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Masterclass: Deep bevel mounts using mountboard cover tape
04 March 2021
With regard to framing experience, I was knee-high to a grasshopper when I first visited the Spring Fair at Birmingham’s NEC. Not only was it my first trade show but it was my first real delve into the wider world of framing. There were many things that wowed me that day and I left with a phone full of pictures and a head full of ideas. One of those ideas was deep bevel mounts.
Deep bevel mounts are so simple and yet so effective. They’re subtle but they stand out. The funny thing is that it took me another year, and another trade show, to find out how to produce deep bevel mounts. Fortunately, you won’t have to wait that long or even step out of your workshop. So, either read on, watch the video on Larson-Juhl’s website: https://larsonjuhl.co.uk/haven/vids/jon-price-masterclass, or even better, do both.
Size and cut a window mount; I used Hayseed (8065) to match Hayseed self-adhesive cover tape (945008065). Our deep bevel mount will extend approximately 3mm per side further in to the image than a standard depth bevel. You may wish to allow for this.
Figure 1
Cut a piece of foam board (999010623) to the same length as one side of the mount but a few centimetres wider. It’s best to cut long sides first.
Figure 2
Using a mount cutter, cut a bevelled edge along one long side of the foam board. If your mount cutter’s blade depth doesn’t extend to 5mm, cut as deep as you can with the mount cutter and finish off with a blade. Do this carefully and no one will be any the wiser once the board cover tape is in place.
Figure 3
Cut a piece of board cover tape so it’s slightly longer than the bevelled edge of the foam board. Remove the cover tape backing and place the bottom of the foam board onto the sticky side of the cover tape about one third of the way in. Apply pressure to ensure adhesion.
Figure 4
Guide the cover tape round the bottom edge of the bevelled foam board. I find it’s best to smooth it back and forth with my fingers and finish off with a burnishing bone.
Figure 5
Keep smoothing the cover tape all the way around the bevel until the bottom, edge and top are covered. Burnish.
Figure 6 & 7
Cut a bevelled edge on one end of the cover taped foam board. This time it’s important to cut a reverse bevel (where the cut angles inwards from the face of the board and therefore the bevel is hidden). This is so that the reverse bevelled end sits against the next section of cover taped foam board without a gap. In Figure 7 I’ve used a coloured tape to show this more clearly.
Repeat this process: cut, bevel and cover foam board for all four sides of the window mount.
Figure 8
Using an ATG gun (999000058), run a couple of strips of ATG tape (999000056) along the top face of each piece of the cover taped foam board. Take the window mount and place the first piece of foam board underneath it. Line up the top edge of the cover taped bevel of the foam board so that it sits in line with the bottom edge of the bevel on the mount. The reverse bevel end of the foam board should line up exactly with the corner of the mount window.
Figure 9 & 10
Repeat using the next piece of foam board on the adjoining mount border. Then move on to the third and fourth pieces. Figure 10 shows the underside of the foam board once it’s adhered to the window mount - I’ve used coloured tape to make it clearer how the foam board pieces fit together.
Trim the excess foam board so that its edges line up with the edges of the window mount.
Figure 11
Place the window mount face down on your work bench. Put a piece of under mount (8950), cut to the same dimensions, next to it. The two should be butted up so that their LONGEST sides are aligned. The under mount should be raised to sit at the same height as the window mount.
Cut a piece of white gummed paper tape (999000026) to the length of the adjoining sides. Dampen it using deionised water and place the tape so it runs along the join in the butted boards with half the tape on one side and half the tape on the other. This hinge should always be positioned so the window and under mounts are connected along their LONGEST sides (left hand side on a portrait mount, top edge on a landscape mount).
Once the tape has dried run a burnishing bone along the join and fold the mount package so that the two hinged mounts align properly.
Figure 12
Cut pieces of white gummed paper tape (999000026) of around 4cm long. These are the uprights of the T-hinges you’ll use to attach the artwork to the under mount. The number of T-hinges used depends on the size and weight of the paper; an A4 piece would usually require two. Due to the width of this piece I used a third T-hinge. Dampen the end 5mm of the gummed side of each T-piece using deionised water and stick them to the top edge of the underside of the artwork. They should be placed around a quarter of the way in from each side of the artwork and only stuck by 5mm to the top edge.
Figure 13
Once the T-hinge uprights are dry, close the mount with the artwork face up between the under and window mounts. Position the artwork so that it sits as you want it to be displayed and place a paper weight on the artwork to stop it from moving. Cut two T-hinge cross pieces of around 7.5cm. Open the hinged mount package without moving the artwork. Dampen the cross pieces and place them evenly across the T-hinge uprights with a few millimetres gap between them and the top edge of the artwork.
Close the mount package. Cut a backing board (such as 999111000) and glazing to the same dimensions as the mount - for added wow factor use Larson-Juhl AR99 Clarity glass. Having cleaned each appropriately, place the backing board on your work bench, the mount package on top and the glazing on top of that. For securing and sealing a frame I recommend a FrameMaster Gun (999000083), Framers Points (999000084) placed 10-15cm apart and Gummed Brown Tape (999000067/8).
Let’s have a look at the finished piece. On the face of things, what could be simpler? A tasteful picture, an off white single mount and a classy moulding (406335130). It’s every day, bread and butter framing. BUT, by adding a deep bevel mount and great quality glazing we’ve made this piece stand out. It looks different, it looks classy and it looks expensive. To me that’s clever, business minded framing!
Jon Price GCF(APF) owns Handmade Framing & Gallery in Bude, North Cornwall, as well as a framing consultancy service. His clients include leading art conservation and restoration companies and internationally renowned museum groups. He is a member of the Fine Art Trade Guild’s Framing Standards and Qualifications Committee.
handmadepictureframing.co.uk
