Thanks for the comment Deren - it's totally true. There were several people that commented with some tips that were positive and helpful - I'm thankful for those because it helps, not just me get better, but anybody that reads them. As for the negative comments - it's part of posting anything on any social media platform these days.
You would have needed to bevel the upper part of the frame. Otherwise the canvas would touch the wood and create a stripe. You also need canvas stretching pliers.
I'm a filmmaker so I'm always trying to figure out how to make these types of videos more interesting but still tell the story I'm trying to tell. Thanks for watching!
I have recently taken up paint pouring (another Utube dive) and was wondering about custom sized canvas for specific interior wall space. You made it seem so simple, I thought I needed specific "Art" equipment, turns out I have almost everything you used in my Garage. Great informative Video! Thanks
Thank you so much man, this is exactly what I needed. I'm not an artist, just a guy who bought some pre prints off Amazon lol. Now they look amazing, no need for actual stretcher plyers or anything!
Great. Stoked it helped. Some of the comments have made excellent additions to my design by adding a piece of beveled wood on the edge of the frame that touches the canvas - so it's like a tight trampoline in the middle and less of the canvas touching the 2x2 wood surface.
In my country ALL this is luxury stuff. Unwarped wood, preped Canvas, mitter Saw... Real cheaper way: run the border inside USA, get any menial job, finally buy and paint your way out
Nicely done! I've been making my own frames but haven't tried canvas yet. I'm glad to see this because, as you said, it seems that most of the videos are showing "fancy" wood they call stretchers. That pretty much kept me from trying it. Time to order some canvas, get printing, and get stretching!
Heck ya David, give it a shot. If you're really nervous about the money you might waste, try a smaller frame and canvas at first. Once you do it a few times you'll have it nailed. Good luck.
Hi I'm wondering why you don't show how you did with the crossbar and the corner supports? How did you do those? Could I do those with a different type of wood that is smaller and thinner so it doesn't make the frame so heavy? Or should I use 2x2 for that also?
Sorry about not adding that part. You just set your circular saw at a 45 degree angle and do the cuts like that. You could use a different type of wood, I guess, but I would worry about the integrity of the frame and how strong / durable it will be over a long period of time.
No problem, hope it helps in your future frame making. I'm going to try putting a thin sheet of plywood, masonite, or something like that over the entire frame to see if it helps support the canvas in the middle better.
I would like to see more in depth videos on your paintings, I think if you focus on that you could go far, the paintings that you showed briefly have tremendous color depth and richness, very interesting to the eye.
If I had only found this a year ago when I started acrylics 😭 I even have the damn saw in storage! I'm never buying overpriced art store canvas - that's somehow never quite right anyway, ever again!
It turned out great--I made a 36x48 canvas, and still have plenty of materials left over to make a few more. I feel like the quality of the canvas I made is much better than the canvases I purchased in the past from Michael's. Now I just have to decide what to paint on it!
Everywhere else I look, people always have a raised lip on the outer edges of the stretcher / strainer to elevate the canvas. This keeps the backside of the canvas from contacting the wood framing except at the edges where it is suspended like a trampoline. People say that over time, without the raised lip, you will see frame make crease marks through the canvas. The raised lip is often made by beveling the wood. Do you ever see the frame protruding through the canvas? What is the longest you have had a painting framed this way?
Thanks Californian John. Never seen that before but might try it next time I make one. I'd probably attach a piece of cheap beveled trim to make it work instead of trying to bevel the 2x2's. Might take less time to do it that way, although, not sure if it would work the same.
Yeah, all the "how to do it cheap" guys don't realize that the canvas can't touch the wood on the front or it will ghost and it looks terrible. I wouldn't even bother building this. If you don't want to bevel, use quarter-round moulding. Affix it to the bars first, then miter them together for a perfect fit.
Yes Michael, thanks for the tip. This video was made about three years ago and I have improved on my design slightly - thanks to some tips from all you fine folks. I should probably make an updated version of this video. #part2
Thanks for all the kind words Damon, much appreciated. Like I stated in the video, I'm a filmmaker and not a professional painter. With a few tips from some of the kind viewers I have since updated my design as well. The 20 plus frames that I had previously made turned out great and most are hanging somewhere with happy owners - but it's always good to learn and get better.
Hey Stephen, thanks for watching and commenting. This is a question that has been answered a few times throughout this thread. When I made this, almost four years ago, I didn't add a beveled edge. I never had a problem with my canvases, and some have been hanging in houses for 15 years - but, when I found out about this technique, I started adding this to my build. Actually, I've changed a few things since this was made. I guess I should create a new video.
Thanks so much for taking time to film your project I apriciate it. I dont have the cutting tool u do. I have a table saw. Would that work for this or is there something cheeper that vluld accommodate? Also im confused about part of the wood touching the front back of the canvas?
Thanks for watching. It would be very difficult to create the miter joint on a table saw - I've never tried but I've used a table saw enough to know it would be very hard. There is also a manual miter saw - like the Precision Mitre Saw 550mm - much cheaper and will make perfect miter joints. As for the back of the canvas touching the frame - I've learned, via some great comments on this video, that you can use a piece of chair rail between your frame and the back of your canvas to separate the two, which will help with ghosting. Hope this helps.
How do you calculate the amount of bracing you need? For instance, how big of a span can 2x2s handle before you need the cross-brace and the corner braces?
