Wraptek- Canvas Stretcher Bars Frame 2 Bar Pack (30")

This is the third brand of this style of stretcher bar (fold-together corners with adhesive) that I have tried. Each of the others has flaws of some sort or another. The cheapest (about half as expensive as these) usees thin boards that are great for their light weight, but the finished frame may tend to twist because the corner braces may fit too tightly or so loosely that they fall out. Another, heavier, brand gives stouter results, but they have quality contgrol issues with length and the corner fasteners always punch through the canvas sides, so I just staple the corners together, which works fine. These, however, are very well designed and the quality control appears to be spot on. I have assembled only two canvases with these to date, but I am very well pleased in every way. The corner braces (may not be needed for small frames) are screwed in place, compared to friction fit by others. I don’t find that additional work much effort at all because the bars are pre-drilled for this. Also, I suspect that one might be happy to leaved them as a friction fit. Bottom line, this is an excellent product in every way, superior to the others on the market, but at a premium price.

I made a mistake and ordered the wrong size, Their note on the main description says: you need a minimum of 4" of H and W" to wrap..." I took that into account and ended up with bars that are a 2" too short. I own it, my bad, I will pay for shipping, and I can get the correct sized ones, correct? WRONG!I found out I can't return them and order the correct ones. When you go to print the label, you promptly figure out these are not returnable, and if you go and verify that is the case. At the bottom of the item's description, for some of sizes not for all you find this gem: "Returns will only be accepted if: - You are shipped a product other than what you ordered: In this case we will supply you with a pre-paid return label and we will ship you the correct product upon receipt. - The product comes to you damaged: in this condition you will be asked to return the product (we will pay shipping) and a replacement will be sent to you upon receipt of your return."If an item is not returnable, don't bury the information in the small print of the secondary description. You have a good product, but there are plenty of alternatives.

As I read through the instructions, I could tell there was some disconnect between what an artist really needs and what this company provides in terms of the design of this type of stretcher.First of all, the method by which they instruct you to find the square of the picture would ONLY work with a print, not an actual painting. Most artists put a painting within a given area and might or might not tape it off on the edges, so finding the actual square is tricky and making sure it's actually "square" (even if it's a rectangle, this term applies) is difficult. Given that they're wanting you to put a pinhole in the canvas was a mark off from me right away.The best way to find if something is a square is to measure diagonally from corner to corner and make sure they are the same amount.Secondly, the whole entire concept of a stretcher is that it STRETCHES the canvas tight. The method these use does not do that. You might be able to get it somewhat tight, but not nearly what is needed, especially for a large canvas. Luckily mine was only 27 x 27. If you attach the canvas to the sticky tape, you can't then stretch it tight with grip stretchers. I decided to forego the entire method and just put the stretcher frame together and stretch it like a regular set. It was a lot easier.My third issue is that the set was not a good measurement. It was actually about a quarter of an inch too large which entailed me going back and painting in the edges to cover. Luckily, I'm a painter and can do this, but I can't imagine what would happen if it were a print. There's literally no way to fix that.All in all, it took me much longer than normal to stretch my work on these stretchers. It wasn't easier.They get two stars for having the size I needed (almost) and shipping it to my P.O. Box. The product was very sturdy and they weren't warped, so they get another one for that.

This was my 1st time stretching art over a frame since high school which was a couple decades ago. Wow this was so much easier then doing all that stapling, made it very easy &professional looking! I had and image that was 16 x 20 with about an inch extra border on each side of white canvas. It didnt wrap enough around the back to touch the second layer of adhesive but so far it is still holding really well without having to add staples to the edge where they would be visible. Next time I will take into consideration if I want the image to wrap around the sides but for this picture, it was better that it didnt, so turned out perfect. I will definitely buy again, great for a 1st timer to frame themselves.

I usually stretch my own canvas but this painting had been dismounted and stored for many years. I didn’t have a big enough border of canvas to do a traditional remount without damage to the painting. The instructions are clear especially if you have worked with stretchers before. If you are unfamiliar with how stretched canvas should be mounted, take care to read the directions before attempting.These stretchers are really substantial. The glue strips are a brilliant idea especially for old canvas that will not tolerate a lot of pulling. The corner pins had to be lightly tapped into the frame but the results are a very tight corner closing. It took me less than 15 minutes from opening the plastic wrap to pressing in the corner blocks. I will use this company’s product again.