Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I made two errors before I ordered this: I looked saw 100% 5-star by 22 reviewers, and I did not go measure something similar to this "Extra Large" version. It is pretty small actually. So here is my take. As a qualifier, I know something about wood. I am NOT a cabinet or box builder; but, I DO build solid wood tables and do finish carpentry. I am not an art painter, etc. by any means. This is a gift for someone. Unboxing this I was surprised at how small the box was. I did hear a rattle around inside, but it turned out to be the thumbscrew that holds the vertical riser in place was not in the bag with the other parts. No breakage as others have described whatsoever. For those that don't want to read a lot: Pro: Price. Almost. This needs some mods to make it what I expected. Wood. Well, mostly. Read on. Oil finish. Yes and no. Again, read on. Handle is real leather. Screwed in rather than pass through fastener has me worried about it pulling out. Con: A SMALL Extra Large. Hate to see the medium LOL. Brass fittings? NOT. Unless the Chinese have invented magnetic brass. Attention Amazon! When it says brass, brass-plated doesn't qualify--FTC regulation! Unsealed. Except for the bottom support piece, I see nothing that looks "Oil Finish." A drop of water did not bead either! The wood grain raised a little. Masonite (knock off) with neither side tempered (shiney) drawer bottoms and separator. Sanded? Maybe a little. Outside top and bottom panels look more like thin laminate wood than even birchwood ply Divided drawers. ?? The only division I found was a piece of Masonite between the two drawers. Drawer height. They won't fit the large size acrylic paint tubes. The top section will. Some fixes and ideas: For people that get their cuff caught on the heads of the bolts holding the lower bracket/rest on: Those are carriage bolts. The square just below the head is for it to grab the wood so the wing nut can tighten. The fix is simple. Take it to the hardware store and buy two replacements (3/16"). Get brass this time, but NOT carriage bolts! Just get round head slotted screws and put them on using an appropriate screw driver. Actually, you can use a brass flat washer and nut and leave the part attached. An acorn nut would be even better since you wouldn't scrape your hand when messing around inside that top section. For those doing that beach or on-the-trail paint: you had better seal this thing. ESPECIALLY the masonite drawer bottoms and separator. And, especially the edges!! Water will warp that stuff badly. Anything from laquer, Krylon or Rustoleum clear, or polyurethane. Spray is okay--outside. I intend to finish this the way I do tables. Pure Tung oil (not that Formsby stuff that isn't tung) 1:1 with turpentine or citrus-based thinner. Either way it is FDA food safe after the thinner evaporates, so it's safe for kids too. DO NOT water color, acrylic, gesso the Masonite first. It must be sealed. Just as though you were actually painting Masonite. (Masonite was even used for exterior siding for a time, but required absolute sealing of the edges before painting.) If you are painting boards, signs, etc. for some folksy stuff, put the bottom rest on backwards, do the mouse pad piece trick and rest the board there while you paint. Making it do as intended: I'm with the reviewer that drilled extra holes higher up for the bottom rest. In fact, I will do two sets of holes; one for the 8x10 canvases and another for those 4x5 minis she does also. If you look at the product pictures on Amazon closely you will see that the bottom of the canvas does NOT sit inside that lower bracket--it is resting on it. Actually, that slot it creates is barely 3/4", so a 1/2" canvas might drop in. But you want to paint to the edge anyway. When you get up to 16x20 or 20x24 canvases of quality they are usully stretched on 5/8" to 3/4" pieces. Rather than go cutting the lip off or re-creating the bottom shelf piece, flip it over. A piece of a mouse pad contact cemented with the rubber side up should grip anything with the slight pressure the upper bar puts down. To those reviewers that use the words "quality" or "well built," please take another look. The edges aren't sealed, glued masonite bottoms, the drawer corners are rough, and the slot for the vertical riser brace is bigger than the arm. Look at the pictures! In fact, one of the pin nails used to hold the bottom on while the glue set up is actually on the outside of a drawer side. The bracket on the inside that the long arm slides down through is raised and tilted on one side!! That is a urethane Gorilla Glue small project that will make it stronger than any other part. The unit is more like a "blem" or second. I have a hard time finding a use for the two drawers. The sides of the upper one are ALMOST the same as its space. The sides of the bottom drawer on the rig I got is a full 1/4" lower than the space. Think about it! Put pencils, brushes or other thin items in there and where are they going when you lift this up by the handle? Yep, down to the back of the drawer. Then they will either jam the drawer or fall past the back of it. Not good. Speaking of brushes. The lack of lengthwise dividers makes putting brushes in there useless. If you could put brushes in (a divider) with the bristles facing the front of the drawer, they would be up when you travel. As it is, this has too much chance of deforming a brush. Okay, would I buy it again? Not at this price. Maybe at $10 less to cover part of the cost of "fixes." Recommend? For a child or a REAL LOW END starter kit. Yes--if you seal it. Otherwise spend the $100 to 150 and get something real. Why did I keep it then? Time. And, doing an exchange doesn't let me know I'd get one any better. I'm kind of intrigued by upgrading it. I am NOT a paid reviewer. I did NOT get this free nor did I get any discount whatsoever. SO, no whitewash here. LOL