Forensic Engineering

Bongo

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I could have been a Forensic Engineer. I got my half-box French easel today and it is a quality piece of kit. Except for two problems.

The half-box consists of two major parts - the box with the legs -- and the folding easel part that holds the painting. When not in use the easel folds down on top of the box -- but with mine, it is out of alignment by about a half-inch. So it sticks out past the box, and the latches that hold down the easel to the box don't align.

With some sleuthing, I discovered a serial number on the box and another one on the easel. The one on the box is 4727, and the one on the easel is 4767. So human error mismatched the two pieces.
The second problem is with the drawer. They put a taller piece on the front of the drawer to fill the gap made by the mismatched box and easel to (partially) cover up the mistake. Hard to explain without a picture.

But it should not be too difficult to fix. Cut down the drawer and move the screws. One concern is that the new screw holes might be too close to the old ones - but there are ways to work around that -- another concern is there may not be enough play on some of the other parts on the easel to allow for the re-positioning. I'll soon find out.
 
I would have returned it before altering it Bongo. But too late now. Glad you are finding solutions.
 
I would have returned it before altering it Bongo. But too late now. Glad you are finding solutions.
It's fixed! Looks great, works great.
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Ayin - if I had bought it new I would have returned it too. But in the used market half box easels are extremely rare. Lots of full box but no half box. I searched for 6 months to find this one. The fix was relatively painless - just moving a couple brackets.

As it turned out the serial numbers do match... both 4767 - the bottom number was partially covered by a bracket which made it look like a different number.

The misalignment was probably a blessing (for me) - the original owner probably gave up on it for not closing correctly, and barely used it. --- for apparently over 50 years.

the logo on my box (engraved not stenciled)
logox.jpg

In 1974 Mabef moved to a new factory and changed their name from M.a.b.e.f. to MABEF
new logo.jpg


So as near as I can determine my halfbox is about 50 or more years old. just a fun fact.
 

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Ah! I understand now. I must have overlooked it that you bought it used. Seems like a beautiful work of art in and of itself! :)
 
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