Contact Print Frame

[chris_4622]

I'm going to make a contact print frame for making some albumen prints. I plan to make the frame 11x14". Any ideas on how thick and wide the spring steel should be to hold the back?

chris

[Daniel Stone]

1" x 1/16-1/8" spring steel should be more than satisfactory

Personally I'd use 3 springs (vs 2 in some other cheaper frames that I've seen), to make sure you have enough pressure

-Dan

[chris_4622]

Thanks Dan, just what I needed.

chris

[DannL]

Did you know that you can use 1/2" x 1/16" aluminum stock for the same purpose? Simply cut it, and form it into the required shape. ie; a curve. It will retain that shape indefinitely. I used aluminum in that way to make my 8x10 printing frame springs. The only drawback is that you need to cover the part of the spring that is touched by fingers with tape or paint. I'll let you guess why. :-)