Hello everyone, my name is Cary and I am a new member from Austin TX! I subscribed to the online membership because I was hoping it would give me access to various project plans from previous issues of Fine Woodworking magazine.
My search for a large, strong, square based, easel with a forward tilt feature for pastel work, adjustable height to around 100″(I can always adjust the plans), a removable painting tray possibly with brush holders or cans, and the ability to lay your work flat. A plus would be having details on the joints and hardware. Less hardware the better I say, so wood hinges and joints would be a great bonus.
In short, can anyone give me tips on navigating the website/searching plans from previous Fine Woodworking issues? OR Does anyone have plans they can share with me?
Either or both would be much appreciated.
Attached are some examples of what I am looking for.
Thanks
Replies
FW does not seem to have published anything useful for you but a Google search for easel plans threw up a lot of hits.
Maybe I was searching google wrong, but I did now find any results that matched my specifications. I'll try again though.
I seriously doubt you will find easel plans on Taunton. There are a number of free easel plans on google...try wording searches differently. You will probably have to shift your search to books on building art equipment. It is possible to copy from a photograph but it's an advanced skill.
cary,
welcome. do you posess the tools and skills to build such a project? no judgement here, just curious. when i first started building furniture i gained access to tools and instruction by taking an adult community night class. making that easel will require considerable skill.
once again, welcome.
eef
Hi Eef, Thank you for your concern (confused by its source), but I think I can handle this little project. Although I have never made one before, it seems to me to not be that difficult, hence wanting to spice things up with wood hinges. I see now that it was a long shot to try ask for plans. I have designed my own on paper, but thought that plans would be very helpful and full of tips.Can anyone give me some direction? Where do i find "books on building art equipment?"Thanks ya'll for the welcomes.
Finding books on building art equipment falls back on your search skills. There are several books at my local library on some basic stuff but nothing of the type you are looking for. Also not everything is on the web. Books, magazines and networking make a good researcher. Just going to an art supply store to look at one in person is very useful.
Expecting to find a plan with all the details from A to Z is quite unrealistic. Looking at your examples of what you want are pretty basic once you understand the mechanics. Make a mock up using steel hinges and catches as a basic study then add your wooden hinges later.
http://meggiecat.blogspot.com/2006/01/build-your-own-easel.html
Hi Caryhson1,
Thanks for joining the Web site hope you enjoy articles and videos. Unfortunately, I don't think we have any easel plans but it sound like you got some good advice from fellow Knots members.
Sorry not to be of more assistance in this case.
Gina, FineWoodworking.com
Hello !
Welcome !
I agree with my illustrious responders.
Interestingly this is where I got back on the woodworking train many years ago. ( Before I committed whole hog and started making my dovetailed tool boxes) My partner bought a classic portable/foldable out door easel. I decided to make one for myself. Hers was made up with box joints so I decided to make one with dovetails.
I have been following Fine Woodworking magazine off and on since the early eighties and have most of the back issues. I have not come across plans for what you ask for. There have been a few easels made long ago by readers and just a photo or two posted. No plans offered. It has been so long ago probably difficult to contact for plans.
Basically this could turn into quite a project because you are making a complex adjustable tool. A table with a drawer or even a chair is one thing but a structure with pivots and slides and clamps that all must coordinate is another, greater, task. So as you know plans will be important.
Not to talk you out of it but by the time you are finished you may have been ahead by purchasing a pre made. The manufactures have it so they can crank these out very inexpensively though perhaps not of the first order in joinery and finish.
If you like to draw plans, if you have a shop set up to do this type of wood working and you want a better quality easel than available through the retail establishments then you should proceed.
First.. Welcome to Knots and FineWoodworking Have fun!
I have made several easels (freebies) for my granddaughter and her friends. Nothing as fancy as you have posted pictures of. She wanted one like in your pictures. After costing out the wood alone it is way cheaper to by one!
I am assuming YOU are the artist AND the woodworker. Are you? If so I would thing an 'ideal' project to 'wing on you own'.. Your style and thought of what YOU want it to be. I had a free plan for one like you posted but I cannot find it. Maybe I deleted it. I know it is out there on the web! Or it use to be. I think I was searching plans for wooden Looms and ran across it? Not sure.
Anyway, it is just a bunch of sticks, bolts and knobs. And something fancy for the board/clamps for holding the canvas or paper substrate and your lighting if mounted on the easel.
I almost always work from sketches or pictures. Hardly ever plans. Nothing wrong with plans but just not how I work. I AM NOT an Artist. Far from it! I have a hard time drawing a 'stick man' that a little child can do.
If you have an idea of what you want.. Go for it! Get some big sheets of paper and sketch it out. Or if you are rich.. Take a photo of what you like and have it blown up on a X/Y plotter at a graphics company. Like in a sign place that does digital printing.
Just my opinion. If you have basic woodworking skills, YOU can do it. You may even be surprised at how well it turns out!
EDIT: Not what I was talking about above as in a plan I found but here is a starter plan I found.
http://bengrosser.com/easel/
And just for fun..
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/9183
Edited 11/11/2008 7:38 pm by WillGeorge
Cary,
Are there any art suppliers in your area that carry such an easel? If so, pay them a visit and bring some paper, a pencil, and a tape to get the dimensions of what you need and make some quick sketches of the details. You could also bring a camera. It might be wise to either do this discreetly or ask for permission before hand.
Chris @ www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
I did end up going to an art supply store with my sketchbook and later designed one of my own with all the features desired. I hope to start it next week and stay under 100 bucks or close to it by making it out of poplar and using a poly finish so dripped paint can be taken off more easily. I priced easels similar to my design and found that they range from 300 to 600, so doing it my self is well worth it. Also, DIY makes it more personal, it being a gift to my father. I picked up some cabinet pulls that I plan on using in lieu of wing nuts and am rethinking the wood hinge idea because it will have considerable weight and I want it to last.
Thanks everyone for the responses. I will let you know how it turns out.
Cary,
By making it youself, you are saving money, getting exactly what you want, and most importantly - making it more precious to your father. Anyone can shell out a couple hundred dollars to buy a gift. It means that much more to spend your precious time to make something.
Using cabinet pulls (knobs, I assume) instead of wing nuts is a clever idea.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
loooooong overdue... some photos from the easel I built.
Hey, looks great. The cabinet knobs are a nice touch. I had to reread the thread to remember what was going on. But two months isn't that bad. I just finished a project I started 11 months ago. Yikes.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com(soon to be http://www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
yeah i hear woodworkers have 2 speeds....slow and stop. I actually finished in time to give it on christmas. thanks for the comment.
There's also a rush (and do a crappy job) speed too, but we don't like to talk about that too much.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com(soon to be http://www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
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