Paper Stretching Board (1/4 imperial (11x15"/28x38cm)) - Paper Stretcher

What an outstanding way to stretch watercolor paper! I used birthday candles to apply a wax coating in the grooves and tapped the wet paper into place. After the paper was completely dry, I completed my painting. When I removed the plastic pieces from the groves, the watercolor paper popped off the stretching board. Awesome! I highly recommend this product to all watercolorists.

This works well for stretching paper. When using it I get absolutely no bubbling or buckling of the paper, and it provides a perfectly flat, firm painting surface. It is a good quality, varnished wood, and is drilled to accept a tripod mount. I am keeping the board to use with a tripod even if I don't use it for stretching. That said, there are downsides to stretching with it.Paper waste - wrapping the paper around enough to fit the rubber strips into the grooves and hold the paper takes maybe 3/4 to an inch of paper on each side. So a lot of paper is lost which has to be trimmed off. Since I use quarter sheets, this seriously shrinks my usable space. The whole reason for buying this was to avoid the waste of stapling/taping to a board.Sticking - It's said that you can use a wax crayon or birthday candle in the groove to keep paper from sticking. I have done with and without and with the wax the paper sticks less, but it still sticks. It is hard to remove the paper from the groove and if it sticks too much, you'll tear the paper trying to get it out.Cost - the cost is high in the U.S. This is largely a UK product, but I haven't found anything really similar here (that isn't prohibitively expensive)I have replaced this board with a piece of gatorboard, which is easier and cheaper to find in larger sizes. I still use this as a drawing board and easel backing, and may use it with a tripod mount. As far as a stretching board, it works, but there are better ways to do it.

The beauty is in its simplicity.Very easy to use, and makes a great drawing board. I do use 300gsm paper but use a lot of water.I leave the paper on the board to paint on and no more wrinkly paper.Fantastic. I bought 2Highly recommended.

poorly constructed and too expensive for this product.

I bought these for my son who is just learning to do water color painting. He really likes them and they have been working very well for him. Great product!

This paper stretcher really works! I have the quarter imperial size. It was easy to use (even the first time!), and doesn't require a lot of muscle to get the paper drum-tight. This is well worth the money and the wait (it shipped from the UK to the US).

Just love it. wonderful product and great customer service.

It's perfect! I wish I could get one in a larger size, but they no longer ship outside of their country, unless you pay a very hefty fee!