outer frame again as is not hard.
- also thinking if I am happy with how the outer frame attaches.
The outer frame is made of thin aluminium and weighs next to nothing, like, slightly more than the weight of my phone.
To swap out a poster, unclip the outer frame and remove it. Then unclip the acrylic and remove it, then swap out the poster and put it all back.
The acrylic feels like it weighs the same as the frame. Lifting it as one completed unit (frame and acrylic) is quite hard for just myself but doable. But doing it in halves (inner frame and acrylic) this way is quite manageable.
Below picture shows what the 3 sheet frame looks like with the outer frame removed (to the right) and no acrylic (that is it leaning against the wall covered in brown paper from the supplier). The inner frame has a few removable clips in place (hard to see) ready to hold the acrylic. Tape can be put around the edge sealing the acrylic in to the frame, however the outer frame has sealing foam so when joined provides a seal of its own. The poster displayed is not the greatest but serves as the test dummy in case the whole things falls in a heap
So the finished 3-sheet frame from two angles. It's not the final position for the 3-sheet as it will go in another room. What will go here will be the Italian 4F frame (or the 6-sheet):
