Mountblank How To

Benchmark MountBlanks: Mounting 3-D Objects ...an overview

Our MountBlanks are designed to help you create custom professional mounts using only basic workshop tools. For those of you lucky enough to have access to a well-stocked workshop, the MountBlanks can save you valuable time by eliminating the soldering step.

We have hammered, sawn, formed, annealed and silver-soldered our brass to make the shapes most commonly used. They are available in seven classic shapes : T’s, spiders, hooks, leverage, bowl, hat and plate mounts. The chart below gives you an overview of each type of MountBlank:

	T’s	Spiders	Hooks	Leverage
Type			strap rod
Description	Brass rod stem (a) for wall or deck mounting. Cross-bar (b) made of lighter stock. Comes in three sizes or weights: light, medium & firm.	Brass rod stem (a) for wall or deck mounting. Three arms (b) made of lighter stock . Comes in three sizes or weights: light, medium & firm.	4" long rod stem with a 3" length of strap soldered to one end. Strap gets shaped to fit your object. Comes in two sizes.	Two brass straps soldered one above the other on opposite sides of a sturdy support/stem rod.
Common Usage	A real workhorse, used to support a wide variety of objects. To finish, pad with polyolefin or Teflon heat-shrinkable tubing or spray with clear Krylon. Paint-out with acrylic artist's paints to blend in with objects or background. Used for either deck or wall installations.	Used to support objects with more complex display characteristics. The 3 crossbars enable more possibilities than the 2 arms of the "T". Used for either deck or wall situations.	Used to stabilize a variety of objects. Very useful when top-heavy sculpture (or large footed vases) need to be secured to a deck. Shape the strap to the foot of the artifact. Being strap (rather than rod) it will have a minimal profile and be less conspicuous. Drill and install the rod stem into the deck.	This is a pretty wonderful style of mount. Using the opposing forces of leverage, this mount takes objects with oval or round shafts and angles them effortlessly up from the deck. The upper strap wraps under the object, holding its weight; the lower strap wraps up and over the object keeping it from falling out of the mount. Pure mountmaking magic.
Example (Click on caption to see mount details)	Beaded Disk	Small bronze figurine & Gourd	Looking for pictures... stay tuned.	Spoon & Shears

	Bowls	Hat	Plate
Type			Wall: Deck:
Description	Three fully annealed arms to cradle the bowl (or bowl shaped whatever). A countersunk hole where the three arms meet accepts a standard drywall screw with which the mount is secured to the deck. Comes in two sizes.	A 1/4" diameter, 18" long brass stem with a pointed end, fitted with a 2" x 3" brass plate. Comes with a 4" x 8" x 8" Ethafoam block. You carve the foam to fit inside your hat. The whole installs into deck or wall.	For the Wall: Two bottom tabs (soldered to a center stem ) are shaped to your plate's profile and support its weight. There is also a top tab that, after being shaped to the plate's profile, slides into a tube to lock the plate in place. Comes in three sizes. For the Deck: Two tabs soldered to a curved rod get shaped to plate's profile and support its weight. The strap going up the back keeps the plate from falling backwards. The tilt backwards keeps the plate from falling forwards. The stem is bent to go into the deck. Comes in three sizes.
Common Usage	Used to securely cradle round-bottomed objects by shaping to fit that roundness, while the mount itself stays put by being screwed into the deck. We will sometimes, if appropriate, augment the mount by placing a weightbag inside the object.	Used to support hats and hat-like objects. Carve the Ethafoam to fit inside artifact, stick the foam on the brass stem, and bend the stem to the shape you need. Install in either deck or wall.	Used to hang a plate on the wall or to tip a plate up from the deck.
Example (Click on caption to see mount details)	Ostrich Egg	Basket-weave Hat	Ceramic Plate & Woven Grass Disk