Took almost a month to arrive but we are currently in a pandemic so Im not stressed about the delivery of any of my packages! Just know it takes a while (at least for me it did) ALSO, the screws are incredibly hard to screw in ... it literally doesnt make any sense ... my hands are SCREAMING ! It feels like Im basically screwing the grooves in there myself ! I dont think there were any to align with the screws ...Im struggling to get the screws all the way in the chair to make it sturdy ... I definitely wont be buying this again sorry
Now, the chair itself is beautiful, simple and sturdy. The process to build it is beyond ridiculous. The screws dont fit into the holes and requires a lot of effort and strength put together. I had to use a mouse pad to hold the dowels in place to screw them in. Also, the plugs dont fit either so you have to hammer them in. DO NOT HAMMER THEM BARE. You will mess up the chair. I used a mouse pad but you can use a dish cloth to soften the blows to the wood so you wont damage it.
Perhaps I got a defective one but it may have to go back. The holes are not drilled large enough for the screws and the included hex wrench is simply not strong enough for drilling the screws into wood. It seems like a fine stool, I just can't assemble it with the condition I received it in.
None of the hardware fit and there wasnt enough of it. I had to drill every hole to make it larger so any of the hardware would fit. But... it was cheap and Im using it as a plant stand so I wasnt super concerned about how sturdy it is.
The fit and finish of the wood was great. The problem i had was the screws used to assemble the stool. They were about 1 inch long, size 14 allen head screws. The pilot holes drilled for the screws were too small making it very very difficult to assemble.
The stool seems sturdy enough once assembled, and the looks pretty much match what you would expect for the price.
Assembly is not easy at all. The supplied allen wrench is completely inadequate by itself for this task. As others have noted, it has a short handle, it's slightly smaller than the the screw head hole (perhaps a mismatch between metric and some other size), and you really need two of them to screw in the screws on the rungs, using one on each side so the rungs don't simply spin as you attempt to drive the screws in. This problem is compounded by the size of the screw threads (very large) and the size of the pilot holes (relatively small) -- i.e., it requires very significant force to turn the screws in. I saved myself some trouble by using a power drill (despite the warning not to use power tools) to drive the screws 95% of the way in, at which point my drill ran out of torque. (Possibly due to a low battery.) I finished it off by hand with two of my own allen wrenches, one on each side. Attaching the legs to the seat was not nearly as challenging. Hopefully, the difficulty of assembly indicates that once finished it will stay together firmly over time.
I haven't attempted yet to install the wood plugs that cover the screws. I plan to wait a couple of weeks or so to see if anything loosens up before I do. From other reviews, it appears that presents some challenges of its own.
Working on assembly right now and it's near impossible to get the large screws in the tiny pre-drilled holes. Might give up and use it for kindling. Can't speak to how it'll hold when finished, so I'll give it an extra courtesy star.
I'll start with the pros for this very inexpensive stool:
It appears to actually be solid wood. The finished stool feels nice and is very sturdy, solid, and is a very nice weight. It's level and even (not wobbly or shaky at all)
Now for the bad stuff:
With what is provided in the box, I would not have been able to complete the assembly because of the reasons below.
The provided hardware (screws, wrench, wood plugs) are pretty much garbage. The screws and wrench are made of very soft metal and easily deform. One screw stripped, as did the hex wrench. I had to use my own hex wrench to finish the job. The wood plugs (used to cover the screw holes once assembly is complete) were of varying sizes, and some of them did not fit (either too big or too small).
The pilot holes for the screws were hilariously undersized. I had to drill them out bigger so the screws could actually be used with a hex wrench. A drill driver probably could have made it work, but I didn't have a 6mm hex head driver bit handy. Turns out 5/16 was the bit size that worked out to enlarge the pilot holes. Once I got the holes sized up, it was a breeze to complete the project.
If you have your own tools and don't mind doing the extra work, you'll end up with a pretty nice stool for cheap. If you're not at least a little handy with wood/tools, I'd suggest going with a different option.
Perfect!! Exactly what I was looking for and at a reasonable price. A little advice, however 1) Use the correct size allen wrench. NOT the one sent with the product. 2) Soap the screw threads beforehand to facilitate easier installation. Hope this helps! ?
Reviews
Meh
Rickety and tough to put together. Holes don't all match up.
Incredibly hard to assemble because of screws!!!
