Turtle Posted June 11, 2007 Report Posted June 11, 2007 started making a stretcher from an old pine board for a canvas work. bleeding hands; sound of newly sharpened plane traveling down edge; supple shavings; pungent smell of pine; too few know it these days... looky here :eek2: >>> (video to follow...processing...) Quote
Turtle Posted June 11, 2007 Author Report Posted June 11, 2007 started making a stretcher from an old pine board for a canvas work. bleeding hands; sound of newly sharpened plane traveling down edge; supple shavings; pungent smell of pine; too few know it these days... looky here >>> (video to follow...processing...) Finally! A little chatter in the stroke, but my skills & the plane are a little rusty. YouTube - planing pine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taru2IqmU2E Quote
Turtle Posted June 11, 2007 Author Report Posted June 11, 2007 A stretcher as in HELP?! No. a stretcher as in the wooden frame that holds the canvas stretched tight and as used by an artist to paint on. The pre-made ones are expensive and don't come proportioned as Golden Rectangles. I'm going for a small one about 18"x11.25" as I have a couple scraps of canvas still left. If I like my result I may borrow a table saw & make up a bunch of stock. The price of a 4'x5' stretched artists' canvas is now up to $100 US here! :lol: That's about $4 worth of canvas and $4 worth of wood. Not only can I not afford to buy a big one, I refuse to buy a big one. It is not the measure of the rule, but the skill of the tool.:eek: Quote
Turtle Posted June 11, 2007 Author Report Posted June 11, 2007 :lol: No. a stretcher as in the wooden frame that holds the canvas stretched tight and as used by an artist to paint on. The pre-made ones are expensive and don't come proportioned as Golden Rectangles. the construction details of an artist's canvas stretcher differ from virtually all other wooden frames in several details. - the face of the frame is planed back in relief so that the canvas only touches along narrow edges at the frame's outside - the frame is not glued or nailed, rather held together at the mitered corners by either a spline & grooves, or a mortise & tenon plus grooves. - either the main splines are tapered and extend past the grooves to the stretcher frame interior, or 4 supplemental splines are provides for later stretching. since i have small stock and only hand tools i will use the single tapered spline method. in my next movie i will show how to hand cut the miters. :eek: Quote
Turtle Posted June 12, 2007 Author Report Posted June 12, 2007 my movies have yet to emerge from the aether, so while technology catches up with my handtools I have some clarifications. in my diagram I showed the canvas stapled to the side edge of the stretcher; this is not SOP (StandardOperatingProcedure). Normally the canvas is cut large enough to wrap all sides and around onto the back face of the stretcher. Best practice is to cut narrow slots into the back face and secure the canvas in the slot with wooden wedges. Staples can rust and stain the canvas, but they speed up the actual stretching of the canvas even if the slots & wedges are used. on the matter of the blockplane and it chattering, part of the reason is that the blockplane is not made for edge & face planing. edge & face planing is best done with a jackplane, which has a steeper blade angle and a large sole. the blockplane, with its shallow blade angle and small sole is designed for planing endgrain. video of endgrain to follow as soon as the stargate opens. :D :( Quote
Turtle Posted June 12, 2007 Author Report Posted June 12, 2007 ... in my next movie i will show how to hand cut the miters. :D :( YouTube - sawing mitre http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15jWFo-GOhU Quote
Turtle Posted June 12, 2007 Author Report Posted June 12, 2007 ...the blockplane, with its shallow blade angle and small sole is designed for planing endgrain. video of endgrain to follow as soon as the stargate opens. :) :( this clip opens showing the new cut mitre joint slightly out of square. the correction is made by planing the mitre. planing the miter can also square it and correct an overage in length. the clip ends with the entire stretcher frame squared & loose fit. YouTube - planing endgrain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_KLAbJdl5Q next comes cutting the mortises that receive the splines. :hyper: :D Quote
Turtle Posted June 13, 2007 Author Report Posted June 13, 2007 next comes cutting the mortises that receive the splines. :hihi: :friday: with the work clamped to the table, mark the mortise edges with a butt-gauge, clamp a saw guide to the work, and saw the shoulders. using a 1/4" chisel, the waste is cleared and the mortise sized. repeat for remaining 7 joint faces. :lol: (video is double-speed to spare you all the sawing. :evil: )YouTube - cutting a mortise in a mitre http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0HwVmJoylQ Quote
Turtle Posted June 13, 2007 Author Report Posted June 13, 2007 now with all the mortises cut, it's time to plane the relief bevel and then make the tapered splines. no more video 'til i actually stretch the canvas on, but here's an interesting scan i call 'pine plane shavings'. to the trained eye these shavings reveal either a novice worker doing who-knows-what, or a purposeful worker planing a bevel on the face of a board. :cup: note: pine is the preferred wood for stretcher frames as the resins are compatible with oil paints, it is relatively light for its strength, and it has a closed grain. or such a matter. :) ;) Quote
