The Framers Forum

I am interested in attending a course in canvas stretching/mounting in the Herts area around August / September time if anyone knows of one coming up please. I do get people enquiring about framing very large canvases which at the moment I don't do.

I doubt whether there is enough to stretching canvases to warrant a course.

Have you tried googling how to stretch a canvas there are quite a few video's on youtube. It is quite easy and straight forward, I learnt by taking apart someone else's canvas .

Video

Thanks a lot! It's ebay then for a cheap canvas and pair of pliers.

its a waste of money buying the cheap ones,

I bought 3 diff pairs before realising

buy some decent wide ones, makes a whole heap of difference

Thanks wide ones it is.
Will be the UK's finest picture framer yet.

At a stretch!

There are framers that can tailor a one-to-one course on anything you like for as long as you like, I (just for example, and nowhere near Herts) have a big fat 60" roll of cotton duck (I've no idea where I pulled that term from - but HQ artist canvas anyway) that I've always told myself I'll cut up and stretch to standard sizes, prime and sell in the shop. Yeah, right!

Stretcher bars, stretcher moulding, braced stretchers, stretching for framing, no-frame stretching ('boxed' canvas - AKA 'gallery wraps') - whatever, no reason why you shouldn't be able to get a course focussed on whatever you like.

Thanks Roboframer.

("At a stretch!") Drole

http://www.diyframing.com/event_view.cfm/EventID/902/

DIY framing do a 1 day course, hopefully the link above works.

Paul
Framed in Alvechurch

Thanks for that. I see they also hold courses in High Wycombe which is a lot closer to me than Manchester.

stcstc wrote:its a waste of money buying the cheap ones

I used to struggle with the cheap chrome plated ones, they were killers to use and made my hands ache for the rest of the day, if not longer. The one's I now use have a cantilever leverage amplifying mechanism. They are just so much easier to use.

sim.on wrote:Thanks for that. I see they also hold courses in High Wycombe which is a lot closer to me than Manchester.

You may also see that they attend craft and hobby fairs - retail shows; not trade shows - flogging DIY equipment, plus training for DIY-ers.

Here's a quote from them.

"You will leave the course with a piece of your own work, framed – saving you around £40.00 and a visit to town!"

Lovely!

It just so happens I've just taken on two 1 metre square canvases (not valuable in monetary terms [from their holiday in India]) from someone I've done framing for in the past (I must be doing something right). At this size I will brace the bars (like the English flag). I know I shouldn't be working on customer's property with a procedure I've not done before but they are nice and square and all looks straightforward. Just waiting for my 12cm wide pliers to arrive from ebay!

Well, it's easy to dismiss DIY Framing, but I'll bet quite a few framers started with them. They teach the basics pretty well and if that;s what you want, then they are probably the most accessible. You could also try Alex at Bespoke Framing or try any framer who does canvases. I'm sure they wouldn't complain at you paying them for a 1-1 session.

Thanks. I've stretched them and all looks OK. One is a heavyweight canvas with thick dollops of paint. The other is a lot lighter which I was a bit wary of in case I tore it. They are both a metre square. I'm sure there are some horror stories out there of ripped canvases while stretching?