hanging an aluminium sheet

[Jeremy Roussak]

I've finished a print by coating it and gluing it to a sheet of aluminium, cutting it flush with the edge of the sheet and hanging it without frame or glass. It's quite effective and I plan to do more.

To hang this one, I just glued a couple of pieces of wood to the back: one to be supported by the wall mounting and the other to ensure the metal hung parallel to the wall. The difficulty was getting the two hooks fitted to the wall at precisely the same height.

Is there some kind of device that could be attached to the back of the metal sheet that could be adjusted so the sheet would hang level?

Jeremy

[John Nollendorfs]

Jeremy,
I do this all the time, just use a level on the wall and place two 6p finishing nails 6-12" apart. You can make small adjustments in bending one nail up or down as required. Of course this assumes you have glued the wood on the back exactly parallel to the edges.

[David Sutton]

Or cut a 45 degree bevel on the base of the top piece of wood. Screw/nail a piece of wood to the wall with a matching 45 degree bevel on its top. Very easy to do with a spirit level.
If the piece attached to the wall is a little shorter it gives some leeway for horizontal adjustment.
I've just finished an exhibition with the backing strips made from 10 mm foamcore. It made it simple for the curators to hang the lot with minimal fuss.

[Richard.Wills]

French cleat, as David said, is your simplest, cheapest method. You can cut it on a table saw, or with a circular saw. MDF for cost, Baltic ply for appearance. Down side is you need a permanent adhesive, which may be exothermic (not normally a problem with 2mm+ aluminium, but might show on a gloss print).

Alternatives are bonding a subframe to the back, or using Z-Bars. Normally I'll bond the metal fittings using VHB tape, but on a recent short term, low budget show (prints mounted to 2mm ACM) used Velcro. Reason being that we'd then recycle the subframe material into stock. Short term show was up for ten months (C19), including pieces 40x50" in gallery window, getting direct sunshine for 3-4 hours aday. Condition at the end was as good as when it went up.

The advantages of subframes, is you can get inserts https://www.lionpic.co.uk/p/28490/CWH3-Hanger-for-Aluminium-Frames-50-Pieces that allow you to adjust height. Hung a show of 60 pieces in a day.

[Jeremy Roussak]

Thanks for the tips. The subframe approach was what I had in mind. Richard, I buy all my framing stuff from Lion and have quite a few of those hangers. I didn't see any subframes in their catalogue, but I'll take another look.

Jeremy

[dgberg]

These are from Lion in the USA. A tape similar to 3m VHB and you are good to go.
We cut these to size with our mitre saw and put them on all of our mid to larger metal prints.

[Jeremy Roussak]

Dan, thanks: that's really helpful, and I've even found it at Lion UK, here. I assume that's what you mean.

Jeremy

[dgberg]

Yes. I just meant I purchased them from the US sales outlet of Lion.

[Richard.Wills]

If you attach https://www.lionpic.co.uk/p/39254/Bumpers-Polyfibre-5mm-self-adhesive-15mm-square-pack-1000 felt bumpers to the corners of the subframe, then you can hunt for the screws, without leaving scratch traces on the walls from the sub frames, or the hangers. Speeds up the hang, and minimises the make good.

Won't work if you're using Z-Bars as the hanging from the top rail, but I'd just go for a couple of screws into the hanging plates..

[mcbroomf]

Yes. I just meant I purchased them from the US sales outlet of Lion.

Dan, do you have a link for the Lion frame supplies US distributor.  I looked around and could not find it anywhere

Thanks

Mike

[Jeremy Roussak]

If you attach https://www.lionpic.co.uk/p/39254/Bumpers-Polyfibre-5mm-self-adhesive-15mm-square-pack-1000 felt bumpers to the corners of the subframe, then you can hunt for the screws, without leaving scratch traces on the walls from the sub frames, or the hangers. Speeds up the hang, and minimises the make good.

Good tip. Yes, I use them on all my metal frames. As you say, it minimises scratches on the walls.

Jeremy

[dgberg]

Dan, do you have a link for the Lion frame supplies US distributor.  I looked around and could not find it anywhere

Thanks

Mike

https://www.tech-mark.com



[moderator's edit: restored a right bracket]

[mcbroomf]

Thanks Dan ...