Turtle Posted June 14, 2007 Author Report Posted June 14, 2007 started making a stretcher from an old pine board for a canvas work. i was going to claim that in my first post i alluded to never having made a canvas stretcher frame, but as the evidence is contrary i must suggest i alluded to it elsewhere. at any rate, this is my first and while many frame building techniques transfer well, others do not. after making 2 of the needed 4 splines (and feeling a little frisky at having added decorative if otherwise useless 'heads' to them and attaching a picture of one of the little beauties below) i realized that the mortises are too shallow for the job they need to do. unlike a cabinet door frame made with this joint, the canvas stretcher frames get torqued by the tension of the canvas and the narrow spline allows the frame sides to 'roll' inward. of course i could cut the mortises deeper and make new splines, but i have only my self to satisfy so i'm filing the info for future frames and resorting to a down-n-dirty fix. i can't nail or glue the joint so i will put 2 crossed staples over the joint on the back side which will keep it from opening and allowing the pieces to roll. kind've a lazy man's butterfly.;) PS check this stretcher-maker, Mr.Steven Chen >> Custom Made Stretcher Frames and Stretched canvas for Professionalsthat's a wrap. Quote
Turtle Posted June 15, 2007 Author Report Posted June 15, 2007 i finished the splines, assembled the frame, washed and rinsed the canvas, and stapled it wet to the frame. all over now but the cryin'. :phones: YouTube - stretching canvas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOiTNOH01AA Quote
Turtle Posted June 30, 2007 Author Report Posted June 30, 2007 started a new project a couple days past >> a turtle-form stool carved from a log. i recovered the piece from the forest, already cut to fireplace size but left behind. by the weathering it lay for quite a few years. it is either oak or ash, but i haven't clinched the id yet. started with 8 1/2" diameter x 16" length. chainsawed a flat for the base/legs lengthwise & 2" in from the edge, then cut length to 13"+. after drawing 2 elevations full scale for paper patterns, i used carbon papaer to transfer layout lines to the flat. now using a 3/4" forstner bit in a cordless drill & mallet/chisel to waste away under body. i had hoped to id the wood by smell in the fresh drill shavings but it only smells musty. that's a wrap. :) Quote
Boerseun Posted June 30, 2007 Report Posted June 30, 2007 i was going to claim that in my first post i alluded to never having made a canvas stretcher frame, but as the evidence is contrary i must suggest i alluded to it elsewhere. :) at any rate, this is my first and while many frame building techniques transfer well, others do not.Hey! How'd I miss this thread? By a lucky coincidence, my landlord has a picture framing company! He does all sorts of pictures in all sorts of ways, he recently laminated and framed a *VERY* big map of Southern Africa for me. The thing consisted of four seperate map sheets, I'm not sure of the A rating, A0 or A1, but the complete map is around 2.5 meters by 2.5 meters. He also builds "stretchers" for local artists, also does easels, the whole kit and kaboodle. Any case, we're very good buddies, and I've got full access to his workshops. He'll be more than happy to share any info with you, or answer any questions if you have any regarding the building of stretchers! Quote
Turtle Posted June 30, 2007 Author Report Posted June 30, 2007 Hey! How'd I miss this thread? must be the soundproofing buffy put in. :) :) By a lucky coincidence, my landlord has a picture framing company! He does all sorts of pictures in all sorts of ways, he recently laminated and framed a *VERY* big map of Southern Africa for me. The thing consisted of four seperate map sheets, I'm not sure of the A rating, A0 or A1, but the complete map is around 2.5 meters by 2.5 meters. He also builds "stretchers" for local artists, also does easels, the whole kit and kaboodle. Any case, we're very good buddies, and I've got full access to his workshops. He'll be more than happy to share any info with you, or answer any questions if you have any regarding the building of stretchers! roger wilco the stool is taking shape. so far i have freed all four leg blanks, covered the floor of my room with woodchips, and aggravated my roomies. the wood is definately ash; oregon ash. since having the whole piece split apart is a real possibility, i have in mind to make a dowel plate and use the scrap ash to make dowels. i'll drill long holes across any cracks and glue in the dowels; this way i can continue carving without worrying about hitting metal fasteners and as the dowels are the same kind of wood they will more-or-less blend in. that's a wrap. :) Quote
Turtle Posted July 1, 2007 Author Report Posted July 1, 2007 ...Any case, we're very good buddies, and I've got full access to his workshops. He'll be more than happy to share any info with you, or answer any questions if you have any regarding the building of stretchers! by all means, pleas do invite him to watch my videos and comment. >>>YouTube - planing pine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taru2IqmU2EYouTube - sawing mitre http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15jWFo-GOhUYouTube - planing endgrain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_KLAbJdl5QYouTube - cutting a mortise in a mitre http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0HwVmJoylQYouTube - stretching canvas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOiTNOH01AA the turtle stool is progressing, and rather than the body splitting as i expected, a leg split off. :love: i opened the crack wide 7 poured in some glue, and after a couple hours drying i bored a 5" long 3/8" hole up through the bottom of the foot into the body. i poured in glue and tapped in a 3/8" maple dowel. subsequent cracks will get the same treatment. :) i opted for maple dowel as i had it on hand :) , plus i would have to make a dowel plate :love: , and the scrap ash is a bit punky and too brittle to withstand the pounding through a dowel plate. :( that's a wrap. :doh: Quote
Turtle Posted July 2, 2007 Author Report Posted July 2, 2007 the ash-wood is starting to show some remarkable grain. :( very tortoiesque. :naughty: i likey. :confused: ace assented to take some photos soon:camera:, and i'll scan & reduce the drawerrings. i'm hardly even bleeding.:lol: :doh: that's a wrap :( Quote
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