Framing and matting
 

So I am finally getting around to finishing the basement. As part of this, I am creating my man cave. My wife was the one who really pushed for finishing the basement. She always complained about the money I spent because it was all sitting in boxes. Now that it can be displayed, I think it will be easier for her to understand.
It's not finished yet, but I wanted to discuss whether anyone else here has done matting and framing themselves. When I lived in Maryland, for 2yrs in the late 90's, I had a play room and spent a considerable amount of money framing items. This time I felt I could try doing my own framing and keep the extra money to buy more stuff. I was inspired by someone on another website.

Tools:
Logan Compact Classic Mat Cutter approx $100(Cheaper on ebay)
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4611/...7d2370b8_o.jpg
Rag mat boards (100% cotton rag-highest quality archival board) $18 per sheet 24 x 48
Frames Prices varied - Found great frames at Ollies/Kmart/Dick Blick and others
Double stick tape
Artists tape - Similar to masking, but used to adhere prints to mat board.
Backing/Foam board.

So I assembled my supplies, plus a healthy supply of snacks and beverages, and away I went.

LMK what you think.

1966 Sport Magazine and 1986 AS program. Both are full magazines.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4426/...c5b8df78_b.jpg
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4418/...4297bdf8_b.jpg

Batting Sequence photos of Gehrig and Ott. Both taken just prior to 1936 WS.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4412/...ba214360_o.jpg
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4418/...08bc9a4f_o.jpg

1951 Calendar with Cuban league Schedule card below it.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4368/...c7c2da11_b.jpg

2 newspaper centerfolds. Top one is from 1939. Bottom one is from 1937.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4368/...9698fe2d_b.jpg
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4369/...24d73532_b.jpg

Lou Gehrig day Ticket matted with a print I made of a Kreindler Masterpiece.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4371/...fa912a38_b.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4397/...ce2c0a90_b.jpg

Jordan cut Matted to 10x12.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4388/...a012129f_b.jpg

Mel Ott signed Carters Kittens print. It read "To Sweets and his Triplets, may they all be safe, Mel Ott" Frame is 11x14
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4430/...f2b0bfbf_b.jpg

Mel Ott signed Pic Magazine cover. Signed to Chamberlain Brown, With best Wishes, Mel Ott. Frame is 11x14
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4432/...ec73f8d3_b.jpg

Walter Payton 8x10
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4348/...4e27cd4a_b.jpg

1927 Strength Mag with Lou Gehrig Cover and 1928 Mag with Ruth cover.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4344/...f0cc79ec_o.jpg

FYI: The most expensive frame of the above was the LG Ticket frame. It was $30 at Ollie's Outlet.

I'll post more tomorrow.
Mark

Wow...it all looks fantastic. Really love the Ott peices..framing really brings the collection to life and it makes a huge difference when you can appreciate it on a wall or shelf. Look forward to seeing your other peices.

Mark, everything looks fantastic! You are absolutely right about saving money by doing the framing and matting yourself, especially on project with one and two openings in the matting. I'm still a little lazy and haven't been cutting the matting myself, but I've developed a relationship with a local framing shop and they've been cutting my matting for real cheap, and then I pick up a frame on sale from a local chain like Aaron Brothers and then put them together myself. Saves tons of money and allows you to get stuff up on the walls that much quicker. Just curious, how are you keeping your magazines secure and from moving within the frames?

Thanks guys.

Here is another of my favs.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4439/...72586ed0_o.jpg

Mike,
I held the magazine in place with foam board.
The Strength magazines are sunken into cutouts in a piece of foam board the size of the frame. I put another thin piece of mat board behind them to secure them in place. The Sport Mag and AS program are held in place by strips of foam board on all 4 sides of the magazines.
The frame above has the original type 1 print and Sporting news book I got in a trade with Jimmy(kingofclout) along with a 1927 copy of a Police Gazette. The Gazette is complete and in a Protective Mylar(I think) bag which is also sunken into a mat board cutout. The tag sheet was already separate from the picture when I got it, so I framed it as well.
Mark

Oops I forgot. I changed the Matting on the Gehrig piece above. I'll have to take a new pic and post it.

Thanks Mark! I also use strips of foam board on each side of the magazines but wanted to see if you used a different method. Seems to work pretty well and haven't had any problems with magazines moving within the frame...well, except once but I droped the darn frame and also broke the glass. Oops!!

