In July I went to a course titled Design and Construction of Mounts for Exhibit at the International Preservation Studies Center, Mt. Carroll, Ill., aka “museum camp”. Students in attendance came from Texas, Ohio, Washington D.C. (National Air and Space Museum), Boston (Peabody Museum), Kansas City (Nelson-Atkins Museum) and Iowa City (UI Museums).
Here are some images illustrating my experience.
The acrylic was bent using a hot wire bender. The display shelf that holds the object was attached with Weld-On 4. Pieces were cut on the table saw with all edges filed, wet-sanded and polished.
Curves were cut on the band saw, straight cuts were made on a table saw. The small piece that fits in the slot in the base of the object was cut on the band saw. Pin holes were drilled on a drill press. All edges were filed, wet-sanded and polished.
4 pieces of brass rods joined together, covered with either Polyolifin Heat-Shrink Tubing or surgical tubing.
This basket wasn’t exactly round so I had to keep track of its orientation when mounting it. By noting where the accession number had been written on the bottom of the basket and lining that up with the support, I got it into the same position every time. Since the basket is a woven item, this mount would not be a good option for long term display, as the rods could distort the basket over time.
The metal plate is there to keep the rod from being inserted further. A circular slit is cut in the base of the form to tuck in the edge of the covering fabric, so that it is held in place.
This is not the final base for the hat, since I ran out of time in the class. Most people felt like they finally had the braising down just in time for the class to end. The metal-working was complex enough that it could have been a class by itself.
A piece of flat brass was bent to confirm to the shape of the medallion. 3 tabs were braised onto the flat piece to fold around the medallion’s edge. The disc holder was then braised to another brass rod and inserted into a two-layer acrylic base. The wood piece was the original base that came with the piece.
Another name for this material is Deccofelt. It cushions the object and protects it from being scratched by the mount. It is almost, but not quite finished. The wood base still needs to be pinned on and the rod may need to be shortened. To color the base or to cover the base? This was something that was touched upon in the class but the topics of in-painting and finishing are extensive enough that they could also be covered in a separate class.
Library and Archives Preservation 