An amazing artist’s loft by Ochs Design

Circassian Cavalry Awaiting their Commanding Officer at the Door of a Byzantine Monument; Memory of the Orient, 1880

Alberto Pasini

Italian, 1826-1899

On view at the Art Institute of Chicago

It is incredibly cost efficient, if the tools are available, to build your own canvas frames.  Not only can you customize the dimensions and depth, but you can buy materials in bulk.  Plus there is the added bonus of building your painting from the ground up – something that I find incredibly satisfying!

Today I will demonstrate how to build a frame with a panel.  I have several paintings that were removed from their stretcher bars in order to travel to Michigan.  They now need to be re-stretched – another tutorial coming soon.  There are advantages and disadvantages to building a frame with a panel.  The panel makes the painting much heavier and is more expensive.  However, paneling allows you to work with non-traditional materials – such as screen printing – and is much easier to travel.  Paneled frames do not need a beveled edge, which is great if you do not have a table saw.

First decide on your dimensions.  You will need to plan for the length, width, and interior support bars.  I am building a 48 x 48 in. frame that equals out to 192 in. of wood.  I will need two interior support bars so that is another 96 in. of wood.  I will be using two poplar boards (1 x 3 x 10 ) and one ( 1 x 2 x 8 ) for the interior.  Aspen, Basswood, Clear Pine, and Poplar work best because there are little to no blemishes, but you can use Yellow Pine if needed.  You will also need a panel – Lowes and Home Depot have standard pre-cut panels for sale.  I picked up a 1/4″ 48 x 48 in. birch panel.

Supplies:

• Wood
• Panel
• Pneumatic nail gun with compressor/ power nail gun
• Miter saw
• Tape measure
• L square
• Wood glue, nails, sand paper, needle nose pliers, hammer

1.  Measure out your frame ( 48″ for me ) and make a 45 degree cut with the miter saw for all four boards.

2.  Line up your boards and square them out.

3.  Wood glue the ends and nail them together.

4.  You should have a perfectly square frame.  The next step is to build the interior support bars.  Measure to the exact center ( 24″ for me ) and make a mark.  You’ll be measuring the interior of the frame to determine the length of the support bars.

5.  Next make a straight cut with the miter saw.  Place the bar on the interior to see if it fits correctly – it should be snug.  Nail it into place.

6.  Repeat the steps above for the second interior bar.  I cut two blocks from the left over lumber to act as a temporary place holder for the second cross bar.  Nail into place.

You should have something that looks like this.   Keep in mind this is the back of the frame – the canvas, if stretched, would be facing the table.

7.  Next step is to add the panel.  I bought a panel that was pre-cut to the dimensions I needed – so no cutting here.  Flip the frame over, orient the panel on the front side of the frame and nail.

8.  You will need to nail the panel to the crossbar to give it support.  Measure out the exact center, weigh down the panel, and nail.

And here is the finished product.  It will need to be sanded and primed prior to stretching.