Hangers for pictures

[Dave Monk]

What is the advantages and disadvantages of using wire vs saw tooth hangers  

[Denny Knappen]

The wire hanger is lower, so it hides the wall hook.

[LarryEA]

No comment here

 

 

Edited December 8, 2022 by LarryEA

[Wichman]

There are a ton of variables, so I will probably miss some of them.

1.  With narrow frames, or plaques with lots of space used, there is a significant limit to where you can place the saw tooth. This leads to Denny's s statement about the wall hook. With wider frames or more space on a plaque you can still hide the wall hook.

2. Centering wide pieces. With a long horizontal frame it's becomes difficult to keep the item from becoming crooked using a saw tooth hanger, especially if the weight of the piece is unbalenced, either by the scroll work or by the variations in the weight of the framing material.

3. Centering vertical pieces is easier, because of the weight distribution.

4. Speed. Generally speaking, a pressed in saw tooth hanger is faster then a wire hanger.

5. Cost. Generally speaking, a pressed in saw tooth hanger is less expensive than using wire. This is very dependent on how it's done.

I worked in the art publishing industry for 26+ years, and that's what my experiences are. The standard at the shop where I worked were; any frame 16 x 20 or less = saw tooth hanger, we had a commercial machine to do the pressing and I could install at the rate of 4 frames per minute. Any frame larger than  16 x 20 got a wire hanger. We started with commercial buckles ( a strap formed around a wire triangle )  screwed to the frame, then the wire wrapped around the triangle. We ended up stapling the sire to the frame using medium crown staples.

I have rigged up a jig for pressing saw tooth hangers using a woodworkers bench vise and magnets. When I put it together again I'll take and post pictures.

[LarryEA]

I'll go with Wichman

Edited December 8, 2022 by LarryEA

[rjweb]

Dave, I always went by the weight of the picture if it’s heavy I would use wire more secure, RJ 

[Wichman]

Also, the house I bought came with several thousand press in hanger, that's why I came up with the jig. The commercial press machine at work held the saw tooth in place with a magnet. That was a game changer.

[Scrappile]

Because most my pictures are relatively small, under 16" wide, I use saw tooth mostly.  

[FrankEV]

Nobody stated the most important reason to use sawtooth hangers for scroll saw portraits and plaques.  They keep the work almost flat against the wall where the wire hanger method tilts the work.  Tilting is OK for paintings and such, but for proper viewing of  scroll saw portraits and plaques, they should be viewed straight on, vertically flat to the wall, and hung about eye level, to be best enjoyed.  

Also, I have not found any of my work, even up to 18"x 24 and framed,  to be too heavy for just one small drive in saw tooth hanger and the piece hung on the wall with just a small headed 3/4" long brad.  And, generally plaques made of cuttings mounted on 1/2" ply or solid wood are not very heavy either and one sawtooth hanger works well.

For some of the same reasons, I only cut my portrait work in 1/8" thick material that is mounted on a 1/4" backer for rigidity.  I find the visability of the vertically cut edges in work cut in thicker materials is very distracting, especially when viewed from any vantage other than straight on. 

A quick edit:  If I was to make a large heavy cutting (like maybe a wall hanging sculptured piece), my choice for a hanger would be the French Cleat.  Keeps work nearly flat to wall, easy to plumb, available in many sizes, and is very strong.  

Edited December 10, 2022 by FrankEV

[Wichman]

Frank,

1. Do what works for you.

At work we produced a canvas wrapped art product up to 36 x 72 inches.  Because of the weight, a single saw tooth hanger was stapled on ( centered, with adjustments ) . We would have to test the center of balance and adjust the placement of the hanger accordingly. The largest canvas wrap we did was 48 x 108 inches, for a corporate headquarters. Testing the center of balance is generally not necessary for smaller items because of the nature of the saw tooth hanger. On the larger canvas wraps the center of balance could be up to 3 inches off.

2. If you are using wire and the item is leaning out from the wall the attachment point on the sides is probably too low. Moving the wire higher on the sides will reduce the lean. Yes, this means that the saw tooth is faster, no learning curve. But if you just have to have wire . 

