There is an art to constructing your own canvases. I've been building my own for many years. Over time I have found the best process and the right tools to put these together and I would like to share this with you.

Production. I don't make one or two at a time. I create about a half a dozen or more. I buy a 6 yard rolled canvas and then go to my local home improvement store to find the pine wood that I'll need. I buy the 8 foot planks and pick up about 30 of them. I'll get staples if I need them and wood glue if necessary. Once I've cut them down, I lay them out like this in order not to get confused on which stretcher bar goes with what set.

This photo is four pine wood stretcher bars that have been wood glued together and is being held together by eight metal 90° braces. If it is sunny outside like it was on this day, I'll set it directly in the sun to speed up the drying process. Typically, I let them set for about 45 minutes to an hour before I remove the braces.

It is very rare that I will put any nails at all in the stretcher frame itself. Because the wood ends are cut at  a 90° angle and wood glued the canvas, once it is stretched over it and stapled, gives plenty of force all the way around to hold it together. I have never had a stretched canvas come apart on me once it has been assembled using this technique.

Before you stretch the canvas, make sure that the wood frame is level. I usually place the frame on the glass of a sliding door or a surface I know is completely flat. Cement floors will play tricks on you, don't count on that.

In the above image you can see that I've cut my already gesso primed canvas to size. I allow myself a little more than what folds over the back to give me more material to pull it over with. The image shows that I've stapled the side closest to you and that I'm folding the other side over. I'll tug and pull this tightly and put staples, starting in the center and working my way to the right and to the left.

The image on the left is me pulling the canvas over with a Canvas Stretching Pliers.

When you are ready to do the corners, staple one side all the way to the end and then fold the other corner over like you are wrapping a present. Work the folds with your thumb and staple it to the back.

This canvas was stretched over 1 inch by 2 inch boards and supported the center with two 1 by 2's. If I didn't support the center what would happen when I stretched the canvas over and staple it the center of the canvas would bow inwards. The result of this is a quality surface and the canvas is stretched so tight that it sounds like a drum if you strike the surface with your thumb.

When I stretched the canvas over this and stapled it, I stapled about 6 times in the center of each side and worked my way to the corners. In this case, I would have used the canvas Stretching tool that I have to make sure the canvas is tight. You don't want it too tight because it will warp the canvas.

I'll tell you a trick about tightening up a canvas if you think it is too loose once you have made it. What you can do is take a rag with water and wipe it down letting it absorb a little into the canvas. Let it dry and it will tighten it up.