Stretching bars are primarily used by artists to make wooden stretcher frames to mount their canvases. An artist usually fastens a piece of canvas to the bar which acts as a wooden framework support to stretch the canvas. Apart from this, stretching bars are used in minor embroidery to stretch the fabric before sewing and in theatres for framing material backdrops. They are also used by photographers when they digitally transfer their photos onto a canvas.

The readily available bars are found in sections with corners which interlock with each other and can be fitted together. They usually come in the shape of a rectangle, but other shapes are also available.

Canvas stretcher is widely used to stretch the canvas while fixing to distribute the pressure evenly, all over the art-work to avoid warping. The corners of a stretcher should never be pasted or fixed in a permanent way; rather it should stretch the canvas in a non-adjustable but fixed way. The edges of the canvas stretcher are preferred to be carved in such a way so as to avoid cracking of canvas in case of roll over as well as to help the framer to see and have clear edges of images that have accurate borders.

Canvas stretchers are cut from one single piece of quality wood with no joints or crinkles in between. Although they are light in weight, they are sturdy enough and do not bend or twist while the artist stretches the canvas making it a perfect support for stretching.

How to Select Better Quality Canvas Stretching Bars

If you are an artist or somebody who has to work with canvas sheets on a regular basis, you are probably no stranger to the unique devices used to stretch them for display and storage, known as canvas stretching bars. As the name itself suggests, these specially designed pieces of wood, resembling long strips of varying sizes, are among the simplest and most popular means of stretching large pieces of canvas.

Artists and professional framers need them in large quantities on a regular basis. Fortunately, they are freely available across a large number of stores, especially those selling artists’ supplies. However, they are not of the same quality. So you need to ensure that you are spending your money only on the best quality stretching bars.

The main problem with canvas stretcher bars is what is known as dimensional instability of the wood that is used to make them. The fact is, canvas stretcher bars are regularly subjected to enormous amounts of pressure and as such, they become prone to bending and warping. Moreover, heat, cold and humidity can also make them lose their original shape over time.

The effective way to counter such effects is to craft those using short splines, instead of long continuous pieces of wood. Many of the better quality stretcher bars available today use this ingenious engineering and these are the ones that you should buy to ensure better performance and a trouble-free service for years. Remember to buy such fortified stretcher bars the next time you go out shopping for them and enjoy long lasting peace of mind.

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