Thanks Brandon.
I agree with you about framing making this stuff pop.

The Ott items are some of my favs, especially the Carters Kittens print.

Some background for those that are interested.
Carter's Ink Co is the company behind these prints. The print is entitled 'Carter's Kittens'. Carter's kittens were introduced in 1943. This artwork by Albert Staehle. This ad appeared in Life Magazine in 1944. The kitten mascot featured prominently in ads for Carter's up until the late 1950s. The original advertising print features a mother cat and her 9 technicolor kittens. Each kitten is colored in a shade of ink that was manufactured at the time by Carter's Ink Company.
http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...w23apr44-1.jpg

Mike,
I have found that frames don't respond well in general to being dropped.
:D
Mark

I think it looks better this way. I couldn't separate the pics more in the new frame as they have the original tape still intact, keeping them together.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4412/...ac6e0b46_b.jpg

Those all look great! Perfect pieces to compliment a man cave, and smartly done at a fraction of the cost for professional framing.

Mike, nice job. I have been doing matting and framing for my own stuff also. Once I found out how much they wanted and how easy it was to do. Recently did my first shadow box with a circular mat cutter.

Mark,

Wow!!!! They all look just super!!! I'm a complete novice when it comes to matting and framing, so I hope you don't think my questions are too simple. Does the matt cutter cut multiple different size cut outs in one matt? Are all of these covered with glass and if so what kind (UV protection)? Can the artist tape be removed from items (prints, etc.) safely? Don't some people use those little edge holders so nothing adheres to the item? And finally, is there some kind of reference article/book/web site for those of us just starting this kind of thing?

Once again - all look professionally done to me.

Thank you.

Craig

Chuck,
Thanks. I love saving money on the framing to have it to spend on more stuff.

Randall,
Great job on the Hill. I might have to splurge on a circular mat cutter one day to try something like that.

Craig,

Does the mat cutter cut multiple different size cut outs in one matt?

The mat cutter I pictured cuts only straight lines. You have to measure how far in from the edge you want to cut and then scribe all 4 sides with a pencil. There is a guide rule to help with the measurement. You then use the blade to cut the square or rectangle out.
Here is the instruction video from the Logan company that makes the mat cutter I have. This explains what I was trying to describe much better. They have more advanced cutters as well. *Each cutter comes with an instructional DVD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=vxyj7YldV3c*

There are other videos on the site as well.
http://www.logangraphic.com/videos/

Cutting multiple openings is a little trickier. lf you want more than one opening, you have to measure where you want each hole and what size you want each one. It does take a little math, patience, and practice to get it right. I started with a bunch of single opening mats to get the hang of it first, before trying my first multiple opening mat.


Are all of these covered with glass and if so what kind (UV protection)?

Most of the are in glass. A few have plastic faces. While you can buy UV protective glass, I didn't. The reason for this is that, after much research, I chose to spend the extra money and install all LED lighting in the room. LED lights have no UV and give off very little heat. Also, I only have a very small window in this room, so there won't be very much ambient light coming in. If there had been incandescent, florescent, or halogen lights instead, I probably would've sprung for UV rated glass for all the framed items.

Can the artist tape be removed from items (prints, etc.) safely? Don't some people use those little edge holders so nothing adheres to the item?

There are many different ways to hold the pics/prints in place. The sales person at the Dick Blick store, who helped me, is a certified framer. She was the one who suggested the tape instead of the corner mounts. I think either way is fine. I had no sig problem removing tape when I had to adjust my projects. When removing the key is going very SLOWLY.

And finally, is there some kind of reference article/book/web site for those of us just starting this kind of thing?

I think there are books about it, but I didn't use any. I watched some videos on the manufacturer's website and a couple on you tube.

This video is a good general overview of matting and framing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=eBBJVOyIfbs

I also examined the matting in the frames I purchased to see how they were put together. Some of the larger frames I purchased had more elaborated mats, which gave me some ideas.

Hope that helps.

Mark

Mark,

Thank you very much for answering all my questions and for providing the various links. Seems time consuming but if the results are anything like yours certainly worth it.

Thanks again.

Cheers,

Craig

Craig,
It's not that time consuming once you've answered a few key questions.
1)Where is the items going to hang and what is the purpose? What I mean is this. Is the item the focal point of the display? If not, are you going for uniformity with your items? Are you trying to conserve space to hang more items? If you aren't doing a custom frame, what frames can you find that will fit the item. Are you framing things together? Also will you be framing originals or not?
These and similar questions must be answered regardless of whether you're doing it yourself or going to a frame shop.

