MEEDEN Extra Large Heavy-Duty H-Frame Studio Easel - Solid Beech Wooden Artist Professional Easel, Painting Art Easel Stand with 4 Premium Locking Silent Caster Wheels, Hold Max 82"

This was VERY easy to put together. There are a lot of parts, but every piece is numbered and the various screws come in labeled bags as well- so there is no guess work. I assembled by myself.

Beautifully crafted of hardwood. Very well packaged. Assembly isn't intuitive and the directions (picture drawings) require some study. But, all parts are well marked, including individually bagged hardware sets. The final assembled result is functional and stunning.

Very decent, sturdy, and large easel for the price. Assembly took me about an hour - there was one wrong bolt in my package (rounded end instead of hex nut end). Tools are included but fairly useless. Quite a few of the tensioners work via friction: not sure how well they will hold up long term. There is a limit on how high the lower receiver can be raised, which means that you can't really use small canvasses unless you are willing to sit close to the ground. I love the fact that it can be made to lie horizontal (useful for water based media - probably irrelevant to oil painters). Doesn't wobble when pushing it around. Wood is nice quality. Package is quite heavy, fyi.

Purchased to go with a stool by the same maker. I like this easel because it is made really well and sturdy. Most of the screws went in no problems but I did have problems trying to get some to go in. Felt like the holes on some were not deep enough. By the time I realized that I was not going to get them in using their tools I had screws that were stripped. I had to get my drill and attach a screw bit to help get them in. I did not take any stars away because I feel this easel is of nice qualtiy and heavy duty. Did have some nicks like the stool but all in all a nice easel. I would suggest using your own tools for certain parts if they start to not go in. Very easy to use

This could easily be a 5-star easel but...there are a few issues.The easel is actually a really good easel, and I am glad I got it but I was disappointed with the process. It is very sturdy and was pretty easy to put together, but the shipping/packaging needs some work. No, the shipping and packaging needs a ton of work.The box came damaged with a gaping hole in the side. This could be a UPS issue though so I'm not putting that one on Meeden. The packaging however, was 100% Meeden.I opened the damaged box only to find that several pieces were not even wrapped in bubble wrap and that the pieces looked like they were just thrown in the box. At the very least, the pieces should have been wire tied or strapped together to prevent movement during shipping, but there was nothing of the sort so I ended up with a few parts that were dinged, nothing major but still should never have been like that. Trying not to make a big deal out of it, but when you pay this much for an easel it should be in perfect condition and the packaging should certainly be better than what I received.After a call to Amazon, they offered to have UPS pick it up for free. To the credit of Amazon, the customer rep did try to help out the best they could, but a replacement would take an extended period of time so I decided to give this one a try and put it together anyway. If it didn't work out, I still had the option of the return process, so that was a plus.Putting it together was pretty easy. However, I came across three issues. I was putting a caster on one of the legs, the top of the screw sheared off so only three screws are holding the caster on. The three seem secure so no biggie there. Wouldn't you know it, the same thing happened on the very last caster on the second leg. The head sheared off one of the screws and now there is a caster on each leg with only three screws holding them on. The casters seemed secure but that should never have happened. I think I just got two wonky screws, but I haven’t had any problems with the casters so far.The center long support rail that attaches to the canvas support shelf (the canvas support that has brush storage)- the 4 predrilled screw holes that attach the rail were too large and the screws just slipped out and could not be tightened. Bad manufacturing there but again no biggie. I ended up using four small pocket hole screws slightly larger than the one provided to attach it, made sure they were flat so it could still move up and down and it ended up being super secure. Just glad I have an assortment of hardware like that in my garage.I contacted the company through their website (didn't see any way to contact the company through Amazon's website) and asked for replacement parts for the legs where the caster screws sheared off. They emailed me back rather quickly and asked for photos. I sent them but haven't heard anything yet.I know stuff like this happens and I could have sent the whole thing back, but I honestly really like my easel and the return process is a pain, especially having to repackage such a damaged box.Overall, the easel is actually a really good easel aside from the issues I pointed out. Packaging on my easel was horrid, but you may not experience the same. Just know you can return it. Be very careful with the screws on the casters when you install them.The assembly is pretty simple, just lay the parts out along with the screws/hardware and just follow the picture directions.Just a few other things to consider: This easel is very tall, even at the lowest setting.It is very substantial, meaning it really isn't cheaply made and the wood is heavy. Although not oak, it certainly feels similar in strength.The knobs work great, tighten everything down and it won't move at all. I was worried about canvas wobble, but this is really secure and I haven’t had any canvas wobble or easel wobble at all.You can make it lay flat (horizontal), which turns it into a sort of table for a canvas. I thought that was a pretty interesting and neat feature. Not sure I'd use that much but it is still pretty cool. If you are doing some sort of pouring technique this would be a very useful feature. It might also be a good feature for priming a canvas.This easel looks fantastic, and I would love to give it a 5 star, but the packaging and delivery just ruined the experience. I can even overlook the caster issue but just can't overlook the packaging and delivery issues.Final thoughts: I would certainly buy this easel again and I know my easel will last a very long time. It looks fantastic and makes my home studio complete.

Really beautiful and high quality. Easy assembly but it took probably an hour and a half. The dark wood option isn’t as dark as I was expecting it to be but that’s okay.

I try to keep expectations low…. No need here!!! High quality, super easy to adjust and use! Couldn’t be happier with this easel.

Well worth the money. I was worried about the reviews. I’m glad I didn’t listen! Anything negative is user error. Canvases DO sit flat, if not, you put the side arms on backwards. Some people didn’t get instructions so I decided to add photos here. Holding my 6 foot canvas very sturdy! I really like Meedens products a lot and often use their paints as well!Any issues are likely from user or from shipping. Everything was bubble wrapped very good and in order! It’s big, if you don’t have space, maybe size down. Everything slides smooth and stays tight. Also works with small canvas. A very versitile easel! Thanks Meeden!