# DIY bow front canopy



## mfarmarco (Aug 11, 2007)

I made this in a few hours.
The sides and back a 1x material and the front is actually vinyl 3/8 material which is very expensive but it was given to me otherwise I would have bought wood.
I used little chocks I cut as supports. I wont give you measurements because if you use different dimensions than they would be useless.
What ever size wood you use just subtract the height of the plastic rim from the height of the canopy and thats the size of the chocks you use. Just make them flush to the top of the canopy.
The most important measurement was the degrees of the angle at whish I cut the miters which was 25 degrees. I used screws and brads for this project.The center support brace that I installed can be installed on the bottom if you with to attach your light fixtures to the canopy instead.








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## imusuallyuseless (Dec 28, 2005)

Nice :thumb:


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## Aqua_Horn (Jul 31, 2007)

mfarmarco said:


> I made this in a few hours.
> The sides and back a 1x material and the front is actually vinyl 3/8 material which is very expensive but it was given to me otherwise I would have bought wood.


Man, that looks fantastic! I have one question. I can see how you can flex the vinyl material, but how would you have "bowed" the canopy had you used wood? I was thinking about making a bowfront canopy out of wood myself... For the bowed piece I was thinking I would have to laminate a bunch of thin pieces of wood together against a bowed block of wood to keep it's shape.


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

If you use thin plywood (1/8" from a craft store) it should bow easily. You can also use 1/4 ply, but you would need to cut shallow grooves on the backside about every 1-2" (about an 1/8" deep) with a table saw.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

MalawiLover said:


> If you use thin plywood (1/8" from a craft store) it should bow easily. You can also use 1/4 ply, but you would need to cut shallow grooves on the backside about every 1-2" (about an 1/8" deep) with a table saw.


I have done this with up to 3/4" thick wood (nominal 1") but there is something better now. The facing boards for decks that are made from recycled plastic can easily be bowed even though they can be thick. They have an embossed wood grain" on them. They are more waterproof than wood. You could buy a precolored piece. Staining them may not work but most exterior household paints will.


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## dart_king (Apr 28, 2008)

ok, the pictures arnt working for me


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