How to Make a Tabletop Easel Back for a Poster

An easel is designed to assist in creating projects and artwork as well as display pieces in a freestanding method. A tabletop easel supports work on a flat surface, in contrast to a full-height easel, which stands alone on the floor and takes up more space. Work projects, displays or posters can be put on the easel. Tabletop easels can be temporary, such as for an informational booth or fair, or permanent, for artw


 

Instructions

1. • 1
     Measure the size of the work you need to display. For a backed piece of work, the easel can be slightly smaller or the same size as the art; for paper pieces needing support, make it 1 inch larger than the work all the way around.
   • 2
     Use pressed fiberboard for a more permanent display or one that needs to blend in to a nice environment. Heavy corrugated cardboard is suitable for a booth or fair display that will be used temporarily. Cut the piece to the size needed to back the poster.
   • 3
     Cut a roughly 60-degree triangle from another piece of the same material, half the height of the easel back. Use a carpenter's square to calculate the angle, or just draw the triangle by eye. The angle you cut will be the angle that the display board leans back, so this can be set to your preference.
   • 4
     Cut two more 45-degree triangles about 4 inches across at the widest point.
   • 5
     Assemble the three triangles at the back of the easel. Lay the main board flat on a work surface, back facing up. Run a stripe of glue down the edge of the large triangle support to secure it in place. Place it in the center back of the main board, with the bottom edges aligned evenly. If you are using cardboard for a temporary easel, duct tape is a suitable alternative.
   • 6
     Fit the two smaller triangles between the main board and the center support, orienting them horizontally so they hold the larger triangle support in place. Glue or tape the inside edges that rest against the poster back and large triangle. Allow to dry.
   • 7
     Set the easel upright. Use a clothespin or poster tack to secure the work in place. Poster tack is a sticky material that does not mar the work or the surface it adheres the work to, but holds them in place.
     
     
     
     
     
     

     
     
     
     
     

     Things You'll Need

     • Heavy corrugated cardboard or thin pressed fiberboard
     • Scissors
     • Utility knife
     • Duct tape
     • Wood glue
     • Clothespin
     • Poster tack