Artwork Display Stand

The challenge: create a display stand for an artshow that would hold my paintings on board.

Time Frame: 2 days.

Materials: only resources that I already had in the workshop. No going to the lumberyard or hardware store.

Since the designated space for each artist who was displaying their work at the show was only 4x6, I needed to make every inch count. There was only one way to go and that way was up. (I also had prints to display and used a simple set-up of light tripods and PVC piping to hang them from.)

The main vertical frame that would support the art boards was made from 1x2's. (I purchased a bundle that was for "something" else. The base of the display is a 2' in length cut from pressurized 4"x4" treated lumber.

I used 1/4" dowels to lend support to the art board. Twine and wood glue was used to bind the 1x2's together.

In the pressurized 4x4" treated lumber base I carved (2" in depth) out the dimensions of the 3 - 1x2 stock that will be the vertical piece where the artwork will hang from. Next, I coated the carved rectangle hole with a heavy coat of wood glue and drilled pilot holes for the hex-headed, hot-dipped galvanized screws that will provide extra support.

As you can see from the related image, I tied 3 - 1x2" stock together with twine (top, middle and bottom) and then inserted the bundled stock into the base. After the screws where inserted, I poured the wood glue onto the three areas of twine soaking them thoroughly. (I have tried this method in the past and it worked very well. The wood cross-support pieces for a bird feeder I made over a year ago were nailed and then bound in the same twine, glued and sun-dried to lasting perfection.) The base and the vertical piece did not tip over and appeared solid. Putting weight on the stand would be the test.

To support the hanging art boards, (more about hanging later) I chose dowels over casings or molding again, to save space. I used 1/4 dowels that were inserted in holes that I drilled in the wide side of the center 1x2 stock. Since I knew the sizes of the art boards and how I wanted to display them. I measured the distance on the vertical stock and drilled 5/16 holes where the dowels would be inserted. Using a coarse riffler I made a notch in each of the dowels where the bottom of the art boards would sit.

Before I applied two coats of high gloss, oil-based paint to finish the stand. I applied and drilled two support struts on both sides of the wide vertical 1x2 stock. After applying and letting the paint dry. I tapped small nails into the stand at a height that would match the slightly above the top of the art board. Next, I looked around my workshop for something could act as cross-supports for the base. I was fairly confident that I didn't need the extra support but could see my stand and artwork come crashing down on a customer or another artist's work. Lo and behold, laying in a pile of dust I noticed metal bookshelf brackets that fit perfectly on the base and provided the extra support and confidence that was needed.

I used medium sized binder clips to 'hang' the art boards that 'hung' on the small nails that I had previously tapped into the vertical stock. (I'm using sub quotes here, as I don't want to anyone thinking that this type of "picture hanging" is the same as hanging framed artwork on a wall. The premise is the same except using different wall mounting/hanging materials.) One by one, the boards were placed on the stand and voila, a handmade stand designed and built to meet the constraints of a particular art show!

Total material costs: $20

Questions? Ask away!