Took almost a month to arrive but we are currently in a pandemic so Im not stressed about the delivery of any of my packages! Just know it takes a while (at least for me it did) ALSO, the screws are incredibly hard to screw in ... it literally doesnt make any sense ... my hands are SCREAMING ! It feels like Im basically screwing the grooves in there myself ! I dont think there were any to align with the screws ...Im struggling to get the screws all the way in the chair to make it sturdy ... I definitely wont be buying this again sorry
Sturdy but a pain to put together.
Now, the chair itself is beautiful, simple and sturdy. The process to build it is beyond ridiculous. The screws dont fit into the holes and requires a lot of effort and strength put together. I had to use a mouse pad to hold the dowels in place to screw them in. Also, the plugs dont fit either so you have to hammer them in. DO NOT HAMMER THEM BARE. You will mess up the chair. I used a mouse pad but you can use a dish cloth to soften the blows to the wood so you wont damage it.
You Better Be Quite Strong
Perhaps I got a defective one but it may have to go back. The holes are not drilled large enough for the screws and the included hex wrench is simply not strong enough for drilling the screws into wood. It seems like a fine stool, I just can't assemble it with the condition I received it in.
Hardware didnt fit.
None of the hardware fit and there wasnt enough of it. I had to drill every hole to make it larger so any of the hardware would fit. But... it was cheap and Im using it as a plant stand so I wasnt super concerned about how sturdy it is.
Very hard putting screws in.
The fit and finish of the wood was great. The problem i had was the screws used to assemble the stool. They were about 1 inch long, size 14 allen head screws. The pilot holes drilled for the screws were too small making it very very difficult to assemble.
Assembly can be challenging
The stool seems sturdy enough once assembled, and the looks pretty much match what you would expect for the price. Assembly is not easy at all. The supplied allen wrench is completely inadequate by itself for this task. As others have noted, it has a short handle, it's slightly smaller than the the screw head hole (perhaps a mismatch between metric and some other size), and you really need two of them to screw in the screws on the rungs, using one on each side so the rungs don't simply spin as you attempt to drive the screws in. This problem is compounded by the size of the screw threads (very large) and the size of the pilot holes (relatively small) -- i.e., it requires very significant force to turn the screws in. I saved myself some trouble by using a power drill (despite the warning not to use power tools) to drive the screws 95% of the way in, at which point my drill ran out of torque. (Possibly due to a low battery.) I finished it off by hand with two of my own allen wrenches, one on each side. Attaching the legs to the seat was not nearly as challenging. Hopefully, the difficulty of assembly indicates that once finished it will stay together firmly over time. I haven't attempted yet to install the wood plugs that cover the screws. I plan to wait a couple of weeks or so to see if anything loosens up before I do. From other reviews, it appears that presents some challenges of its own.
Assembly is a task
Working on assembly right now and it's near impossible to get the large screws in the tiny pre-drilled holes. Might give up and use it for kindling. Can't speak to how it'll hold when finished, so I'll give it an extra courtesy star.
Once assembled (difficult), it's a good stool.
I'll start with the pros for this very inexpensive stool: It appears to actually be solid wood. The finished stool feels nice and is very sturdy, solid, and is a very nice weight. It's level and even (not wobbly or shaky at all) Now for the bad stuff: With what is provided in the box, I would not have been able to complete the assembly because of the reasons below. The provided hardware (screws, wrench, wood plugs) are pretty much garbage. The screws and wrench are made of very soft metal and easily deform. One screw stripped, as did the hex wrench. I had to use my own hex wrench to finish the job. The wood plugs (used to cover the screw holes once assembly is complete) were of varying sizes, and some of them did not fit (either too big or too small). The pilot holes for the screws were hilariously undersized. I had to drill them out bigger so the screws could actually be used with a hex wrench. A drill driver probably could have made it work, but I didn't have a 6mm hex head driver bit handy. Turns out 5/16 was the bit size that worked out to enlarge the pilot holes. Once I got the holes sized up, it was a breeze to complete the project. If you have your own tools and don't mind doing the extra work, you'll end up with a pretty nice stool for cheap. If you're not at least a little handy with wood/tools, I'd suggest going with a different option.
A little advice
Perfect!! Exactly what I was looking for and at a reasonable price. A little advice, however 1) Use the correct size allen wrench. NOT the one sent with the product. 2) Soap the screw threads beforehand to facilitate easier installation. Hope this helps! ?
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