Use a tabletop easel to display photos and art anywhere.
Displaying pictures and artwork can be done on a tabletop easel that you customize yourself. The basic tripod design is versatile and constructed with the same method, whether the easel is for a small photograph or large painting. Oak, cherry or walnut are good choices for a decorative hardwood. The design can be altered for very small pictures, up to large full- size paintings, the main difference being the size of the wood used to make the frame.
Instructions
1. Cut three 18-inch pieces from the 60-inch hardwood dowel.
2. Lay two of the pieces together on a flat work surface, so the top and bottom of the pieces are even.
3. Measure down 3/4 inch from the top on the inside edge of both pieces of wood.
4. Set the hack saw blade at an angle that stretches from the mark you measured on the inside edge, to the top-left front corner of one dowel. Cut on the angle, removing the top-right corner of the dowel. Repeat for the second dowel.
5. Flip one piece so it lays in the opposite direction, and the two angles face each other.
6. Lay the third dowel between the other two, lining up the tops so they are even. This should form a triangle with the uncut piece in the center, and the two cut pieces forming the outer legs.
7. Measure down 1 1/2 inches from the top on the center dowel. Draw a straight line across the three dowels on the mark you made in the center dowel. Drill a 1/4-inch hole through the center of the side of each dowel on this mark.
8. Line the three dowels up again in the triangle formation and slide the bolt through the hole you drilled in all three. Place the wing nut on the opposite end and finger tighten. Pull the middle dowel out to the back, forming a tripod.
9. Lay the dowels down flat again. Put the 12-inch dowel across the front of the pieces, at the height you want the picture to sit on the easel. Screw in place with one wood screw on each of the outside dowels.
10. Turn one wood screw through the end loop on the piece of chain, then screw to the center back of the 12-inch cross piece.
11. Stretch the chain out, and pull the center dowel support back to the point where the chain is fully extended. Screw that end loop in the chain to the back support dowel.
