This easel can't be beat for the price offered here on amazon. I have only two critiques that could probably be fixed if you're handy. First off the sliding pieces that clamp the canvas only tighten on one side so they tend to tilt if too much weight is placed on them, secondly, there are no grooves on the pieces that hold up the canvas so unless you're working on something thick your piece might slide off. However, overall it's a truly great easel, it's very sturdy, it's easy to move/transport and collapse, and it's great whether you're working large or small or with any medium since the easel will tilt into a table position. I would definitely recommend this easel to anyone without a lot of space and a small budget or really anyone who wants a great standard easel with some fancy features.
My easel arrived with some damage, but I did not return it, nor was my rating influenced by this damage. I assume the damage occurred during shipping, and the many holes in the box were repaired with tape by either the shipper, or the shipping service. One of the front base knobs was hit hard enough that the entire bolt was bent 45 degrees. The knob is still usable, and thankfully it is an adjustment that won't see much activity. The easel was also missing one wingnut, and one of the hinges was bent.
The lack of instructions was not a problem, and I was able to assemble everything within a few minutes, however, I have some experience assembling other easels which may have helped. The folding mechanism can indeed introduce complexity, but after folding and unfolding the easel slightly, it is easy to see what is going on and how it works.
The easel itself is really not that great. It is just barely what you would expect from a cheap easel, and not worth the $100 I paid. It does work, and I am using it. It is currently holding a 48" canvas without too much trouble. It is not level, and rocks slightly, but this only affects larger brush-strokes on large canvases. Compared to other H frames, this is not notably strong or sturdy, especially in tabletop mode. Much of this should be expected with the folding base design, and I would strongly encourage other would-be buyers to really consider whether they truly need that option. I believe that most people will rarely, if ever, use this feature. By including it in this product, you are compromising the strength of the unit overall.
The wheels are a nice feature, and the entire unit rolls well. I really do like this feature, but I also acknowledge that a set of wheels could be easily added to any H frame.
The wood is reasonably finished and decent quality. Some of the slides are not routed fully or finished properly, and my canvas support assembly is warped slightly. This defect makes adjustments jerky.
The knob placement is ridiculous. Support knobs are placed to one side of the canvas support spine, and there is only one knob per support, so the supports will not stay level. Do not attempt to fix this by simply tightening the knob. The wood backstops are made of very cheap particle board, and will split if you try to lock the canvas supports down tightly. I split mine. I will be adding dual knobs to each of the three supports, in addition to a better quality backing for the sliding supports. A better quality purchase up-front would have saved me some trouble.
If you have ever had the pleasure of using a good, solid, easel, you will be disappointed in this one. I purchased this as a stopgap, and would not purchase it again. Consider some of the other easels in this price range, and forgo the folding tabletop design unless you really can't live without it. Consider more easel and less features.
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This easel is so cool but needs to come with an operator's manual so that I don't hurt it while getting it to bend all the ways that it will & to put the extra turn handle to best use. It folds flat. That's huge for relocating. It folds to a table top at sitting level. That's huge too for users like me who want to draw on a flat surface as much as stand to paint. It's smooth to roll around. I'm going to check around for instructions & will update the review then. So far, so good.
I'd welcome suggestions from those who have experience with this product.
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When I received the package I could tell just by looking at it that the integrity of my purchase was compromised. There were gaping holes in the box, one on the front and one on the top where a part of the easel was actually sticking out. After opening the box I noticed the bracket pieces were thinly wrapped and were not really secured to anything. They were simply left to bounce around inside the box. This caused critical damage to brackets leaving them chipped and in precarious condition. The easel itself was not wrapped or protected in any way. There were missing pieces of the easel as well and I can only assume it was because of the insecure packaging and holes in the box. The easel itself, pieces aside, held up quite well. The wood material is quite strong and looks great. I can't actually use the product so I'm only basing this review off of what I can see. The structure itself doesn't take up too much space and it really does seem like a great product, especially considering the deal. But I did not pay for my product to be viciously rattled inside a box.
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I bought THREE of these. TWO of the boxes were battered and ripped open in several placed.
ONE of the easels was missing almost all of it's small items (bolts, wing nuts, knobs, washers, etc.), a couple of the metal bars were bent and the knob for securing the mast in place was bent in such an angle that the opening was gouged out larger too large to the hold the knob anymore.
This was the first box I opened... The SECOND box was torn open too but only missing a couple of parts, so I plucked them from the first easel and had ONE good easel. This encouraged me to open the third box....
This THIRD box came without any torn holes so all the pieces were there . . . but the wood slide area for the mast was warped. I proceeded to put this one together by disassembling the first easel and replacing the thirds one's mast slide (sorry, don't know the technical term for this). Had it all together then found that the base was also warped when I attached the wheels, so the whole thing rocked. The holes were drilled unevenly and if I wanted to drill my own in the correct place, it'd be too close to the first hole, so that was out of the question. I again 'vulturized' the first easel by removing it's base and used it to put the third one together.
I put what was left of everything back together (which is the first easel) and am shipping it back.
1 out of 3 is LOUSY odds!
If the third one had not been warped I would have replaced the first one. If I hadn't needed the easels for that evening's class, I would have send the third one back as well.
The photos look good but the product stinks. They're also made in China something I didn't realize until I saw the stickers attached to the easels themselves.
With these easels you don't even get what you pay for. To get one decent easel, you'll have to order three... do yourself a favor and pay a little extra and go with a brand you can trust.
