The past year has seen quite a few requests from artists, enthusiests and pro photographers for stretcher bars with wholesale pricing. Many of these folks print and wrap their own gallery wraps but do not want to get involved in the dirt and mess of cutting and assembly.
My previous setup for building stretcher bars was a nice miter saw with fence system and staple gun for assembly. Worked very well by the way. From start to finish less then 15 minutes to cut and assemble.
Still not fast enough to cost effectivly mass produce for the wholesale trade.
Knowing what new equipment costs to mass produce stretcher frames led me to my favorite used woodworking auction site. No not Ebay, Industrial Recovery Services in York, Pa. Having owned my own cabinetry business for almost 25 years I can admit to being a full fledged tool junkie. So the hunt was on.
After several months I found exactly what I was looking for a used CTD dual miter saw and ITW Amp underpinner. Both needed a little work so we went over both of them with a fine tooth comb and they are both restored like new. The dual saw can cut the left and right miter at the same time with the tap of the foot pedal. The new air operated fence is excellent for a standard miter setup or measuring the inside rabbet when cutting picture frames. Time savings from the old way about 50%
The underpinner saves about the same amount of time and will enable us to start offering cost effective wood picture frames for our pano and large format mounting business.
Just set the controller,tap the foot pedal and the corner is finished stapled. Pretty slick.
Keep an eye out for further updates on our mounting and framing page. Wholesale prices for assembled stretcher frames or unassembled chops should be up shortly. If you would like to save a little on shipping,order chops. All you need is a staple gun and you can easily assemble them yourself. Call or email me personally for more information.
Presently offering 2" and 1 1/2" deep bars
