Review on Create Masterpieces With MEEDEN Deluxe Crank Adjusting Easel - Heavy Duty Artist Easel For Canvases Up To 83" High In Rosewood Finish by Dave Neal

The directions were mostly clear, but I missed the part about sliding a couple pieces onto the main shaft at some point - that wasn't made clear enough I guess. I disassembled, corrected, and reassembled. Minor set back. Also, be careful not to tighten your canvas clamp too securely, as mine has cracked the wood on the first use. Yikes.Overall though, I love this easel. I use it primarily for Soft Pastel painting in a vertical orientation. I use a 1/4" thick glass (old mirror) backboard to support my Pastelmat paintings (I tape them to it). The 1/4" mirror fits in the groves of the easel easily and stays put even with pressure. I love the huge cubby and use it to hold my in-use pastel pencils as I paint. The easel wipes clean easily after a project. Most of my projects are around 16x20" or smaller. The easel cranks up/down with very little effort, smooth as butter (this was my #1 purpose for purchasing this easel). I appreciate that I can lift the easel to reach the lower parts of my painting without hunching over (as a professional artist, I needed something to help alleviate my backpain from the old draft table that I was using before). My ceilings in my studio are less than 8' and I have not had any issue with clearance yet. I hang my largest canvases (3-6' tall) directly on a wall to paint.I haven't used the drawers yet, but I'm sure they're useful for some people.I don't roll it around, but I love that there's an option to be able to.This was the best price I could find for this style of easel. Other online art stores advertise a cheaper price, but their shipping was over $200 (Nope!).I'm very happy with this purchase.