Chuck S.
6-Apr-2015, 16:00
Since print mounting seems to be a frequent subject, I thought this might be of interest.
Just found a 4x5 neg of a vacuum cold mount press I built around 30 years ago. There was a do-it-yourself kit available from a large frame shop in Seattle, if I recall correctly. It consisted of a Gast diaphragm vacuum pump, a large thin neoprene sheet with vacuum connections (basically tire valve stems cemented into the top center of the sheet), a smaller sheet of small diamond rubber tread material, two powerful gas springs with mounting brackets, and tubing to connect everything together.
It was up to me to fashion a table and a hinged lid with a big sheet of tempered glass. Fortunately I was doing a lot of location work at the time for a high end cabinet-making shop, and was able to work out a trade. (Otherwise it wouldn't have looked this pretty.) I added a piece of stretchy synthetic rope alongside each gas spring to prevent the lid from slamming up against a hard stop.
Googled for the original supplier in vain, but none of the parts and pieces were proprietary. In fact, doing a search for "DIY vacuum mounting press" does bring up a lot of suppliers for woodworkers wanting to assemble their own veneer press. It's pretty much the same thing.
No plans left, but the the print on the press is a 20x24 on a 28x32 board, so I'm thinking max size was something like 30x48.
I used acid free McDonalds Lamin-all adhesive (http://www.artistsupplysource.com/product/126764/fredrix-mcdonald-photo-products-lamin-all-adhesive-quart/), brushed thin on the mount board inside pencil lines for the print with a foam brush. First few mounts had a bit of "squeeze out" around the print edges, but it always flowed out away from the print, never onto it, and was hidden behind the mat. Quickly learned to paint about 1/4" inch in from the scribe lines, and the adhesive just flowed to the print edges. I always used Seal release paper so there would be no adhesive on the glass.
Special care had to be taken with foamcore or gator foam, since the rather substantial pressure could crush the edges. The solution: place scrap pieces of the same material completely around and touching the board. The edges of the scrap pieces would be pinched, but not the mount itself.
I have dozens of framed enlargements and hundreds of mounted prints from that time. Not one separation or bubble, and no effect on B&W or color, fiber or RC. Those early mounts where I can see a bit of the adhesive still show the same color – no degradation. Thirty years and counting – not bad.
Ended up selling this press, along with my Durst 184 (with all the condensers - even the rare 382) to the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle. I just checked; they still have both.
131935 131936
Just found a 4x5 neg of a vacuum cold mount press I built around 30 years ago. There was a do-it-yourself kit available from a large frame shop in Seattle, if I recall correctly. It consisted of a Gast diaphragm vacuum pump, a large thin neoprene sheet with vacuum connections (basically tire valve stems cemented into the top center of the sheet), a smaller sheet of small diamond rubber tread material, two powerful gas springs with mounting brackets, and tubing to connect everything together.
It was up to me to fashion a table and a hinged lid with a big sheet of tempered glass. Fortunately I was doing a lot of location work at the time for a high end cabinet-making shop, and was able to work out a trade. (Otherwise it wouldn't have looked this pretty.) I added a piece of stretchy synthetic rope alongside each gas spring to prevent the lid from slamming up against a hard stop.
Googled for the original supplier in vain, but none of the parts and pieces were proprietary. In fact, doing a search for "DIY vacuum mounting press" does bring up a lot of suppliers for woodworkers wanting to assemble their own veneer press. It's pretty much the same thing.
No plans left, but the the print on the press is a 20x24 on a 28x32 board, so I'm thinking max size was something like 30x48.
I used acid free McDonalds Lamin-all adhesive (http://www.artistsupplysource.com/product/126764/fredrix-mcdonald-photo-products-lamin-all-adhesive-quart/), brushed thin on the mount board inside pencil lines for the print with a foam brush. First few mounts had a bit of "squeeze out" around the print edges, but it always flowed out away from the print, never onto it, and was hidden behind the mat. Quickly learned to paint about 1/4" inch in from the scribe lines, and the adhesive just flowed to the print edges. I always used Seal release paper so there would be no adhesive on the glass.
Special care had to be taken with foamcore or gator foam, since the rather substantial pressure could crush the edges. The solution: place scrap pieces of the same material completely around and touching the board. The edges of the scrap pieces would be pinched, but not the mount itself.
I have dozens of framed enlargements and hundreds of mounted prints from that time. Not one separation or bubble, and no effect on B&W or color, fiber or RC. Those early mounts where I can see a bit of the adhesive still show the same color – no degradation. Thirty years and counting – not bad.
Ended up selling this press, along with my Durst 184 (with all the condensers - even the rare 382) to the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle. I just checked; they still have both.
131935 131936