Use Stretcher Frames To Tighten Your Fine Art Canvas

stretcher frames, like regular artwork frames, are made out of wood. But that is where their similarities end. Stretcher frames are used as a structure upon which an artwork canvas is laid and attached. The stretcher frame is used to get the art canvas nice and tight. After this step, it is ready to be mounted in the frame of your choice, or the artwork can simply be hung up as is.

Stretcher frames are typically formed into a rectangular shape like a picture frame, and consist of four stretcher bars. The corners of canvas stretcher frames are not permanently attached to each other. The reason for this is that the wood used to make the framing stretcher will expand and contract with exposure to moisture, and thus if there is not a permanent adherence in the corners of the stretcher frame, it allows for this needed movement in the supporting structure of the framed artwork. The corners on canvas stretcher frames could consist of miter joints, which are angled in order to fit flush with each other. Butt joints can also be used, as can complex interlocking joints in order to achieve a strong but flexible hold with no permanent mechanism holding the corner together.

Stretcher frames allow for tightening of the canvas once it is in place and attached to the stretcher frame. Usually the canvas is attached to the frame stretchers with a staple gun or with tacks, attached a bit from each side until the entire canvas is secured in order to carefully achieve a smooth surface with no warping. Once the canvas is attached, it can then be given a final tightening with the use of a special tool called a tightening key. This key fits into little openings that have been left in the frame stretcher. The tightening key is usually made from wood or plastic, and it is triangular in shape. When the key is inserted and wedged into the small opening, it expands the bars of the canvas stretcher frames slightly, thus tightening the canvas on top even more. Because artwork canvases will relax over time spent on stretchers, it is possible to go in at a later date and push the tightening keys into the slots even more deeply in order to tighten the canvases a bit more.

Framing stretchers are available in several different sizes from quite small to huge sizes used in art galleries for large works of art.