[Dan]

I prefer using wire. I use these hangers (see photo) that lay flat against the project. I use one on the left side and one on the right, then attach the wire to them. The main reason is that some of my projects are not center-balanced and I have had some issues with sawtooth hangers not holding the work level enough for me. With the wire, it is very easy to hang the work level. Also, I don't like things to mark up the wall, so I add either felt or rubber pads to the work. I usually get the work hung so all four pads are touching the wall and this is how I keep the work flat to the wall. The small gap is not very noticeable. 

There, I spent my 2¢ for the day. 

Edited December 10, 2022 by Dan

[BadBob]

For hanging most things, I use two small nails inserted in the wall an appropriate distance apart and positioned vertically with a level. The heads of the nails are left protruding slightly and catch on the lip of the frame. The thin heads will dig into the frame slightly, keeping it from sliding off. For lighter items, I have used straight pins. They never need to be adjusted, and they never fall off.

It is cheap, and you never need to adjust. I have been hanging framed items using this method for about 40 years.

[John B]

I have used the same method as Dan, two hangers and wire between, I also used some great hangers from The Wooden Teddy Bear (Unfortunately no longer available). Now it's a thin sash cord and I staple it equal distance on each upright of the frame. Cheap and secure

Edited December 18, 2022 by John B

[Hudson River Rick]

Hi everyone, I am a professional picture framer, have been for 23 years, and I stopped using wire between hangers, I never used sawtooth hangers.  For the past 13 years we have only used a product called Z-BAR, I purchase 500 feet at a time from my supplier, it is not cheap, but neither is my framing, so I want the framed pieces that leave my shop to look as best as they can in my clients home.  Home Depot has a product called HANG MAN if anyone would like to try this method, I think you can get up to 16 inch pieces, which is more than enough for an 8 x 10 frame, verticle or horizontal.  When we frame small pieces of needle work, we make our own hangers.

 

At the risk of offending someone, MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, and a Blessed & Healthy NEW YEAR

[Wichman]

5 hours ago, Hudson River Rick said:

Hi everyone, I am a professional picture framer, have been for 23 years, and I stopped using wire between hangers, I never used sawtooth hangers.  For the past 13 years we have only used a product called Z-BAR, I purchase 500 feet at a time from my supplier, it is not cheap, but neither is my framing, so I want the framed pieces that leave my shop to look as best as they can in my clients home.  Home Depot has a product called HANG MAN if anyone would like to try this method, I think you can get up to 16 inch pieces, which is more than enough for an 8 x 10 frame, verticle or horizontal.  When we frame small pieces of needle work, we make our own hangers.

 

At the risk of offending someone, MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, and a Blessed & Healthy NEW YEAR

Looks like a good system. A couple of questions:

     How wide to you cut the Z-BAR? Is it a ratio or ???

     How much adjustment can be made horizontally?

This looks like a modified french cleat system. For us weekend warriors, could we make the same type of thing out of lathe? It would be about 3/8"thick so it shouldn't kick out from the wall much.

 

[Hudson River Rick]

I am not aware of any formula or ratio concerning the use of Z-BAR.  We always make the piece that is attached to the frame longer than the one on the wall, so there will be room for horizontal adjustment.  ex. on an 11 by 14 frame, I would cut the piece for the frame at 9 inches and the piece that is attached to the wall at 6 inches.  We have never run into a problem if there was no wall stud to hit with a screw, the modern day dry wall screw anchors will hold a lot of weight.

 

You are correct, this is identicle to thr FRENCH CLEAT system except, the X-BAR is exruded out of Aluminum, so can be much thinner.  We do use the french cleat system when needed, for instance, we just completed a job for a local fraternal organization that has 80 pictures of their past presidents, we used Oak for the custom frame and  product called OPTIUM by TRU-VUE, which is probably the best acrylic glazing avaiable.  Finished product weighed about 70 lbs.

Sorry for the long post.  I hope I answered your questions.

Rick

[Hudson River Rick]

Sorry, I don't know how to edit a text.  The product mentioned on the first line of the second paragraph should be Z-BAR, and it is extruded, not exruded.

[Wichman]

24 minutes ago, Hudson River Rick said:

Sorry, I don't know how to edit a text.  The product mentioned on the first line of the second paragraph should be Z-BAR, and it is extruded, not exruded.

To edit a text:

At the top right of your text area (finished text) there are three small dots, when you hover over them a dialog box will state "more options". Click on the three dots and a sub menu will appear. If you made the post, the system will allow you to edit.

 

[Hudson River Rick]

Thank you for the update on editing my messages.