How To Make a Canvas Stretcher Bar
You can buy pre-stretched canvas at an arts supply store, but very often these canvases will warp because they were stretched on wood that was not well-aged. The best way to avoid canvas problems is make your own canvas stretcher. The first few times may be irritating enough to send you back to the store for the pre-stretched stuff, but after a few successful attempts you'll probably never go back.
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Things You'll Need
- 1-by-2 inch white pine
- Quarter inch quarter-round moulding
- Corrugated or Scottish fasteners
- Stretching pliers
Instructions
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1
Cut the 1-by-2 white pine to the desired size and then lay the frame out on the floor, making sure the ends are butted rather than mitered. Fasten the corners together using corrugated or Scottish fasteners and make sure the corners are squared off.
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2
Brace the corners with thin pieces of wood like a lattice strip if the size of the canvas is going to be large. This will form a rectangle. Turn the rectangle over and use fasteners in each corner to reinforce it.
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3
Cut the quarter inch moulding to the size of the frame and miter the corners. The molding needs to be placed along the outer edge of the 1-by-2s in order to keep the canvas away from the wood. Glue mouldings onto the front, outside of the surface of the frame. When the glue dries the stretcher is ready for use.
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4
Center the canvas on the stretcher. The threads of the canvas should run true both vertically and horizontally. The canvas should then be bent over the edges of the stretcher and a tack should be hammered in partway at the middle of each side. After pulling the canvas taut, work from the center toward the corners on all four sides. Use a tool called stretching pliers to make the canvas as tight as possible.
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5
Use raw canvas on this canvas stretcher. The best canvas to use with a stretcher will have a close weave and is made from a superior grade of linen. Pre-primed canvas needs to be stretched tightly, but a raw linen canvas can be stretched much more loosely. Once you put the priming coat on, the linen shrinks and tightens automatically.
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