What You Should Know About Canvas Stretcher Bars

Canvas stretcher bar buying basics

 

When you are faced with the task of buying canvas stretcher bars, be sure to take your time to seek out the best quality bars that you can find. Quality is a major concern while buying stretcher bar frames. These days, there are many brands available in the market. They also come with different prices tags and features. However, before you get too tempted to buy any one of them, especially one with a particularly attractive price tag, pause for a second and think whether you are really getting a good quality product. Low quality canvas stretcher bars can pose a lot of problems. The major one among these is getting twisted out of shape when used to stretch a piece of canvas. Remember, dimensional stability is a serious problem with bars of low quality wood.  

So what’s the solution?

 

One of the best ways to minimize the chances of such accidents is to insist on good quality canvas stretcher bars. Storing them under the right conditions is also important. So you should avoid placing the bars in a place of high humidity or in a very hot or cold environment as such extremities can cause even the best quality stretcher bar frames to bend or get warped. Another useful means to counter the problem of bending is to use bars that have been constructed using short pieces of wood or short splines, instead of longer, continuous strips of wood. The huge amount of pressure exerted by the stretched canvas, in most cases, causes the frame to get twisted out of shape. However, the presence of short splines prevents this by lessening the pressure to a great extent. This is achieved by distributing the strain across all the short pieces evenly.

Finding the best bars at the best prices 

 

Under typical circumstances, stretcher bar frames are required in multiple quantities. This is because they are usually used by artists and professional framers. So unless you want to run the risk of running out of stretcher bars at an inopportune moment, you should always consider stocking up on them well in advance. It also makes a lot of economic sense because buying the bars in bulk can help you avail of special bulk discounts. There are some very popular online dealers of such products who can sell you excellent quality bars at very attractive rates. Buy in bulk and you can enjoy even further rebates.