Display your canvas on a custom-made easel.
Art materials can be expensive. As a new painter, you can save some money by building your own easel, which is a three-legged, freestanding wood structure. Easels are an appealing way to display artwork or hold your canvas while you are working on it. The easel holds the canvas upright, instead of having it laying down on a table or floor. By building your own easel, you can adjust its height so it is comfortable for you to work on.
Instructions
1. Add 1 foot to your own height. For instance, a person who is 5 feet, 5 inches tall, or 65 inches, the measurement is 77 inches. Be aware of your ceiling height, and do not cut your boards so they won't fit in your room. Cut two of your 2-by-3-inch boards to the length you calculated at a 15-degree angle on your miter saw. Cut the third 2-by-3-inch board at 90 degrees at one inch shorter. For a 65-inch person, cut the third board 76 inches long.
2. Cut your 2-by-4-inch board to 4 feet long using the miter saw.
3. Measure 5 inches from the top of the boards. Mark the center of the board on the 2-inch side of your board. Drill a 3/8-inch hole through 3 inches of board at this mark. On the two legs cut at an angle, this hole will go through the angle.
4. Position the boards so that the non-angle cut boards rest on the outside of the shorter board. Line up the holes, and insert a carriage bolt through a washer and the holes. Add a second washer and a nut to connect all three pieces together.
5. Spread out your front legs so angle cuts are flush against the back leg, or the shorter board. Tighten your bolt while the legs are spread out.
6. Measure from the floor to your mid thigh. You will place a tray at this level, so you want to be sure it is comfortable to reach your materials. Measure up the two front boards at this level, and drill a 3/8-inch hole in the center of the board on in the opposite direction from the holes you drilled at the top of the boards.
7. Measure the distance between the two holes you just drilled. Find the center of your 2-by-4 board and measure half of the length in each direction and mark these places. Drill holes through the wide, or 4-inch, side of board.
8. Push the bolt through a washer and through the hole on the 2-by-4 board and then through the first leg of your easel. Follow up with washer and nut, and tighten it down. Continue on the other side of the easel.
9. Center the plywood sheet on the side legs of the easel so it rests on the top of the 2-by-4 board. Glue the board to the two front legs, but not to the center leg. Nail it into the front legs every six or eight inches up the front legs.
10. Stand the easel up and push the center leg back so it is at a comfortable angle and comfortable height.
11. Measure up the back leg at the same height you just placed the 2-by-4-inch shelf and drill a hole through the leg.
12. Screw an eye screw in the center of the back of the cross board on the front legs.
13. Push a rope through the back leg hole in the back leg, and then tie it through the eye screw. Adjust the length so the rope is taught between the front board and back leg. The rope keeps the easel sturdy and prevents the legs from slipping out.
