Do-It-Yourself modern art frame.

A few months back we attended an art event where I purchased a very cool print. I knew that in a few months my wife would be working on an art installation that would feature puck mounted frames which would give us access to a resource of these cool little mounting devices. So knowing we’d be able to get ahold of a few of these smaller mounting pucks, and coupled with the fact that I had a scrap piece of walnut plywood in the garage I decided to create my own modern, low-cost art frame. The first order of business was to sand the edges of the plywood down and then get a piece of plexi cut-down to match the exact size of the plywood. Once I had the plexi I lined it up on the plywood and drilled holes about 1 1/2″ in from each corner and roughly 5/8″ deep, so I could insert wood anchors flush with the surface.  Once the wood anchors were in place I put a smaller machine threaded screw into the anchor (these and the wood anchor were purchased at a local hardware store for under a $1 a piece). I then attached a picture hanger to the back of the plywood and placed the artwork on the front making sure to center it on the wood. I then placed the plexi on top of the art work and used the small silver pucks to synch the plexi tight and hold the artwork in place.  After it was all done the entire thing cost me under $25, and other than the metal pucks (which were a specialty item) was done from a local hardware store. If you don’t have access to the little metal mounting pucks like these there are some really cool options that most hardware or home improvement stores carry and most of them have a cool looking Allen wrench head on them which gives them a slightly more industrial feel, but very cool. Sorry for the less then stellar photos. I was taking them with my iPhone with one hand and working with my other.

I used a piece of tape to mark my bit  (making sure to account for the thickness of the plexi)

I used a screw inserted into the wood anchor to sink it into the wood so I could make sure I wouldn’t damage the threads.

I used an allen wrench to insert the machine screw into the anchor

The mounting pucks attached to the machine screw and synched the plexi tight to the wood.

The protective film was removed from the plexi and it was ready to be hung.