Once you know these things it just a matter of cutting some mat board, taping the items in, and putting it all in a frame.

Have fun. LMK if you have any other questions.

Best,
Mark

A few more pics
 

I had framed the next 4 previously. They were in cheap $5 Walmart wood frames of either a reddish brown or natural color. I took them out of the frames and painted them with black glossy spray paint. I also changed them from single mats to double mats.
Paige
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4344/...4b629704_b.jpg
Berra-Williams
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4370/...f2a31de5_b.jpg
Dimaggio
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4441/...4b659122_b.jpg
Hubbell
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4415/...40117601_b.jpg

Diamggio Cronin
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4409/...bf3b457c_b.jpg

All Star pic
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4342/...3daa06df_b.jpg

The next three frames were purchased as is at Ollie's Outlet for $30 each. No matting work needed. The first 2 pics are the original. The third original was a little too small, so I scanned it and made the print a little bigger.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4375/...41f6808b_o.jpg
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4441/...e4ab8b0b_o.jpg
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4336/...6e64f994_b.jpg

Koufax wire photo
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4407/...aaa5b2e8_b.jpg

16x20 Ny Rangers Greats. Pic taken at Leetch's number retirement ceremony.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4413/...ff4e340a_b.jpg

11x14 Sporting news original cover that was glued to backing board years ago and then signed by Dimaggio and Williams.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4333/...d20b70be_b.jpg

The last two are 2 of my favs. These were the flyers from 2 of the shows my father and his partner ran in the mid 80's. I got them signed. Gwynn was one of the nicest human beings I have had the pleasure to meet. He told us at the time that this was his first show appearance! Check out the auto prices!

My dad has since passed and these remind me of the great times we had together. Please no calling my mom's phone number.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4406/...a93c2255_b.jpg
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4438/...17fb0a26_b.jpg

That's some really nice work. I especially like the way you treated the Gehrigs, with the silver inner fillet. Very attractive, and looks professional.

One further suggestion... If you don't want to apply tape directly to the piece, you can slip the photo into a protective mylar sleeve, and tape the mylar (rather than the piece itself) to the mat.

This has worked well for me with several items. Great thread!

I've mostly done my own framing for a long time. Ever since a framing shop wrecked a poster while dry mounting it:mad:

This is a group of items from a cyclist who was the uruguayan national champion in a particular race in the 1920's. Poster, photo, racing license and a few medals. I use acid free photo corners to hold the paper items to the back mat and than layers of mat to make enough room for the medals. Those are hung from the very back layer by fishing line sewn through the mat.

Assemble it yourself frame kit to get the custom size, and UV blocking coated glass. The Glass was the most expensive part $25 .

Steve B

http://www.net54baseball.com/picture...pictureid=3871

I really like the way you used the navy blue matting to set off the black and white Gehrig photos - huge improvement.

Great information in this thread - thanks to all for sharing.

Wow Mark, your room is EXACTLY the same as the one I did about 20 years ago in my last house. These are some pictures of when I first got it done. It ended up with a lot more stuff on the walls. But the layout is exactly like yours.

Nice room Randall! Question for you (or anyone else with experience). How do you get Pennants to hang on a ceiling? I'm totally out of room in my smaller sports room but have a bunch more pennants i'd like to display.

Randall, I can't stand this. I've been accumulating 'man room' (with pool table) stuff for years, but no house yet. At one point I even had an antique cue rack and examples of almost every 4-veneered Brunswick cue ever made, all ready to play. My gf is looking for a house and has agreed to let me have a room to be used however I want, so there will be a happy ending someday.

Great job with that room!

Steve, do you get your UV glass locally or do you get it over the internet? Seems like the price is going up here locally and I'm going to start looking to have it shipped. Any recommendations?

I bought it locally. I'm pretty sure that shop has closed. A small independent place that stocked the glass.

They did regular glass, some sort of special clearer glass, Uv blocking and museum glass that was both UV blocking and glare free. The only thing they didn't have was replacement vintge glass. (I've got a good stock of it myself, but I'm not all that experienced with cutting it. I've heard the old wavy stuff is brittle)

I need to look for another place, Michaels can be "difficult" if you want to do your own with anything but stock mats. I think it depends on the manager. One will be hard to buy matboard from, another easier and they'll sell the cutouts from their own projects at a bargain price.