Good question spschram1 - I don't have an exact size because I do all my frames with corners. Somebody else might have a different answer but I don't do small frames so I always need them. That being said, I don't think you can go wrong with having them no matter what size you are making.
Hi, great video and awesome art work. My question is what size nails did you use, and did you ever make the follow up video about adding the raised edge? That would be very h we lpful to see how you did that. Thank you again and best wishes.
Thanks for watching and commenting. No, I haven't made a new video yet. I own and operate a film production company and we've been super busy - too busy to shoot any passion projects. But you never know, maybe this year. As for size of nails - I haven't made a new frame in some time but I think they were 2" spiral finishing nails.
@@LushBros cool man thanks. And also was wondering what I could watch of yours. I'm a photographer/crafter. If your paintings show a fraction of your talent in the arts I know I'd dig your films. Again thank you for getting back at me.
@@grazierianphotos thanks, appreciate the kind words. Most of my stuff is on my RU-vid page. When I get hired to shoot features and shorts I'm usually the Director of Photography. As for TV, I got out of that game a while back - I Directed a few TV series but the money didn't equal the hassle.
Thanks for watching Steve. Just remember to read some of the comments to help make it that much better. A lot of people have been mentioning to add a quarter round moulding to the frame. Which in the end won't change the price that much.
I will take you tip and remember to read comments. I only occasionally do that. I like your technique the way you make your frame. It makes more sense than pay expensive for cut to fit wood with joinery fittings as well. Nice tip to work on flat surface such as floor. Them nails you were hammering in looked like screws? You have good size garage and kept nice and neat, which makes working and finding things lot easier I dare say. I like how you have designed your home as well, nice place.
Noticed that the frame used in the canvas stretch appeared to be different from the frame made in the earlier part of the video. Did you reinforce it with a second cross bar in the middle?
I made two frames while shooting - a big one and a smaller one. I had already stretched one when I realized I had to shoot myself stretching one for this video.
have you ever had any problems like paint fading wrinkles in the canvas wood showing threw the canvas like have you had any problems doing it this way or is it perfect for you ?
Sorry Jay, been super busy on set these days. I sold a piece to a person that hung it beside a window that had direct sunlight for 10 to 12 hrs a day - that piece faded a little. There wasn't much we could do to make it better. Sunlight and oil paint don't love each other. Other then that I've never had a problem. Thanks for watching Jay.
sandra johnson I'm willing to bet that putting the wet gesso on stretched canvas can potentially relax.the canvas fibers a bit and make it sag. I'll find out soon enough myself.
Hey Sandra, thanks for watching. I've never made a frame with unprimed canvas before, it's just way easier to purchase it already done, but I'm assuming that Bengt Creations is right though - it would be best to prime your canvas first, let it dry, and then stretch to the frame size.
Hard to say - the materials I purchased will make four or five big frames. If I had to break it down, I'd say it might have coast around $25 or $30 Canadian dollars.
All stretcher bars should be ripped lengthwise a t at least a 10° bevel. Then the corner and mid supports should be ripped at the thickness of the inside of the bevel. An 18” or 24” flat could be left at t outside edges for the canvass to rest on. If this is not done the entire canvass at the edges, braces and crossbar wit show through the painted surface. Even the most amateur videos here show different ways thar is done.
If you had read the pervious thread this has been mentioned several times, which I admit I didn't know, nor do. But, if you had watched, and listened to the video, you would know, right off the top, that I'm not a professional painter nor a professional carpenter...I'm a filmmaker that likes to paint from time to time. I never professed to an expert on how to build a canvas. If you want to show people the way you want the frame built and canvas stretched, by all means, create your own video instead of just trying to shit on mine. Would love to see it when it's finished - maybe I'll learn a thing or two from an actual professional.
Thanks for watching Meli.Remember that this was made about three years ago and I was purchasing my canvas off the roll for $6 per foot from a company in Canada called Curry's.
Yes, I made two frames and showed the bigger one for the build and the smaller one for the stretch, but they were made the same. The other one didn't fit in my living room as well.
Thanks for watching Minutsi. I didn't know that until a few viewers, such as yourself, had mention it. Like I had mentioned in the video, I'm a filmmaker not an professional painter, so I'm still learning too. Thanks for the tip.
Funny enough I always do, but shooting the making of took way longer then I thought, because I'm awful on camera, and I just forgot by the time I did this part. I'm a Director of Photography and I need my eyes to make a living, I'm very protective of them.
Yes I've answered the bevel edge issue several times in this thread...maybe I will do a revised version of video. As for wood glue, never seemed to be an issue in the past - I've had paintings hanging for 20 years and moved a few times and never had a problem, but it definitely couldn't hurt.
I haven't watched the video for a long, long time but I believe I said $6 per meter or yard, depending on what country you're from - if I said foot that is not correct. It's about $6 per 3.5 feet...something like that. But again that is a price I got from my local art shop. You might be able to purchase it online or at a shop near you for cheaper.
Nope, never ever had that problem - I think I've made about 25 just like this. But that being said I'm going to start trying to put a piece of beveled wood agains the side of the frame that touches the canvas. Always learning.
Thanks for watching Todd, Curry's use to have primed canvas for $6 a feet - haven't purchased any for some time. They also use to have an entire primed roll for $65 - which is really the best deal if you paint a lot.
