A piece of 3/4" particle board, (very flat) [my next frame will use Corian]
and cut to fit the glass and a 2 inch area to allow mounting an offset
"piano hinge".
A piece of 3/8 inch plate glass 16 x 20. (for the weight) [1/2 inch would be
better, but the price of the 3/8 inch was very good]
A thin sheet (1/8") of fairly soft (no durometer available) neoprene rubber was
glued to the top of the particle board. (You must spread the glue carefully,
and very evenly with no lumps or bumps, etc). Use a rolling pin to apply
pressure but not too hard that you squish the rubber around.
The edges of the glass were "ground off" to remove the really sharp edges.
A strip of hardwood as high as the glass/rubber combination (frame closed)
was mounted at the top of the board (one of the 16 inch sides). The piano hinge
was first bonded to the glass (sand, sandblast, etch, etc. the area of the
glass where the hinge will be mounted first); holes were pre-drilled into
the wood strip (in my case 16" x 2" x 1/2"), and when the glue/bonding agent
set the other side of the hinge was screwed into the wood. For further strength
I cut back the rubber sheet from under the hinge area of the glass and used
Gaffer's tape wrapped around the glass/hinge section twice tightly. This
frame will hopefully outlast me. It is working very well for me so far. I am
working on a cam secured contact frame providing pressure from both sides to
hopefully eliminate the need for a vacuum or air pressure frame. I'll let you
know.
Bob Mazzullo
>Could you recommend a way of making large contact frame (16x20 or 20x24)?
>What type of foam should be used and how thick? What is a good mechanism to
>clamp down the glass to make good contact? Is there any published/known plan?
>Thanks in advance!
>Dave S.