I've done a few things, including a couple mats for gifts that had cutout designs. Silver faced mat with a black core can work out really well.

Steve b

Thanks Steve. I agree about Michaels...hit and miss most of the time. I will get frames from them when they're on sale but that's about it. My frame shop that gives me such great deals on the matting doesn't have as good a price on glass for whatever reason.

Hi, it was one of those acoustic ceiling tiled ceilings. I just tacked them up there. A few were in those plastic pennant holders (flimsy kind) and I tacked the holder. Most were cheap, newer pennants and originally I did it to hide the blue chalk marks from mis-handled cues. The ceiling was kind of low as it was in the basement. Originally the wall was inside of the support pole but I wanted a regulation pool table so I moved it out further.

Randall, I forgot to mention that your Aaron Hill is outstanding. Very well done. Do you have any others that you've done that you can share?

Thanks, that was my first shadow box. I've been making displays of 500 homerun club tickets for a few years. Taking one HR stub from each player and making a display. I always thought they were pretty cool.

Hey Randall

Great looking display to you and all else. Kinda got me interested in trying to do the matting myself. I have a lot of items just sitting in top loader and 8by10 holders that I can make various groupings of.
Great looking stuff.
Mike

Try it, its a lotta fun. Just start off with making square and rectangle mattes. You will get the hang of it. Plus it litterally saves hundreds of dollars. matting is the most overpriced industry I know of. the only thing I wish I could do was those cuts they make with a machine of logos and what not. I wouldn't mind getting a mat cutting machine someday but I thing they are pricey.

Steve,
The framed group is very well done. I love adding the medals.

Randall,
Wow. Your room does look very similar to mine. My space is approx 15 x 22.
Here some empty pics. I have to get some better pictures of what I have hanging already.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...3-11215746.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...3-11215930.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...3-11215913.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...3-11215900.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...11215937-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...3-26203138.jpg

I agree about those machines. They are ridiculously priced, but can cut amazing mat designs. It would be cool if a group of people were close enough to buy one together and share it.

Scott,
Don't be impatient. I have been in my house for 13 yrs and only now are we finally getting around to finishing the basement so I can have a man cave. It will come and seeing some of the stuff you have in your collection, I'm sure it will be quite spectacular once completed. You should start practicing your mat cutting/framing now so you can be an expert when the time comes.

Here is an updated picture of the Gehrig Type 1 and newspaper.

New
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4439/...7009a158_b.jpg

Old
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4355/...3e6ab587_b.jpg

By the way Mark, I am sooooo going to be copying what you did with your Gehrig ticket. In fact, I already have the picture printed out and it will done tomorrow! I will also be totally ripping off Randall's 500 hr ticket idea, but with my 3000 hit tickets. That one will be on the back burner though because it's going in the downstairs hall and I haven't started that one yet (and the wife would like me to get the upstairs done first...go figure!) :D

I was able to get a few things done over the weekend. Matting averaged about 8 bucks each, cut at the frame shop I go to, frames I already had and UV glass was actually Acrylite and average about $10 a piece. Much much cheaper than having it all done professionally and of course, you could save even a few dollars more by cutting the mat yourself. Sorry for the picture quality, but couldn't find my camera and had to use the phone.

Very cool... very very cool. How did you get David's Krendler Gehrig though??

Ben,
Probably the same way I did. I downloaded the picture from the web and printed it out.
I am very envious of David's original and it goes so well with the ticket. Of course, I know it's not the same day, but it fits together nicely.
Do you any of your pictures displayed?

Mike,
Very nice frame jobs. Was the price of the mats for archival mat board? If so, $8 is.a steal. What kind of lighting do you have?
Best,
Mark
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Yep, I did exactly what you did and printed it from the web. As you said, the picture isn't exactly from that day, but it's what it represents that counts and besides, I really didn't want a picture of Lou in his coffin with the ticket :(
Yes, that price was for archival mat board. They whip this stuff out pretty quick too, usually while I wait, so what they lose per piece they're making up in the volume I'm bringing in I guess. Plus, I have purchased a couple of frames from them and I make them look busy so customers are coming in to their small shop.
For lighting, I'm using track led lighting in the closet area where most of these new ones are going, and then in the rest of the room I have canned lights in the ceiling with a dimmer, but they rarely get used. It's mostly dark in the room until I want to look at stuff and then I open up the blinds just enough to have some defused lighting.
I just got back from getting the matting for a signed 8x10 of Amoros making his famous catch in the 55 series. The only problem is that the picture doesn't take up the whole 8x10 so I had them make the inner mat a bit larger and it actually looks pretty good. Once I get a ticket from Game 7 of the series, I'll be re-matting it anyway, but this will do for now and help make that wall look complete.

