Sienna Studio Counterweight Easel

Solidly built. Shipping and packaging were excellent. Assembly was super easy. The only problem I have with this easel is the design of the middle painting support. It wobbles side to side too much because it is only tightened at the center. Two pieces of cardboard or thick felt sandwiched between the easel and the left and right sides of the middle support fixes this easily. But this should be fixed by the designers. Other than that, great product.

This easel is marvelous. I was looking to upgrade my set up, but I'm restricted by my 8 foot ceilings (which were a problem when I'd paint small with my last easel). I can't afford a Hughes easel, so I made my choice between the Sorg super 8 (I didn't like the absence of a center mast and it seemed too minimalist), the Best Sante Fe 2 (Too tall and the top canvas holders don't descend all the way), and this easel. It's a beautiful piece of furniture and performs exactly as show in the You Tube video. I work on pieces generally as small as 8x10 and no bigger than 24x36. It handles all of these sizes well and I haven't even needed the bottom canvas holder. My only reservation is that when I'm working on paintings in the top position, it's a little inconvenient to move the easel up and down - the controls are a bit low. But this is something I can live with. The wobbly center canvas holder previously mentioned is exaggerated. Once it's cinched into place, I didn't even notice. However, adding felt pads made it much more difficult to maneuver. Get this easel. It is worth every penny. And probably more.

This is a NEARLY PERFECT STUDIO EASEL. It is built using a beautiful, dense hardwood. Hardware is high quality. Finish is flawless. The counterweight design is in my opinion superior to large easels with winches. It adjusts up and down effortlessly, and you can easily adjust the tilt front to back with two knobs on either side. There is a 72 inch limit for the vertical dimension of a canvas, so if you routinely work larger than that, you may need something else. I also noticed the flaw mentioned in Miracleman’s review. The middle painting support does tend to wobble. HERE IS A FIX: * Get a package of Felt’s Company (152-Piece) Floor Defense Large Variety Pack of Peel and Stick Ultra-Strong Adhesive Eco-Friendly Felt Pads to Protect Floors Across Your Entire Home - Brown Amazon sells them: Felt's Company (152-Piece) Floor Defense Large Variety Pack of Peel and Stick Ultra-Strong Adhesive Eco-Friendly Felt Pads to Protect Floors Across Your Entire Home - Brown * Attach two of the largest disks in the positions shown in the photos. This will completely eliminate the wobble. With this addition you will definitely have a five star easel.