An artist in my circle wanted to make a frame on which to stretch a canvas.
The joint in the corner of such frames is a complex thing that is not to be tackled by a beginning woodworker. I needed to simplify it.
In the hope that beginners will give it a go I have reduced the joint to four slats. The ends are cut square, at 45 degrees and at 15 degrees.
These slats are layered and their ends combine to make up the interlocking, wedge operated stretching mechanism.
This is how the kit looked when it was ready for canvas.
Layering gives neater and cleaner joints that any amount of machining.
Mitres create a neat square frame to staple a canvas to.
As the wedges are hammered against the 15 degree ends the frame expands.
Four slats are clear in this view. Two outer slats are cut at 45 degrees and the inner cut at 90 and 15 degrees. Mess from the glue is hidden by the canvas.
All we did was sand it and paint it. Then added a few stickers. This single block of wood gave my mates two whole sessions of relaxed fun. Pictures tell enough of the story here. Simplicity can sometimes be a good option. Every project is different. Every project has discoveries. The discovery here is that…
A woodwork project with children led me to revisit Sam’s basket as an Easter project. Here it is with a bit of upholstery and a few eggs in side. Modifications Making this with dexterous children allowed a few modifications to the original method.The skewers that we laboriously drilled for and hammered in could be simple…
My friends were impressed by the notion that our train’s carriages could be hooked together and towed around. It failed, however, in that each woodworker could only take home a single carriage; they had nothing to tow. At the end of the train project, and experiencing a flush of overconfidence, I asked staff for inspiration. They requested a fire…
The act of making is its own end! My friends may comprehend nothing of the object they have created, but are always richer for having been engaged in the act of making it. With little prior experience of working in disability services, I had no means of judging the progress of a lesson. More experienced people than…
For Whom Do We Make? The stuff we make involves many interested parties. There are: the makers, staff who help, managers of the centre, recipients of the objects, et al. Given the positive power of enthusiasm, it is good to spread that good feeling as widely as possible. When the makers make more than they need,…
This project was perfect for batch production; the pieces are simple and can be cut in multiples. BUT, the coolest part of all is that when it was done we put our carriages together and created a train of inspiring proportions. We used our usual techniques of dowel hammered into holes that are 0.5mm too small….
