Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Homemade Wet Panel Carrier

My homemade panel carrier just needs the finishing touches of the carrying strap and latch. I will show the pictures and then give a quick explanation:
Wet panel carrier-front view with lid open.
Wet panel carrier-top view with carrier on side and panels.
So backing up a tiny bit. My little thumbox that I use for plein air painting only holds two 6"x8" wet panels. I have had a bit of trouble with them occasionally slipping and getting into the paint on the palette which sits directly opposite of the panels when the box is closed or underneath the panels when it is open. I want to be able to carry at least three wet panels back home with me so, after a bit of online research, I made my own. 
This little carrier is made from a weather proof moving sale sign which can be found at a hardware store. I glued 1/4" square dowels on the inside to hold the panels apart and upright. I also used Gorilla Tape to hold the whole thing together. The carrier will hold 4 panels. If I get really ambitious and end up staying out for the whole day to paint wave studies, I can still get two into my thumbox for a total of 6 wet panels.
I didn't bother to make a pattern first but took measurements of my panels and cut fold lines into the sign. The whole thing folded into a box with a lid and was taped together. The Gorilla Tape is quite heavy duty and the box feels very sturdy and lightweight. We shall see how it works.
I spent my break time today doing a little online research for lightweight portable shelters that I can paint from in the wind and rain here on the coast. I will be posting the results of that in a few days.
We have a big storm coming in on Friday so tomorrow will be spent getting everything up to speed so we can be snug and warm, which means a trip up the coast to stock up. I will be spending Friday happily painting away in my warm studio.
A final note, I am being slammed with spam comments, which I delete so they haven't made it all the way to the blog. I may have to reinstate the word verification. I really don't want to because I know it is a pain. Hopefully the spammers will give up when they see their comments never get posted.
Storms are sweeping across the U.S so stay safe and warm everyone!

3 comments:

Seip Fine Art said...

Fantastic - love handmade/custom items! Looking forward to seeing how you attach the latch and handle ... I just may have to try your neafty wet panel carrier idea sometime very soon!

Thanks for the awesome post!

Cheers and Happy Painting to you!

~ Polly ~

R. Delight said...

Thank you Polly! I must admit, I really love to tinker and build things so it is a fun way to spend a painting break. I might tackle building my own pochade box as I would like to start painting bigger studies too. Thanks for the comment! -Renee

Linda Nickles said...

What a very cool idea! I love this idea. Thanks so much for sharing.

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