house design » diy projects » portable easel

My sister, Milly, requested an easel that: 1., she can carry around; 2., will hold all her painting paraphernalia; 3., has an adjustable rake; 4., will accommodate a decent sized canvas. I said "no worries" ...

I cheated a bit to get started by purchasing an A3-paper-sized, shallow, open-topped box, made from 6mm MDF, from a local craft shop. I then routed a 3mm rabbit around the inner edge of the open side and cut a lid to fit from 4mm MDF. I also rounded all the outer box edges/corners with the router to make it look a bit more 'finished'. The exterior of the box and lid were then under-coated, given 2 coats of matte black paint and then 3 coats of polyurethane.

Before attaching the lid to the box with a pair of hinges, I made and fitted the easel part - the idea is that when the lid is open, the easel part makes up the third (front) side of a triangle. The easel foot has a pair of dowels that seat themselves into a pair of drilled rails that run on the inside of the box - changing the rail position changes the rake of the easel. To secure 'a decent sized canvas' I routed two channels into a piece of timber, fitted a pair of 6mm aluminium rods and then glued a cover strip over the top to hold the rods in place. A block is attached to the top of the rods and this piece slides up and down to accommodate a canvas taller than the easel/box. Finishing touches include a handle and elastic loops to hold the lid closed when the easel is not in use.

Closed for portage

Open, base

Open, lid and easel bit

Easel base

Open, ready for painting

Adjustable easel top

Adjustable rake

.success? failure?

Pros: Lightweight/portable; looks good; highly functional as an easel.

Cons: Closure mechanism is a bit primitive.

Enhancement Suggestions: Invest in a more sophisticated method of securing the lid whilst the easel is closed up.