Fancy easels

[Tom Edgerton]

Tim--

I've got a Best Santa Fe I, a nice sturdy well-made thing which shows a lot of craftsmanship. The weak link, however, is the screw bolt that tightens the lower platform on which the painting rests. It is the devil to loosen and move, and then re-tighten. You never know when it's tight or not, and it requires a lot of fiddling to make sure. A couple of times I've thought it was tight only to hear the painting crash down in the middle of the night. Reason enough not to buy another one. The Santa Fe II has a winch mechanism which might eliminate this problem, but I have no experience with it.

When I move into my studio later this year, I'm getting a Hughes--**** the cost. I've seen a couple of them up close, and they are seductively elegant and sublimely easy to maneuver. A better mousetrap.

Best--TE