Fixing a mirror in a frame?

[Doug71]

I am making an oak mirror frame which will be hung on a wall.

Overall size is about 900 mm wide x 650 mm high, frame will be about 75 mm x 30 mm thick making the actual glass about 750 x 500.

What is the best way of fixing the mirror into the frame? Do I fit the mirror in the rebate with a piece of mdf behind it then some of the little glazing sprig things to hold it all in, then some kind of tape round the edges? Will the sprigs go into the oak or is there a better way of doing it? Should I put an odd dot of silicone round the edges to help hold the mirror in place?

The glass will be bevelled edge, am I okay with 4 mm glass or is 6 mm better?

As always any advice appreciated.

Many thanks, Doug

 

[custard]

The rebate will get reflected in the mirror and therefore becomes visible. Not a huge problem with a solid timber frame, but with frames that are a foil wrapped around a Poplar core then it looks better to paint the rebate black, some people still prefer to do that even with solid wood frames, personally I don't.

You'll need something like 2mm MDF behind the mirror, and then you can put glazing sprigs straight into the frame to secure the MDF/mirror sandwich. If you were to have sprigs directly against the mirror itself you would scratch the silvered backing, which then means it's not a mirror any more, it's just glass!

I doubt you'll have problems with the dimensions you detail, you should be okay with a thinner mirror, but when you go bigger you sometimes need bracing struts at the back to help carry the weight and keep everything straight.

I wouldn't pretend to be an expert, but that's how I go about the job with the mirrors I make like these,

Good luck!

 

[Geoff_S]

The last mirror I made didn't have a rebate. I screwed an MDF backing to the frame I made and then glued the mirror to the backing with special mirror glue. Having a think, it's been there 15+ years. Where has that gone?

The mirror was 6mm and the edges were polished.

 

[Doug71]

Thank you for the replies, if that method is good enough for Custard it's good enough for me.

Doug

 

[GPB]

I used two rebates, one for the glass the second the same depth as the mdf, and wide enough to be able to fix it by screwing into the frame. That way the back is flush and will hang close to the wall, with the mdf out of sight if the mirror is able to be viewed from the side, in a hallway for instance.

Cheers Graham

 

[doctor Bob]

On largish mirrors I use 6mm bevelled as 4mm distorts quite easily if fixed to a wall. Not a bad thing if it makes you taller and slimmer but sods law states it will make you shorter, fatter and slantandicular.

 

[Doug71]

I used two rebates, one for the glass the second the same depth as the mdf, and wide enough to be able to fix it by screwing into the frame. That way the back is flush and will hang close to the wall, with the mdf out of sight if the mirror is able to be viewed from the side, in a hallway for instance.

Cheers Graham

Am liking this idea, thank you.

On largish mirrors I use 6mm bevelled as 4mm distorts quite easily if fixed to a wall. Not a bad thing if it makes you taller and slimmer but sods law states it will make you shorter, fatter and slantandicular.

Am thinking of using 6 mm as when I have had 4 mm bevelled glass before think there was only a couple of mill left round the edge which seems a bit weak.

 

[Steve Maskery]

+1 for painting the rebate black.

-1 for having both a frame and a bevel.

The last mirror I made was a few years ago, but it was a complex job, elliptical chevalier thing. It has a laminated bubinga frame with bevelled glass. It's too much. I wish I had fitted plain glass.

Frameless = bevel
Framed = no bevel.

S