Mirror, mirror leaning against the wall...

February 22, 2008 3:17 PM

I have a mirror that looks like the one in this picture. The frame broke.

I was at Brooklyn Industries recently, and saw a mirror iike this one just stuck onto a thin plank of wood, leaning against the wall, not framed. I would like to do this myself. I have no woodworking skills. How do I do this? The mirror appeared to be stuck on, and had extra wood on the top and all sides.

posted by sweetkid to sports, hobbies, & recreation (7 comments total)

Take your mirror, cut some plywood to size, and glue. Wonderfully handy site This To That tells you what glue to use. A basic two-part epoxy from the hardware store would also probably work just fine.

If you want it to look nice, you'll want to finish the wood. Get some sandpaper in three different grits: 100, 150, and 220. Start with the rough stuff (the 100), go over the whole thing once. Then use the medium grit paper, and then the fine one. Add woodstain and varnish, or, for a one-coat wonder, try danish oil - basically stain and varnish in one product. Make sure you do this in a ventilated area.

There are more complicated ways to do this that would hide the edges of the plywood, but if you want a no-skill-necessary solution, that's the simplest I can think of right now.
posted by echo target at 3:41 PM on February 22

What do I need to cut the plywood? How thick does the wood need to be so it doesn't warp?
posted by sweetkid at 3:43 PM on February 22

Plywood, in normal indoor usage, won't warp; 3/8" would be thick enough and 1/2" ample. Have a lumber store cut it for you, there's no really good way to get a clean straight 51-3/4" cut without a panel saw or table saw and some know-how.
posted by nicwolff at 4:29 PM on February 22

I'd do this in 3/4 ply, myself - the thinner stuff just wouldn't have enough visual weight to it. If you get some nice baltic birch or something the unfinished edges will look fairly nice.
posted by davey_darling at 4:33 PM on February 22

These answers are all great, and I would love more advice. I would like to get it looking as nice as I can. This is more of a project-y question than just not wanting to buy a new mirror.
posted by sweetkid at 4:36 PM on February 22

You can use these strips to stick the mirror to the wood. I use them to hang my mirror on backs of doors. Then you can peel them off and the mirror is ready to go somewhere else. Or, if you don't get it exactly straight (which will be easier to do with an L-ruler, by the way) you can just peel off the strips and try again.
posted by Eringatang at 4:40 PM on February 22

davey_darling: I'd do this in 3/4 ply, myself - the thinner stuff just wouldn't have enough visual weight to it. If you get some nice baltic birch or something the unfinished edges will look fairly nice.

Keep in mind that plywood is fairly heavy. 3/4 inch plywood in the size similar to your picture above will weight about 25 pounds, plus 15 more pounds for the mirror. 1/2 inch plywood would reduce that to about 16 pounds.

You also might consider just mounting the mirror directly to the wall with no frame or backing. This can be done with mirror adhesive available at a glass shop or use clear silicon adhesive. This would be for permanent installation. A glued mirror can be difficult to remove.

Or you could just use mirror clips to attach the mirror to the wall. These can be small clear plastic clips that screw to the wall. Also available at glass shops.

If necessary, the glass edges can be polished at a glass shop.
posted by JackFlash at 5:06 PM on February 22