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ONLINE FORUM

Welcome to the IMF Online Forum! 
The easiest way to connect with your fellow Mountmakers!

Archived topics are available to anyone - but we encourage you to create a Login, which allow you to post new topics, as well as receiving notification of new posts from other contributors.

  

To create a new Login: Click the Log in/ Sign up prompt. You can use your existing Google or Facebook account or enter an email address and create a password - you're good to go!

The Online Forum had a recent update- please read:

The Topic categories have now changed to Groups- to follow or post to a specific group, click Join for that category.

Once you have joined a group, you will be able to post to that group and will receive updates to new postings.  Join as many as many topic groups as you would like!

If there's anything we're missing, needs fixing or you'd like to contribute, just let us know through the Contact Us prompt!

If you are looking for a colleague, mountmaking training, or freelance mountmakers in your area, check out our new
IMF MOUNTMAKERS DIRECTORY.

 

We look forward to your participation!

Groups Feed

View groups and posts below.


This post is from a suggested group

jody hanson
jody hanson

Mountmaking Short Course - Dec 2026

I'm teaching again in December at Brooklyn Metal works. The course is an entry level course that also welcomes returning and more experienced students. Silver soldering experience is required. Feel free to reach out to me or the studio with questions. Attached is the course link.


Jody


https://www.bkmetalworks.com/mountmaking-short-course

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This post is from a suggested group

Exhibit Designer / Installer Position

Hello everyone!


I wanted to share an opportunity that may be of interest to those in the museum mount-making, exhibit fabrication, and installation community.


A full-time Exhibit Designer/Installer position will soon be available with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) in Sacramento, California.


While this isn't a traditional museum position, I think it could be a great fit for someone with a background in museum fabrication, mount making, exhibit installation, or scenic and specialty fabrication who is looking for a new challenge. The position offers the opportunity to work on a wide variety of creative projects, including designing, fabricating, installing, maintaining, and repairing educational exhibits and interactive displays.


The position involves hands-on work with a variety of materials, fabrication techniques, graphics, multimedia, and interactive technologies. You'll have the opportunity to work on exhibits that educate the public about California's water resources and support DWR's visitors centers and outreach programs.


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This post is from a suggested group

Registration for IMF2026 is open!

Registration is now open for IMF2026, hosted by the San Francisco Asian Art Museum, November 3-5, 2026!


In-person: $200 includes two days of talks, posters, demonstrations, tours, good conversations (and some food)!


Virtual: $100 includes access to live talks and participation in question-and-answer sessions. No food though:)


Click here for details!


Questions? contactmountforum@gmail.com


Registration closes October 19, 2026.


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This post is from a suggested group

Independent Mountmaker wanted

Hello fam! I have another scheduling conflict and am in search of a seasoned master mountmaker to represent Spark and Anvil.


Deets:


  • Proposal is due September 4th!

  • 160 objects

  • Fabrication starts January 2027

  • Southern Florida


193 Views

Hi James,


I'm the Chief Preparator & Operations Manager for the Gregory Allicar Museum of Art which began back in 2007 at the starting phase of operation. https://artmuseum.colostate.edu/


That's 19 years of working in accord with museum quality standards & we are fully Accredited by AAM. I'm open to share multiple images of my mount making examples but for this external project option, I only require images of objects that need exhibition display mount making.


All I can summarize here is that my skill level moves through a very diverse range: Wood Working, Welding, Brass Brazing, Acrylic Fabrication, Mold Making, Casting & many other archival based material style applications.


I do work independently on the sideline, so I'm open if a collaboration makes sense on both sides here.


Just let me know your thoughts or reason here.


Best,


Keith Jentzsch (He, Him)

Chief Preparator & Operations Manager

Gregory Allicar Museum of Art

(formerly known as University Art Museum)              

Campus Box 1778

Colorado State University

Fort Collins, CO 80523


(970) 308-0890 - cell

(970) 491-6905 - office phone


artmuseum.colostate.edu

http://www.facebook.com/CSUArtMuseum

On the traditional homelands of the Arapaho, Cheyenne and Ute Nations


This post is from a suggested group

Duo-Mite dies options- Can’t reach Oxford General?

Hi- Has anyone had luck contacting Oxford General Industries? I’ve been trying to order circle dies and of the three contact options, no response yet. If the company is closed/down, where should I look?

Ollie

137 Views

I've made custom sizes out of mild steel, aluminum, even MDF once. Otherwise, like Andrew said, call around to some local machine shops and have some made for you. You can take them one of your existing dies as an example. I'm pretty sure the originals were made from hardened steel so you may want to go that route if it's a size you think you will be using for lots of bends.

This post is from a suggested group

Daniel Breems
Daniel Breems

Field Museum; Open Positions

Hello,


Sharing three open positions at the Field Museum, Exhibitions Department.


Mount Shop Supervisor

Prep I-III Mount Maker (2-3 positions)

Production Supervisor


https://www.fieldmuseum.org/landing/careers

188 Views

Oh, this is very exciting! Will be sure to apply.

This post is from a suggested group

UV cured coatings

Has anyone used or tested UV cured clear coatings for sealing or padding small mounts?


313 Views

This post is from a suggested group

Mounting guitars on acrylic - Advice needed

Hello,


I'm Silvia Manrique, Director of Collections at The Wolfsonian–FIU in Miami Beach. We're planning a resonator guitar exhibition and would appreciate the group's input on a specific mounting challenge.


The exhibition will include guitars displayed three ways: wall-mounted (both vertical and horizontal orientations), in free-standing cases, and -the pieces I'm seeking guidance on- guitars mounted against clear acrylic panels and viewable from both front and back. Most of the guitars in this last category will be oriented vertically, and I'm picturing something along the lines of a two-pronged cradle/saddle, similar to commercial guitar-stand mounts, but built to museum standards and as unobtrusive as possible.


A few questions for the group:


1. Do you have examples of clip or mount designs for this kind of dual-sided viewing that are minimally visible/unobtrusive?

2. What's the preferred method for attaching a mount to an acrylic panel for an object this size and…


256 Views
bjfarrar
Jul 10

The Met had a fantastic exhibition awhile back that featured a lot of guitars-

https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2019/play-it-loud/exhibition-galleries


It might be worth reaching out to their objects conservation department to ge more information-

This post is from a suggested group

Two sided coin display

Hey all, we have a couple of situations for displaying coins that we're trying to figure out and I wanted to see if anyone had any experience with something similar. At the moment we are hoping to display both sides with the coins sandwiched between acrylic. In one setting they would be static and shown vertically in the center of a case structure. In the other it would essentially be a flipable page that visitors could flip back and forth to view each side. The basic idea we were considering was just a sheet with the coins profile cut out and then a layer of acrylic on the front and back, but the two things we're concerned about and haven't come up with a proper solution to is then how do we secure this stack of acrylic so it can't be tampered with easily, but can be accessed by the prep…


589 Views

John, Interactive displays with real objects is difficult to do with out damage to the object. Have you considered making a movie of the objects being flipped that the visitor could controll?

Pam

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