Kathryn, thanks for joining this threadbare… er thread.

Swap shop is here: https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=83

There’s a sticky at the top of the Swap Shop with the rules, but apparently most people ignore them.

After no response via the Swap Shop here (but with plenty of looks), I do have it on eBay. Not much action there either, so far.

One of the tweaks I did to the one I have on sale is to provide positive stops for all the hardware… none of them are going to fall off in the wilds (or at home).

If your Soltek’s legs freeze up, as they are wont to do, you might enjoy a Gloucester (AKA Anderson) easel. Can be set up such that I have to reach up to the canvas (I’m 6′ 4″). Can’t be blown over. Beautiful wood and brass, but it does have some weight to it, 9-12 pounds. Also, it takes up a large area when fully set up — you can set it up more compactly if you want.

Two flavors exist.

(1) A not-too-bad and affordable Chinese copy from Jerry’s, the Beauport – http://www.jerrysartarama.com/discount-art-supplies/easels/travel-and-outdoor-easels/beauport-large-format-outdoor-easel.htm

(2) The exquisite and expensive, Vermont-made Take-It-Easel: http://www.takeiteasel.com/

I’ve tweaked my Beauport to make it as effective as the Take-It-Easel, but it took some time and effort to do that. If the $250 – $300 price differential, Beauport to T-I-E, is just chump change to you, by all means go for the T-I-E. A lot of Beauport purchasers later get the T-I-E.

What has befallen your Jullian? It’s of an age that should still be tank-like. Legs break?

The market certainly offers artists many options beyond the French Easel. That may have something to do with it. Sadly as we become an increasingly throw away society the standards of quality seem to slip.

True, especially the second sentence. That, and the fact that a long-faltering economy has driven many of us to seek out the cheapest offering automatically, knowing that there’s more than a chance that good quality may not be there.

Thanks, PCool. And yes, sold, but outside of WC, to a guy making his living with his work. He had just tossed out a Chinese knock-off that had died, so he knew whereof I spoke when I described the MABEF.

I love the French easel. Heavy, yes, and requiring the skill of a juggler to set up. But a good one is well-made and will last literally decades.

I keep hoping to find some secret retail place that carries quality goods, but it seems all have disappeared.

I bought the Frenchie I recently sold as a replacement for my 50s-era MABEF, but then couldn’t bring myself to replace the old one.

I acquired the the old one in a decrepit state some years ago, had to cobble up the entire canvas holder superstructure (previous owner had stripped it off :confused: ), and still am amused by one wondrously warped leg – must have been set up in the middle of a stream.

But it’s practically indestructable, and Jullian’s original design was and still is brilliant.

Stapleton Kearns showed me an excellent technique for set-up, but it’s on the verge of pornographic, so I’d get in trouble describing it here.