Alvin Craftmaster Art Station

I bought this as a gift for my wife almost 8 years ago and it has been a wonderful draft table all these years. I put 4 stars only because the drawers can fall pretty easily if your legs nudge them and they move around quite a bit which can land then on the floor. But you just have to be mindful to adjust them every now and then as you open them. Otherwise we love the table!

Bought this originally because I was frustrated with trying to learn CAD software and just wanted something to hand draft on. Its fairly easy to assemble and the directions are easy to follow. The most difficult part of the assembly is the drawer assemblies - trying to get them to snap together. The metal parts are sturdy and well painted. Assembled - the table is rock solid. The drawer attachment is kind of strange in that the drawers are snap together assemblies and then they slide into two rectangular hoops attached to the under side of the frame on each side. The only thing holding the drawer assembly in place is the pressure of the hoops. It makes it easy to adjust position of drawers or to completely remove them if you like. The table height can be adjusted - however it is kind of a two person job. I was able to do it alone, but two people would be better. And of course the table can be tilted too. I've used this also to sew on and as a computer table. And it works well for both. The only thing I can think of that was a bit disappointing was the casters. They aren't very sturdy and don't roll very well. The kit comes with normal table pads also.

My drawing table came like a week earlier than expected so I don't have anything to complain about as far as the shipping and handling. I do have a problem with the condition that the product came in. And that's the only reason I'm giving it a 4 star instead of a 5 star. For one, the corner on the right side of the table was damaged and it's possible that might have happened during shipping but I have no way of knowing if that's the way it happened. Everything in the box was tightly wrapped in bubble wrap and in styrofoam. The second thing was the drawers seemed like they were not well made and when I tried to snap one of the top drawers onto the bottom during the assembly a crack formed on one of the corners. They should have made the drawers easier to put together.Now as far as putting together the table itself I would definitely recommend using power tools. I used either the Allen and Hex wrenches that the table came with or a combination of screw drivers, pliars and other wrenches that I had, But no power tools and it was very difficult. I also found the instructions missed some detail. For instance, when I put the table base onto the table top I noticed that the pre-drilled holes were not lining up with the brackets across the front cross bar and the tilting mechanisms.Turns out I just had to move the table base back a little bit after I had attached the tilting mechanisms to the table top. But in the manual it shows the tilting mechanisms as being level and not elevated. If you get the drawing table you'll see what I mean. Above all, use power tools because you'll get the job done a lot faster.

This would have been a very nice desk but it was received broken so had to return it and ordered a different desk.

The table is fairly sturdy, although it could use some more cross-bracing.The 3 drawers on the right side installed just fine. But the 3 drawers on the left side were so warped that I could not fit them together. Drawers are very handy. I'm only sorry that the 3 drawers on the left side would not fit together successfully.The wheel castors all broke apart, so I had to replace them with the sliding castors. They work ok. I use the cross bracing to put my feet up almost horizontal which is relaxing.

This art table is great. If I had read more I may have bought one that was a little wider but now that I'm using it I think it will work perfect.

My child loves this desk and me too. I got it few months ago for my 5 years old boy. These are the reasons I got it:1. It's very steady and not that easy to brake ( important for children and parents)2. Easy to use and put together.3. Adjustable (your child can use it forever, good for adults also)4. And the most important: every parent wants his child to be healthy, that's why we have to know some things about children's vision and orthopedic positions while sitting and writing. Very important (especially for younger children) to see things they wright or read not under 30-40 degree angle (like using regular flat desk) but at least 60-70. That's why all desks HAVE to be angled for children not to kill their backs and vision. And it's very sad that school industry nowadays doesn't care about it much. But this is another story...

This is a great, high quality desk, however the setup took hours and was quite confusing. Would be better if the instructions were clearer. The desk itself however is great.