Canvas stretcher bar jig. Youll need a rectangular piece of canvas larger than the size of your stretcher bars plus the staple gun you used on the corners before. This prevents any of the frame surface from distorting the canvas. Making your own canvas stretchers is a cheap alternative to buying them. From the diagram below you can see the proper method of attaching the canvas but i wont go in depth on that here.
Building your own will cost you about a third of the price. What i seek is a source for a jig to make expandable stretcher bar joints. Mark and cut stretcher bars with mitred ends from the eight foot lengths of stretcher bar stuff. A mitred stretcher bar is shaped like a trapezoid.
The gs 36 which will handle 36 x 36 artwork is an entry level model ideal for artists and photographers. This video goes through the whole process of making your own top notch stretcher bar. The gallery stretcher is available in 4 models ranging in size from 36 to 96. You will need the following materials.
The longest side is the outside edge of your finished stretcher and that should be the side with the quarter round mounted on it. 1 standard 2x4 4 corner clamps 4 wooden clamp blocks wood glue paintbrush. How to stretch a large canvas. It has a molded profile to create a relief under the canvas.
A slightly larger model is the gs 60 which handles artwork 60 x 60 this is ideally suited for high production print shops and custom picture framers. Their 72 retails fro 1840. I think a 45 tenoning jig would make this joint easily. If you are diligent in stapling the canvas to the frame it should require very little extra stretching.
The stretcher bars shown above have an outer lip on both sides that will keep the stretched canvas suspended away from the wood. That is more than a 53 difference per. I read paul mcfarlands article last month on conservation care of works on canvas and found our process lacks this one element. If you are not too sure how to cut your own stretcher bars for your paintings or someone elses painting please contact me or you may want to try this.
One utrecht 60 heavy duty stretcher bar retails for 1745. Some stretchers only have a lip on one side so remember to assemble them with the lips facing the same direction. The only way to build stretcher bars. The total cost for just the bars would be 7170 without any cross bracing if you were to use heavy duty commercially made stretcher bars.
Make your own canvas pt1. They dont offer a 75 support.