Trip to Atlanta

I went down to Atlanta today to pick up the canvas. The roll was 120" wide by 6yds, Fredrix "Dixie-123". This is a fairly heavy cotton canvas with a medium toothed surface. It is pre-primed but I plan to add an additional layer of Utrecth professional gesso before using it. This is to make sure that I have the surface well sealed. I had already ordered the painting supplies and got word today they it would arrive Friday, 31.  Since the finished painting will be shipped un-stretched in a roll I'll have to construct a temporary stretcher. I thought I had a plan for mounting the canvas which was three sheets of 1/2" plywood joined on the backside. I'm worrying about the weight and how that's going to affect attaching the canvas. I'm now thinking about making stretcher bars, with supports, from 2x4's then attach 1/4" ply to the front. This should bring down the weight a great deal and make the stretcher much easier to handle. I will probably make a decision tomorrow.