About art stretcher bars and stretcher frames

Stretcher bars, which are finally built into stretcher frames usually, are made of wood. In order to create a stretcher frame for an artwork, one would require four such bars. In correspondence to the size of the canvas, the stretcher bars are placed adjacently to form a square or rectangle of suitable size. The bars aren’t fixed permanently. This is because of the fact that the bars are made up of wood and increase or decrease in the moisture levels will result in the expansion/contraction of the wood. This in turn may lead to the contortion of bars in the middle (development of cracks in them is another possibility).

Intermittent butt or miter joints, which permit the expansion of the wood, are opted for instead. Stretcher frame, once constructed has to be adorned by what it’s built for- the canvas. The placement of canvas is quite tricky. The canvas should be placed on the frames such that the border is folded back and it is pinned to the bars. No wrinkle, or slag or tear should be seen on any part of the canvas and so, care needs to be taken while placing the canvas and pinning them on to the frame.

The cost of the stretcher bars depends on the type of wood, the quantity of order, the delivery charges, and additional services provided and so on. It would be wise to order from a store nearby and to opt for services of fitting the bars in case one isn’t aware or used to handling them.

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