broken glass

[Kai Vanuffelen]

The last time I had to replace broken glass in a pictureframe, I ended up with a lot of tiny glass-shards in my finger. This is because most framers in this country use self adhesive tape as backing tape. This tape loses its tackiness after many years but not within a couple of years. This picture was framed not so long ago, so all the small pieces of glass stuck to the underside of the tape between the frame and the backing board. I ripped off the tape toward the outside, as you do, otherwise you end up damaging the backboard and as I was pulling I grabbed into the glass. Stupid of course, as I should have known, but it has been a while since my last replacement of glass. A good thing is to place the framed piece with broken glass face down on the workbench with some newspaper or craftpaper underneath. When all has been taken apart, you can carefully wrap up the paper and dispose of it in the bin without getting any small pieces of glass embedded in the workbench.

 

[Jim Miller MCPF GCF]

That's a good tip, Kai. There's always a danger from glass shards, but it helps to recognize the hazard and take caution in our work.

Most USA framers use a paper dustcover on the back of a frame, and not tape on the perimeter, but a similar hazard exists if the paper is adhered by ATG or other pressure-sensitive tape.

I generally prefer to use hard-setting glue for the dustcover, such as typical PVA frame glue or fabric glue, or the special dustcover glue from Kool Tack. All of these adhesives hold better than ATG, cost less, and are easier to remove from the back of the frame when it needs to be opened for any reason.

In regions where taping the back is more popular, using a gummed paper tape would serve a similar purpose in reducing the hazard from glass shards stuck to live adhesive.

 

[Kai Vanuffelen]

Good points Jim,Like all of us who have been framing for too long, I have seen some strange framing methods by others. One time a framer thought it necessary to glue the glass and frame together with superglue. Another had the glass and framing package jouned with cellotape. The FATG recommends the use of kraft papertape that is gummed for conservation and museum-level. This may be so, but kraftpaper is acidic, so does not really make sense. It is more a tradition overthere to seal the back with kraft papertape. The use of this tape also introduces moisture to the inside of the framing package, which in my opinion is not a good idea. Self adhesive brown tape is cheaper, quicker to apply and does not last very long. I have seen pictures framed five years ago with this tape, that starts to peel off at the corners. Gummed tape lasts a lot longer and even sticks to waxed frames such as the old oak ones, whereas self adhesive tape does not. When it comes to kraft tape, I use a small tray filled half with distilled water and a blob of PVA glue mixed in. I tear off four pieces of the tape longer than required. Run the tape thru the bath submerged and let it drip on the floor for a short while. The tape will start to curl and I place it on the back. After smoothing out all four strips, I cut off the ends with a knife while the tape is still wet. It is possible to wait until the tape is dry and the cut off, or cut the strips carefully to the required length before with scissors. If you cut when dry, then it will have stuck to the back of the frame, making it difficult to come off. Scraping and sandpapering will then have to be carried out, which is time-consuming.If I have my own frameshop in the future I ill not carry plastic and aluminum moldings, but at the moment I have to work with them. With plastic frames it is necessary to sandpaper the back of the frames before applying the gummed tape, otherwise it will not hold. Metal frames you cannot tape and are dusttraps. Insects can easily enter the framing package.My preferred method is to use a piece of two ply board and glue to the back of the frame with

 

[Kai Vanuffelen]

As I am writing this early in the morning from home, I look out of the window over the 6' wooden fence across the traintrack and over a field where often I see kine grazing (sensible people will say cows, but I am not). Beyond the field of bovines is a native forest with odd shaped evergreen trees. Occasionally like today the field has mist hanging over it and this looks really beautiful and spooky.
We do not like to sell this house and buy a new low maintenance townhouse with a small section where you look into the neighbor's kitchen and hear their arguments. Our present neighbor is a tattoo-artist who works from home. His hands are covered with tattoos and he works on his victims on his balcony overlloking our house. Victims come late at night sometimes, but he's all right. His daughter plays with our son and he keeps an eye on our house whiel he is on the unemployment benefit. I have tattos too, but I can cover them up while wearing a t-shirt.
Anyway, the 2 ply board I would fasten with PVA glue brushed on. This board prevents tearing as can be a problem with dustcovers and tape and looks tidy.

 

[Jim Miller MCPF GCF]

It seems that you live in an interesting place Kai. Shall we all have to guess where that is? You could add that information to your profile, and some of us would appreciate it.

 

[Kai Vanuffelen]

Last week I noticed that a pictureframer in our town of 80,000 has closed his doors for good. He was called Scrapbook Alley. Some years ago he moved next to another pictureframer for reasons unknown to me. It did not seem to help in his fortunes, nor did the name of the shop. He had his entire windows painted red, so that people could not look inside and so that perhaps this created more space inside his shop, which was not occupied by window-displays. Then he bought a photographic developing business and incorporated that into his own shop. Developing photos is not done as much by customers as before, so that may have been a bad move too. Sad of course to see another framer close. He had a sign above the red painted windows for months saying closing down sale. This may not have encouraged customers to come in to have framing done. If a customer knows, that a business has plans of closing down, then why bring in work for framing? It would have been better to close the shop unannounced.

 

[Kai Vanuffelen]

Our city=council has about a dozen parking wardens strolling thru the city. Sometimes walking in twos for company or safety in case they get abused by irate motorists. I see them ticketing cars that have been parked beyond their paid for them, while there are plenty of empty parks around this offending car. This simply does not make sense to me, as the ticketing is meant to create more parking space in busy times. In the past few years the council has spent millions on replacing meters that have only been put in the last five years. Now they placed detectors on the tar of every parking spot governed by a sign or meter. They relay information to a central computer in the council-building. If someone has extended their period, the operator sends a textmessage to a parking warden who pounces upon the offending car. It is all about revenue-gathering; not about public service. I had a ticket a few times. Once I saw a warden ticketing my car and I told him that I am just shifting the car. He said, I can shift the car, but you are going to get a ticket anyway. I do not know, why someone wants to become a parking warden. These people have no conscience it seems to me. In Wellington the council even has a spycar driving thru town with a rotating camera on top. It takes photos of offending cars dropping off passengers or goods while double parking or blocking a driveway.
On another note, I see mayors and councilors voted out of office and people think we have seen the last of them. Not see, as these are career public servants. They instead stand for a local health-board and get voted in, because there are so few candidates standing for these boards and few voters interested in these health-boards at elections. The amount of money our council is wasting every year is staggering and every year they put up the local taxes for home-owners beyond the rate of inflation. I have to postpone dental visits near the time of the rates-payment simply because the rates-bill is almost as high as my weekly income. The same happens at national level and they call this democracy. I can write pages full of stories about misspending by public servants, but leave it at this, because it makes me feel better having written this down as there is nothing we can do about this system. Perhaps any of you have similar experiences with local councils.