My own stretcher bars

[dgberg]

Aw man!  Dan, if my sticks are as sturdy as the ones I buy online . . the only difference being the pre-notched cuts, why would these not work?  What makes those sticks better?  I'm asking honestly because I don't know.  Everyone else such as yourself that does your own bars . . how do you make yours to be good enough?  Is it the wood quality? 

I am not saying yours will not work,they certainly will.
There are companies that make these moldings in stick length ready to miter.(very affordable too!)

I am more interested in seeing you get started down the right path to make this a profitable venture for you.
Spending alot of time on these bar issues just is not necessary when all you have to do is buy them ready to go.
For example. I pull an 8 foot length of moulding out of the bin. Cut the 4 pieces for a 16x20 frame on my dual miter saw then take it to my underpinner and staple it together. Takes slightly under 5 minutes.
With your miter saw and a staple gun it should take you less then 10 minutes to cut and staple your frame together.  That's the maximum time you should be spending on stretcher bars,not a minute more.
The stretching is the next thing to master,then the folded corners,then the varnishing and finally don't forget that marketing.

[Kanvas Keepsakes]

Dan thanks for the great feedback. I called you a while ago left you a message. What I want to know is ... How do the wood shops make the bar and the quarter circle molding in one piece? What kind of a saw does that?

[dgberg]

Not a saw. It's called a 4 head moulder. 4 heads and a different knife set for each head.
Oversized material is run into the machine and the properly sized and profiled stretchers come out the other end. Not any cheaper then store bought but I wanted poplar instead of pine. My underpinner nails do not work that well in pine.
Sorry I missed you. Should be around tomorrow.

Ps.
Just an added note here. Breathing Color has just modified their Easy Wrap system.
You are the perfect candidate if you can define your sizes.
No cutting and assembling of bars,no stretching and it has the wedges for the corners.
Check it out on their website,it really is worth a look.
It is a way to get into the gallery wrap business with no equipment other then for varnishing. (Then all you really need is the $5.00 foam roller and tray.)
The cost per kit may be double the cost of bars alone but the work to get one of these out the door is 75% less. A very good trade off in my opinion.