A taut canvas is paramount to the finished piece.
Be it the young kid who has not painted for more than a year or the painter who has trained professionally in art school, it is every artist's dream to express her creativity on a beautiful, white canvas. However, most artists would agree that buying a pre-stretched, primed canvas is sometimes beyond what their wallet will allow. This may make building your own canvas stretcher a necessity.
Benefits
Obviously, the first and foremost reason for picking up tools to make a stretcher from pieces of wood is the cost-effectiveness of doing so. No one would waste their time sawing wood and sticking tacks if it did not cost much less than store-bought stretchers. Another good reason for opting for homemade canvas stretchers is keeping the right tautness on the canvas. Often, pre-made stretchers are kept in stock for a long time. As a result, the tightness of the canvas is decreased; and a slack canvas, hanging on stretchers, is every artist's bad dream. And to top it off, there is always the satisfaction of creating something at half (and sometimes more) the price of professionally made stretchers.
Tools Required
The basic tools found in your work shed are enough to put together your own canvas stretcher. A set square, a saw, a drill, hammer, screwdriver, 1-inch chisel, staple gun with 1/4-inch staples, pencil and a tape measure are the basic requirements of the project. You also will need a workbench vise to hold the job down when you cut the wood and nail the pieces. To make the basic framework, you will need four or five planed softwood strips of 2-by-1-inch cross-sections, sized to required proportions, 1/4-by-1/4-inch beading strips made of a good wood, wood screws in a size of 8 x 3/4 inch and 1-inch veneer pins.
Tips
It is important to cut the woods in such a way that the cross-section of the stretcher is a rectangle and uniform in all points. If it varies, then stretching a canvas over the frame would be difficult and consequently, would also make the painting process difficult. For large canvases, it is important to make a central strut to prevent skewing of the frame. The edges of the frame components should be neatly drilled and nailed together so that there are no splinters projecting out at awkward angles. You must remember: the frame has to hold the canvas without damaging it.
Stretching the Canvas
If making the stretcher's frame is cumbersome, stretching the canvas over it is downright difficult. The canvas should not be on the frame while stretching but below; otherwise, it slackens while stapling. At least a 4-inch-wide margin must be left off on the canvas beyond the dimensions of the frame. After stapling one side, apply an optimum amount of tension while doing the same on the other side. Always apply an acrylic primer in order to protect the canvas.
