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Well @MrDrizz got me prompted to start this as it's something I've been wanting to have a go at for a while...
I've been wanting to see how easy it is to make my own frames, and have been watching a couple of tutorials on float frames to see how it all works, but was always worried about a no-glass front. So when Mark posted his resin image (which I'd not heard of before) it fired me up this weekend. So whilst I was running a power cable out to the garage, I had a go at making my frame with the intent to resin coat it once complete.
This was a test piece, as I want to do a really big one of the grand canyon and needed a tester to begin with.
After a trip to B&Q for a couple of strips of wood, I got cracking....
My image was printed on A3+ from LR to 400x265mm (15.7" x 10")
Tips:
- I can't cut MDF straight. Need a proper tool (jigsaw with guide or table saw)
- Cheap nail gun is a waste of time. Won't punch the nail right through. Had to rely on glue only. May add proper kinetic nails later.
- Mitre saw was a cheapy one from B&Q I got to do some decking with. Did the job fine.
- Drawing the outline of your print on the reverse helps enormously with positioning the MDF backing board. (I did read of someone that punched pinholes through the print to mark it on the reverse but I wanted a border, so without going back into PS and creating an image with a marked border this wasn't going to work.)
Problems:
- Trying to save wood by "estimating" lengths before a proper measured cut was really stupid. Ended up having to reduce the overall image size by about 5mm around the edges because of idiot Ian.
- No clamps made the whole thing far more difficult than it needed to be.
- When you screw up the MDF cut because you can't cut straight by hand, deciding to use foam board is a mistake as it's not flat and you end up needing to stick the foam board to the dodgy MDF anyway. Am currently curious to see what happens with resin on foam board.
- 3M Spray mount is hella-fast "fixing" with almost no time to reposition.
Base frame was made of 4 bits of 10mm x 33mm pine stripwood (£4 for a 2.4m length at B&Q) with 15 x 15mm "batons" inserted inside the frame to hold the float. Photo is mounted on foam board, then on MDF - although a professional could probably skip the foam board which then (current plan) sits on two bits of off cut 15x15 "risers" to lift the photo flush with the 35mm frame depth. My wife reckons I should spray the frame silver, but I'm thinking of a dark wood stain to add to the moodiness of the photo. As it may end up going up in the house I'll probably go silver (it's a test piece and proving her wrong is fun) just to see if she's right.
Still got the resin coating to do (need a blowtorch), risers to attach, nails to tap in for strength, sanding, and staining/painting, but I have to say I really like how it looks. I'm no handyman, but YouTube was awesome for giving me the impetus to try it out. If I can manage the resin coating without glueing myself to the workbench, I'm done with pre-bought frames.
Home Made Float Frame (part 1) by Ian, on Flickr
I've been wanting to see how easy it is to make my own frames, and have been watching a couple of tutorials on float frames to see how it all works, but was always worried about a no-glass front. So when Mark posted his resin image (which I'd not heard of before) it fired me up this weekend. So whilst I was running a power cable out to the garage, I had a go at making my frame with the intent to resin coat it once complete.
This was a test piece, as I want to do a really big one of the grand canyon and needed a tester to begin with.
After a trip to B&Q for a couple of strips of wood, I got cracking....
My image was printed on A3+ from LR to 400x265mm (15.7" x 10")
Tips:
- I can't cut MDF straight. Need a proper tool (jigsaw with guide or table saw)
- Cheap nail gun is a waste of time. Won't punch the nail right through. Had to rely on glue only. May add proper kinetic nails later.
- Mitre saw was a cheapy one from B&Q I got to do some decking with. Did the job fine.
- Drawing the outline of your print on the reverse helps enormously with positioning the MDF backing board. (I did read of someone that punched pinholes through the print to mark it on the reverse but I wanted a border, so without going back into PS and creating an image with a marked border this wasn't going to work.)
Problems:
- Trying to save wood by "estimating" lengths before a proper measured cut was really stupid. Ended up having to reduce the overall image size by about 5mm around the edges because of idiot Ian.
- No clamps made the whole thing far more difficult than it needed to be.
- When you screw up the MDF cut because you can't cut straight by hand, deciding to use foam board is a mistake as it's not flat and you end up needing to stick the foam board to the dodgy MDF anyway. Am currently curious to see what happens with resin on foam board.
- 3M Spray mount is hella-fast "fixing" with almost no time to reposition.
Base frame was made of 4 bits of 10mm x 33mm pine stripwood (£4 for a 2.4m length at B&Q) with 15 x 15mm "batons" inserted inside the frame to hold the float. Photo is mounted on foam board, then on MDF - although a professional could probably skip the foam board which then (current plan) sits on two bits of off cut 15x15 "risers" to lift the photo flush with the 35mm frame depth. My wife reckons I should spray the frame silver, but I'm thinking of a dark wood stain to add to the moodiness of the photo. As it may end up going up in the house I'll probably go silver (it's a test piece and proving her wrong is fun) just to see if she's right.
Still got the resin coating to do (need a blowtorch), risers to attach, nails to tap in for strength, sanding, and staining/painting, but I have to say I really like how it looks. I'm no handyman, but YouTube was awesome for giving me the impetus to try it out. If I can manage the resin coating without glueing myself to the workbench, I'm done with pre-bought frames.
Home Made Float Frame (part 1) by Ian, on Flickr