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Substantial dual-sided plexiglass poster frames for those seeking postindustrial chic.

Materials: Two sheets of cut plexiglass, 8 washers, 4 wingnuts, and 4 bolts per poster; an electric drill; a permanent marker; a measuring tape and ruler; hanging wire; picture mounts; adhesive mounting squares; Windex; several large binder clips or equivalent; and a vacuum.

Time: 2 hours, including cleanup.

Approximate Cost: About $33 per medium-sized frame → $30 plexiglass, $3 hardware.

College left me with a bunch of irregularly-shaped posters which I liked enough to take along to my next apartment, but not enough to tack up on the wall in all their battered glory. While I didn't have enough money to get them professionally framed, I also didn't want to stick them into those disposable $25 frames that you can find at discount stores. Inspiration struck at the bottom of an article on framing alternatives at Digs Magazine.

First, measure the dimensions of your work-to-be-framed. Write the numbers down. Then add at least four inches to each measurement, cross out your former numbers, and write the +4" dimensions even larger. Unless you plan on drilling through the poster itself, you'll want a nice clear border around the outside; but more importantly, the plexiglass will crack if you try to drill it too close to the edge.

Visit your favorite home-improvement center and round up an employee to cut the glass to your specified measurements. It won't cost you any extra, and most stores have a cool slice-and-dice machine for this express purpose. Be sure to keep a few of the resulting pieces of surplus material to practice your drilling technique, and don't remove the plastic coating on the glass -- you'll want to mark on it later. And while you're there, make sure you have access to the above ingredients. (If you don't own a power drill, though, you probably know half a dozen people who do.)

Once you've brought all of the necessary pieces back to your work area, place the two sheets of plexiglass on top of each other and hold them in place with the clips, making sure that they're even. Then use your favorite measuring implement and a permanent marker to mark an X at each corner at least an inch from the edge for your drilling points. (Yes, I'm being empthatic about the edge thing for a reason.)

Next, clip together two scrap pieces of glass and practice your drilling technique. It's easy to crack the surface by going too fast. Think finesse. Once you're ready for the real deal, carefully drill the holes that you've marked on the top of the stacked sheets. You'll want to check the tip of your drill bit periodically to make sure that it's not dulled by nubs of caked-on plexiglass shavings, like ours was.

Peel off the plastic, Windex the surface, and use a level or a ruler to center your poster in the middle of the bottom sheet of glass. Attach it with bits of removable poster adhesive.

Once you've attached the poster, sandwich it between the plexiglass and screw the sheets together through the new holes with a nut-washer-glass-washer-bolt combination. Now you can attach some wire for hanging around the top two fasteners. At this juncture, you'll probably also want to vacuum the curls of shredded plexiglass stuff off the floor.

Find a strong, stable stud -- human or foundational -- on which to hang your art. The finished product will most likely be surprisingly heavy, and bound to bring down some drywall if you don't attach it to something appropriately secure.

Step back and enjoy yourself some art!

The nice thing about these frames is that you can switch out similarly-sized posters as often as you like without having to worry about the dimensions being exactly right for the size of the frame. Although we have lease-mandated white walls, these frames would probably look pretty sweet against a painted surface -- or, if you're feeling particularly creative, you could always découpage a mock-mat around the inner border.

Related links:

• Make a borderless floating frame
• Creating art arrangements and grouping art with furniture at Art.com
• For those with access to a workshop, floating picture frames look fun, too.

This is great. I have a few double sided movie posters that this will be prefect for.

*perfect*, even.

Note on drilling. You need to go slowly. I think of it as shaving little layers off the plexiglass. I would go into what, by now, I feel are the more subtle points of drilling plexiglass but I really don't know that much and you will learn much faster if you practice on scaps first.

Also note: we hung a big (3+ feet in width) poster up today, and the sheets bowed out a little in the middle when it was suspended from the two uppermost corners. I clipped it together there so that the plexiglass won't eventually warp, but if you're also framing a fairly wide poster you might want to consider drilling another hole in the top-middle to keep the sheets aligned together.

Thanks for putting this on the net! I've been looking for different, inexpensive ways to frame large posters. Also, Digs magazine has a good link for info on framing diy--framing4yourself.com.

Thanks so much for the detailed info (emphasis on the "edge" issue). I saw this done on TV, loved the idea and I wanted to do it for our place. I have been looking for a site that can show me how, and "Alleluia!" there it was. Just one Q: Is there a specific drill bit size to use?
Well, thanks a lot again and more power!

Great instructions. In the matter of a couple hours tonight (not including the time standing in Home Depot waiting for the plexiglass to be cut) I managed to assemble 3 poster frames. One 30"x30" for a poster and two 18"x18" for vinyl LPs.
To answer the drill bit question - you need to make sure your bit size is the same as the bolts you buy. I thought I had a 5/16" bit but didn't and had to use smaller bolts on the large frame (really not that big of a deal in the end).

Thanks for posting this! I saw this done on "while you were out" and am putting it to use for a poster I've had laying around.

thank you thank you thank you! just spent an hour at the craft shop yesterday trying to get the splines back on a purchased plexiglass frame after adding a custom mat---not a pretty sight! i knew i wanted to drill the holes in the corners as an alternative, and now, thanks to you, i know exactly how!! thanks again! 8)

Do you know of a place where I can find 2 pieces of 50"x60"clear plexiglass for a three year olds poster of Jesse James .I think 99.00 a piece is rediculous!!

I have to find two things: I need plexiglass for my table top. It is 62" X 41.5" I need the corners rounded. Where can I purchase this?

The second thing I need is 54" X 37" plexiglass frame for a poster I have of a very beautiful painting.

Thinking about doing this. Wondering if it would work to use cabinet hardware/knobs instead of wingnuts or screws.
:)