Learn make your own studio easel.
A studio easel is a wonderful wooden device that you can use to stabilize canvases as you turn them into works of art. An easel built to hold canvases seven feet tall by four feet wide is versatile, allowing you to stabilize the largest of canvases as well as smaller ones. By installing a simple adjustable shelf, your easel can accommodate canvases as small as one foot wide by one foot tall. All you need to get started with your new studio easel is a few simple materials and tools.
Instructions
1. Construct the base of the easel first. Use a handsaw to cut 2 8-foot long 2-by-4 pieces of pine into two, three-foot long pieces and two pieces measuring 3-foot, 3-1/8-inches long. Lay the pieces together into a square so that the longer pieces make up the front and back edges. Secure the pieces together with four, three-inch Phillips head screws drilled into the four corners. Drill two holes eight inches back from the front corners that measure 1/2-inch wide by 4-inches deep.
2. Construct the rear supports for the easel next. Use a handsaw to cut four 2-by-4 pieces of pine so that two measure 33-1/2-inches long and two measure 37-inches long, respectively. Drill a hole measuring 3/8-inches in diameter into the center of the 33-1/2-inch boards 1-1/2-inches from the left end of the boards. Install a 3/8-inch diameter, 4-inch long carriage bolt into each hole and attach it on the other side to a 3-1/2-inch hinge. Measure a slot three inches long and 3/8-inches wide into the 37-inch long 2-by-4 boards. Drill holes into the top and bottom of these slots. Cut out the slots with a jigsaw.
3. Construct the main support for the easel next. Use a handsaw to cut a 1-by-2 piece of popular to seven-feet, six-inches in length. Cut 2-by-4 pine pieces into two, seven-foot long pieces and three three-foot pieces. Lay the pieces out to form a rectangle with seven-foot sides and three-foot ends. Lay the third three-foot piece inside the rectangle, two feet from the top of the frame. Screw all pieces together with three-inch Phillips head screws. Lay the longer 1-by-2 piece in the middle of the rectangle so that it is flush with the bottom of the rectangle but protrudes six inches above the top. Chisel a hole into the bottom three-foot 2-by-4 to slide the 1-by-2 piece into . Attach the 1-by-2 piece to the frame with three-inch screws. Drill holes spaced one inch apart down the length of the left and right sides of the main support.
4. Construct the adjustable shelf for the easel next. Use a handsaw to cut a 2-by-4 to measure four-feet long. Use a measuring tape to mark off six, four-inch segments of a 1-by-2 piece of pine. Cut the board into these individual pieces. Lay the pieces out so that they form two identical "U" shapes. Screw each U-shape together, slide them around the main support so that their open legs face forward and screw the four-foot long 2-by-4 to the two U-shapes. Cut two pieces of 1/2-inch wooden dowel and slide them into two of the drilled holes on the main support to secure the shelf to the main support.
5. Create a top clamp to secure the canvas to the easel once its resting on the adjustable shelf. Cut a 2-by-4 to measure five inches long and a 1-by-2 to measure one inch long. Use a chisel to cut a "T" shape measuring 1-3/4-inches long into the back of the 2-by-4. Screw a 3/8-inch thumb screw through the front of the 2-by-4 into the open "T" space you chiseled out. Glue the 1-by-2 to the bottom front of the 2-by-4. Slide the clamp onto the top of the center bar of the main support and tighten them together with the thumb screw.
6. Screw four caster wheels into the bottom of the base. Line up the holes on the front of the main support with holes at the front of the base. Thread two 4-1/2-inch hex bolts into the front right and left sides, securing the main support to the base. Thread washers onto the back of the bolts to tighten them down. Attach the rear support to the base by screwing carriage bolts through the hinges on either side of the rear support to the back right and left sides of the base. Tighten the carriage bolts with two washers. Start using your easel!
