Cost Cutter Ideas...

[manfrommerriam]

Gee, I always wanted to justify buying a kayak... great idea! I met a painter in Texas who showed me how his Porsche Boxter has two trunks and holds all his painting gear... but my bride definately did not blink on that one. Maybe 'll try her on the kayak idea.
Have fun, Dave

[Rene']

Originally Posted by Capt Elaine

Early in the thread there was a discussion on gas mileage.... thought I'd share a picture of my scooter, loaded up for a day's plein air painting. Gas mileage, 110 MPG... oh, it's fun too... and parking is no problem. My half box french easel is in the canvas bag (that I got from Daniel Smith... cheapest by far), my plastic folding table from Wal*Mart about $5...

http://vimeo.com/15866662

[lahkroo]

Try Judson Art Outfitters for the "L" lock.
http://www.judsonsart.com/pleinair/p...rdware-c17.htm should get you there.

Thanks for all the ideas. I'm converting an old french easel to tri-pod and used their base plate. Works great.

[Rene']

During some cleaning and re-decorating I discovered that the
clips used to hold two boards upon a support arm are perfectly
usable to hold up panels as well!!!


This is what I mean about the clip, ... the support arm is fitted to the wall
with a railing system, don't know if it's also used over there in the States, ...


And here fitted to a panel, ...


And a more detailed shot

The clips are available at the DIY shop and in euros 12 ps. for 4,50 euros.
I used book supports previously but these are much smaller to take with you
on painting trip or so.

[id-art]

This is to hold the painting while it dries? Very clever.

[Rene']

For example, or to put onto a cupboard or shelf to watch, ...

[JamieWG]

Rene, wonderful idea! I'm going to look for some....

Jamie

[sidbledsoe]

~ a homemade tripod mount for pochade box~
You can order one that will cost close to 30 bucks with shipping or you can make one easily. Go to hardware store like home depot. buy 1/4"x20x5/16" tee-nut like the one in this picture:

Then cut a piece of ply or hardwood that is 5/16" thick to about 3"x3" or really any size that is bigger than the tripod plate. Get a 3/4" spade bit and a 5/16 spade or drill bit. Locate the center of your piece of wood and using the 3/4" spade bit first, drill down about 1/8" or so to create a recess so you can countersink the tee-nut in the wood. You want it flush for glueing to the box.
Next drill the 5/16" hole for the threaded portion of the tee-nut. Now grab a hammer and have fun whacking the tee-nut into the wood so it looks like in the photo above.
Now you are ready to glue the block (or screw it in if you want but you need small screws) locate the center of gravity for your box when it is open with the lid. This is usually near the rear center of the bottom. Locate the center point, put the block down aligned perfectly, draw a pencil line around the perimeter, apply painters tape around the perimeter. Apply a thin coat of Titebond or other yellow wood glue to both surfaces, not too much. Put the block in place and tape it down also. Set a book or something on it for weight and let dry overnight.

Then you will have a tripod mount that looks like this:

you want the flange on top not on bottom, on top it is secure, bottom it may be pulled out.
Or you can drill from inside your box and then it would look like this:


These can be used for any box that doesn't have a tripod mount. If it is metal then use epoxy glue instead of wood glue, or screw it in place.
I am making a half dozen boxes right now using these guys and don't want to drop 130 bucks (six plus shipping), bye for now!

[sidbledsoe]

~cheap brush holder for pochade box~
cardboard container cut off, duct tape reinforcement technology, 25 cent binder clip holding mechanism:


~cheap cigar box lid frame~
Hot glued to the inside lid.

[Cooper Dragonette]

Here is my current painting plein air easel. It's really a takeoff on the Art Box and Panel idea, but mine was free. It was free largely because everything came from our local dump. The dump is home to the World's Greatest Swap Shop, where residents can drop off unwanted items of pick them up. I collected the parts for this easel over time, but all of it came from the Swap Shop. The upper part of the easel was cut down to be more appropriate for painting in the field. I typically don't paint any larger than 12" in the field. The painting surface was originally an art supply box. I cut the lid in half and moved the hinges from the rear to the sides. It's a great big surface to work on with plenty of storage for paint, brushes and the ipod! Now I just need an bigger backpack to load the box into, but for now it's a sturdy, compact, and free plein air easel.

[MadDogMcQ]

Don't dismiss old and tatty equipment, because with a little work, it can become a real nice piece of kit, resulting in a true bargain! I often see old Jullian French Easels on eBay for giveaway prices, but in the case of my own, it came as a free gift!

A local artist had died and his painting gear went to his lifelong friend. Then it was passed onto his son and eventually given to me. It was real tatty, wobbly and basically, well worn. I decided to refurbish it as best I could and here's how it turned out. Hopefully, it will last another 30 years :-)

[id-art]

Terrific job! Looks like new.

[MadDogMcQ]

Thanks Robert! I'm really pleased with it and because I worked hard on it, it's worth much more to me than if I'd simply bought a new one :-)

[MadDogMcQ]

For anyone who has a JULLIAN POCHADE THUMB BOX, you may be interested to know that the textile carry-case for the popular Dremel tool is the perfect fit for the pochade box. In fact, it's probably good for many other 8"x6" pochades.