Not sure how the lcd will hold on to the thin frame., since there is not too much room in the upper left and upper right area to affix to. The other problem in leaving the frame off is that if you have broken glass near the side plastic frame there are shards of glass that have to be taken off and in taking these pieces of glass off you end up taking off the adhesive that apple originally put on the ipod If you have to put new adhesive on the 3m adhesive is not nearly as sticky and your whole screen will come off in time. The design with the metal bracket is annoying but it usually stays put. It is hard to know if this bracket is essential in the reconstruction of the device. Only time will tell if our repairs seem to come apart by themselves do to improper or lazy repair. Heat will tell in the summer and time will be the answer