Strong Stretcher Bars For Your Art Work

Looking for best quality, durable stretcher bars for your art work?

 

Your stretcher frame is intended to add to the overall beauty of the precious painting or giclee print. It is not meant to buckle or warp whether on or off load. The stretcher bar used for the frame is therefore made of premium pine or fir wood that has been properly treated. When you use canvas bars from professional warehouses such as Stretcher Bar Warehouse (SBW) you are assured of the quality of wood and its dimensional accuracy. There are different styles in which these stretcher bars are produced. The dimensions of such styles are different and this facilitates the selection of the stretcher bar appropriate to your needs. 

If you need the standard size of stretcher frame it means that your needs will be met if you were to select either the Light Duty or the Medium (Standard) Duty stretcher bar. The Light Duty stretcher bar is very economical. It is also meant for a smaller canvas so that you need not opt for a bigger, heavier and therefore costlier stretcher bar for the purpose. This bar measures 5/8”x1 3/16”. These are meant for smaller paintings and Giclee prints. For the canvas that is slightly bigger you will need the Fredrix stretcher bars or stretcher strips. 

These are also known as Medium (Standard) Duty stretcher bar since these are used by the vast majority of framers and artists. There are heavier duty stretcher bars too. SBW meets orders for Medium/Heavy Duty bars that are also known as Goldilocks. These come in a size 1 3/16” square cross section. The Heavy Duty at 1 ½” square cross section is improved upon by the Super Heavy Duty that has a width of 2” and these can take on larger canvases.

Quality Stretcher Bars For Your Frames

The stretcher bar that is used to construct a wooden stretcher frame has come a long way and is still evolving. Used by the artist to mount his/her canvas, today it is a framework on which the artist fastens the canvas for painting. However, these frames are also used for embroidery by the small-scale industry. The frame provides a steady tension while the fabric is affixed with the help of either pins or the staple gun before sewing commences. The stretcher bars have to be strong and supple so that these can take the load at the time of stretching. 

The wood has to be of high quality so that the bar does not warp or bend under the constant load of the canvas. Ultimately, the stretchers support your precious canvas. Therefore, these must also be beautiful to look at besides being durable and not be unduly prone to harmful effects from humidity, heat or cold. When the canvas is being fastened, even pressure has to be applied so that warping is minimized. Canvas bar may sag or stretch over a period of time and therefore it may need to be tensioned again. The profiles on the stretchers need to be rounded so that the canvas rolls over smoothly rather than abruptly and thereby causing the canvas to crack. These warehouses will also give you a choice from as many as five different styles for you to order from.

Excellent Stretcher Strips For Your Art Work

You need excellent stretcher strips and other styles of stretcher bars for your stretcher frame that will ultimately hold your precious art work. Premier warehouses for stretcher bars such as Stretcher Bar Warehouse (SBH) today market Fredrix stretcher bars or stretcher strips of great quality. These stretcher bars are marketed in the Medium (Standard) Duty Style. The size of these bars is ¾” in depth and 1 5/8” in width. These standard bars are used by the vast majority of artists and framers. These stretcher strips have slightly raised and rounded edges as against sharp and flat edges. The purpose of these raised and rounded edges is manifold. They reduce the friction that occurs during stretching and allow for a tighter canvas face that is consequently more even as well. There is also a reduction in the stress on the canvas and this protects the canvas from any accidental damage.

For your stretcher frame your need for other styles of stretcher bars can also be met by SBH. The Light Duty bar is very economical with a cross section of 5/8”x 1 3/16”. The Medium/Heavy Duty bars also called Goldilocks are a great compromise at a square cross section of 1 3/16”. The Heavy Duty or Midi variety of bars give you added depth and yet don’t cost that much and have a square cross section of 1 ½”. Finally, when you have a very large and heavy canvas you can order the Super Heavy Duty. These have a width of 2” and this gives you an exceptional foundation.

Finding Better Stretcher Frames

What is the worst nightmare of every canvas stretcher or canvas framer? If you’ve tried your hand at canvas stretching before, you probably know the answer to this one. In case you don’t, let me tell you. It’s a stretcher frame that gets warped and twisted after it has been used to stretch a piece of canvas. Just come to think of it; you’ve had that newly acquired piece of canvas beautifully stretched and framed and proudly displayed in your home. Now you call in your friends to show them your prized possession. All goes well until you (and your guests) discover that your masterpiece has become a tortured exhibition of nasty warps and twists, and your canvas now has more waves on its sad face than the Atlantic!

It’s easy to see then why selecting good quality stretcher frames is so important. Buy a low quality stretcher frame and you stand every chance of spoiling not only the framework, but the work of art it showcases as well. The search for stretcher frames for different canvas sizes is not a hard thing these days. While you can always get them at the local art supply store or the superstore in the neighborhood, buying them online is even easier and a lot more convenient too. Just try searching on Google for stretcher bars for canvas and you’re sure to find thousands of sellers in a matter of seconds. You can get them at wholesale rates! If you’re considering a bulk purchase or wish to buy the entire year’s supply all at once, wholesale rates will let you save big on them.

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Stretcher Frame and Cheap Stretcher Bars

One of the most critical aspects of making a piece of art (especially if it’s based on a canvas) available to the public is having it mounted and displayed properly. And for that, a canvas stretcher frame is of the utmost essence.

Thanks to the Internet, buying stretcher frames is no longer a difficult proposition. You no longer need to drive around for miles, searching from one store to another for the kind of stretcher strips and frames you need. Your art supplies store is waiting to hear from you online.

That’s right; all you have to do is just point and click. Browse through the inventory and take your pick. There are usually many varieties available – from light to medium to extra heavy duty – and you just need to pick the one that’s best suited for your job.

Buying the best quality bars is always recommended. Cheap stretcher bars may seem tempting but ensure that they are also of a good quality. If you want trouble-free service for years, buy stretcher bars that have been engineered to resist the effects of heat or humidity. Dimensional stability in wood is what tends to worry us most. It is, in short, the ability of wood to stay straight and not warp or bend over time or due to pressure.

In order to ensure better stability, you should insist on buying high quality bars that use short sections, joined together with finger splines, to make longer bars. This greatly increases the bar’s resistance to twisting, bowing or warping.

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About the Stretcher Strips and Stretcher Frame

Buying stretcher strips and stretcher frames is a common need if you are an artist or someone who has to work with large pieces of canvas. Fortunately, buying them is so much easier these days, thanks largely to the Internet.

All one needs to do these days is log in to an online store and place an order. There’s no running around from store to store, and everything can be ordered with just a simple click of your mouse. The prices are also lower than what it costs to buy them at brick and mortar stores.

Moreover, if you are buying stretcher strips or frames in bulk, you can avail of very attractive wholesale discounts.

While buying a stretcher frame, it’s not unnatural to worry about its quality. This is all the more true if you are buying it online. Dimensional stability in wood, which can be best described as the ability of the wood to stay straight, is what tends to worry the buyer most. The best way to address this problem is to use stretcher bars that use splines.

Some of the best quality bars and frames available in the market today use long bars that are sectioned together using finger splines, which in turn greatly increase the bars resistance to twisting, bowing or warping. The sectioning also makes the bars stronger; so they resist bending more than one piece construction. The concept is similar to why plywood is so strong.

It is also advisable to choose bars that are clear of knots. While the presence of small knots may be acceptable (as they do not render the bars weak), larger irregularities are a strict no-no.

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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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