For anyone interested, the crafts store Michael's accepts the 40-50 percent off coupon on the cutter, coupons are available in their flyer that comes with your weekly newspaper or online email if you sign-up. I purchased the cutter that sells for 129.99 for 65 bucks, a pretty good deal, time to get practicing with my My cutting skills. Thanks to all for the great thread.

Mike

I would like to know more about Acrylite. I looked it up and see that it is easier and cheaper to cut than glass and can be purchased with uv protection. It also weighs less than glass. i wonder if it is as archive safe as glass even though the objects may not be touching the surface directly. Do you get this locally? Does the supplier cut it for you? Which type do you get? Thanks

I use the OP-3 and it's as archival as glass and as you say it's lighter and more impact resistant...and cheaper. You can usually get it at most frame shops, and here I have purchased it at Aaron Bros in the past although they do charge a bit more. Best bet are several online places that are pretty much dirt cheap in comparison. By the way, the Acrylites of today are nothing like the old uv acrylics of yesterday that were thin and would cloud after time.

Hey Mike, have you had a chance to play with the cutter yet?

Everyone's attempts inspired me...so I finally got off of my butt and just did some myself...bought a Logan Compact Matte Cutter... some acid free backing boards, frames, mattes etc...and away I went... only messed up one matte cut so far...:p

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...psb297d7f8.jpg


http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...psaba72689.jpg

Ricky Y

Ricky,
Great job. Glad we could all inspire you.
I would've never thought of going with that light blue for the Ruth ad, but it really works very nicely.
Keep up the good work.
best,
Mark

I did 2 new ones last night. Not sports, but I didn't think anyone would mind.

Ramones
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4385/...a057226c_b.jpg

Rush Before
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...6-01113812.jpg

Rush After
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4412/...91af338a_b.jpg

BTW: If you didn't see the R&R HOF induction ceremony for Rush, you should check it out. The intro by Foo Fighter's Grohl and Hawkins as well as the acceptance speeches by the band were all pretty funny.

Ricky, those look great, keep up the good work and make sure to keep posting them.

Mark, you're making me nostalgic for my High School days in the 70's with the Ramones and Rush on my turntable. Oh c'mon, you guys know what a turntable is don't you? :D

Mike,
Not only do I remember the turntable, I still have one that works.:D
Mark

Me too, but I never seem to use it and the records stay packed away. Just seems easier to download music these days.

So True

Thanks guys... I gotta kick out of working on them!

Mark - Rush and Ramones...memories for me too... I saw the Ramones once...they whipped thru 20 songs probably in 30 minutes...ahhh..those 3 chord riffs...

Ricky Y

I've played with some 8 by 10 poster board for practice' I'm looking through
all my stuff and trying to match up some items to put together in a multiple
cut out. I will post when I finish my first multi cut out piece.

Mike

Mike(BD55),
When I did my first multi cut out piece, I made what I think might be a common mistake. Maybe it'll help you before you try. Make sure there is enough distance between the 2 items you are matting. If you are single matting the items, the distance only matters from an asthetic standpoint. If you are double matting, you need to remember that the top mat will be at least 1/4in smaller than the bottom mat. The problem I had was that my 2 items were too close and after subtracting 1/4in from each cutout, the top mat wound up very thin. It was not only difficult to cut, but also didn't look right.

Pictures will explain what I mean better.

Here are 2 pictures of Mel Ott that I matted. Notice the size of the brown top mat between the 2 images.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4418/...67c320b3_b.jpg

Now here is the Gehrig group that I put together. Notice how thin the top blue mat is between the Picture and the Sporting news book. I didn't leave myself enough space to get an even amount of Blue top mat in between each item. I have to tell you that this thing was a pain to do. I'll probably redo it at some point.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4439/...7009a158_b.jpg

Good Luck,
Mark