Vintage Printer Blocks Frame

Antique Printing Blocks frame

Several months ago I was scanning Ebay, just looking to see what was out there in auction land, and I came upon a Lot of Antique Printing Blocks.  I wasn’t looking for printing blocks, but there were over 75 of them and nobody had bid yet.  What the heck, I’ll put a bid in, after all, they were only 13 cents a piece.

I really had no intention of winning, I had no project in mind, I didn’t need them and I didn’t particularly want them… and just about as quickly as I placed my bid was how quickly I forgot all about the blocks.

Antique Printing Blocks

So imagine my surprise, when a week later, I get an email telling me I’m the winning bid. Seriously, nobody else placed a bid?

Now what am I going to do with them? And so they sat until this past week. 

first-glance-installation-more-than-artful

At some point, I remembered this wall I had come across when I did my post on recycled wall ideas. If I could just use the same idea on a smaller scale…

Vintage Antique Printing Blocks, DIY Frame

When I was at IKEA recently I stocked up on several of their RIBBA  frames.  At $3.00, they’re a good price and plain enough that I can use it as a base for so many DIY frame projects.

The frame was put  on a piece of 1/4 inch plywood to use as a backer board.  Traced exactly around the RIBBA frame and then a 3 inch border farther out. 

Vintage Antique Printing Blocks, DIY Frame

I cut out the backer board, both the interior cut and the wider border.

 

Vintage Antique Printing Blocks, DIY Frame

On the back, Attached the backing  to the frame with scrap strips of mdf plywood. These are attached with wood glue and held in place with staples. Make sure you don’t cover any of the hole where the picture will be inserted.

Antique Printing Blocks frame

Back on the front, the backing is finished with a dark walnut stain and varnish.

Antique Printing Blocks frame

The printer blocks are simply glued in place with hot glue. 

Vintage Antique Printing Blocks, DIY Frame

To cover up the side edges of the plywood, an outer frame was created with 1×2 pine mitered at the corners.

Vintage Antique Printing Blocks, DIY Frame

Before nailing and gluing into place, the outer pine frame was given a coat of black chalk paint.

Antique Printing Blocks frame

Final step was to give the chalk paint a coat of wax. If you don’t use chalk paint, no wax is needed.

Antique Printing Blocks frame

Antique Printing Blocks frame

Vintage Printer Blocks diy Frame

Antique Printing Blocks frame

I still have enough of the blocks to do one more frame unless I come up with another project. Any ideas?

 

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