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4.5
What a cute little table, right? And check out that happy little "Assembly Instructions" message at the front of the assembly manual. What's not to love?That message. Oooh boy, that message. That kept coming back into my mind as I went through the 90+ minute (what??) assembly process. I initially read that message and was literally put into a good mood because of it. I sat down in the floor, fired up some music to have playing in the background, and got to work. I think that happy little message made me take this less seriously than perhaps I should have. See, I typically spend time reviewing the assembly instruction manual for something like this well before starting the actual work. I'll inspect all the parts given me and really try to understand what's ahead of me before proceeding. But with this? With this happy little message at the start? What could go wrong?1st off, you can see how there are 13 listed parts (8 is used twice, so 14, but who's counting?). That should have been my first clue to slow down and take this a bit more seriously. This is a small table, a table that doesn't command much in the way of respect but coupled with 14 separate parts comprising the bulk of the body, I should have realized that the diminutive dimensions would make things more, not less, difficult to work around.Then you get to the metal bits. There are over 75 pieces here as well. In all, you're just a bit shy of 100 unique parts that comprise this small unassuming side-table. Emphasis on the small, too. The boards go together in very specific ways. And they are easy to flip or switch around in the wrong direction, overlooking a placement that will cause you rework as you must back up later to fix. I didn’t respect this enough, having to back track 2 (maybe 3) times during installation. To flip a piece around as I wasn’t paying enough attention to the process during the process.Look at the “Step 4” image with the yellow highlight that I added. The instruction manual technically has what you need to correctly interpret the items needed and how to place them. And even though the instruction manual is a very welcome 8.5” x 11” in size, look at how small the images manifest on the page by the time you consider all the white space and ancillary information. The small dots on board “8” are critical for proper placement. But if you’re just breezing through this, they are hard to see plainly (the size *and* the angles aren’t ideal here) and you could overlook the proper placement of the piece (causing you to back-track later to fix it. This is because the top/bottom of the piece isn’t readily apparent in context and the image needs to be consulted to get it correct.Ok, so I’m a doofus. How is that ChooChoo’s fault? Well check out the included photo. Although the “C” screws in this step didn't technically break all the way through to the other side, they broke through enough to mar the surface and make the item extremely ugly after assembly. The screws are just a hair too long!Then, Step 5 was the killer for me. Understanding it was simple enough, but getting those little “G” screws screwed in? How hard can it be, right? 6 little screws that screw into pre-drilled holes! What could be easier? Well, many of the pre-drilled holes are too narrow relative to the screws going into them with this table. Again, by just a fraction. It causes one to have to exert considerable force to get the screw to bore into the wood. Obviously, that’s good from a stability perspective, but it was terrible in the moment when I realized that none of the screwdrivers I had handy were terribly suitable to the task (being either too large or too small) due to the close confines you find yourself in while trying to complete this step. Thankfully (seriously), the screws were sufficiently strong enough to withstand the high torque needed to crank them. I was really worried for a minute or two that it would be impossible to screw them in without stripping them, but that wasn’t the case.But getting the proper angle and sized head in place while exerting enough force downward to keep the screwdriver from slipping while turning the screw? That herculean task was *almost* too much for me. There were a few minutes where I literally thought that I wasn’t going to be able to do this without getting a more specialized screwdriver for the task. But after much time, frustration, and manipulation, I finally got those dang screws in place.At the end of this process, 90+ minutes of my life were gone, the sides were marred by screws just about ready to poke out of them, and I was sitting (in a full-body sweat mind you) there feeling as if this little table had conquered me!These tables are easy to assemble until you get to the drawer tracks. There are four tracks per drawer. Two go on the drawers sides and two go on the side of the table where the drawer slides in. The drawer tracks have four holes for three screws. Pretty easy to figure out once you find out which tracks go where. There are 13 holes on the table side tracks, with three screws per track. The instruction diagram for these is too microscopic to see detail on which track, or which screws go where. That you'll have to figure that outby trial and error. I can tell you that the tracks on the table side should measure about 3/4 inch from the front of the table when installed properly. The screw holes are marked but not pre-drilled. I'm a strong guy and I had great difficulty screwing the screws into the un-drilled holes. I used an awl to make the holes large enough to accept the screws.This side table is very sturdy. I thought, because of the price, it would be flimsy, but I was wrong. It's very solid. My husband put it together quickly. The only issue he had was the little stickers that mark the pieces left sticky residue.Nice size and nice looking end table BUT I did not get any instructions on how to put it together.Had to check on some pics posted by fellow buyer but the instructions were not in full. I ended up putting it together without the drawer ( which I didn’t really need anyway, fortunately) so it’s a shame.The vendor could at least post the instructions on line. It was a guessing game and not a fun one!Too bad because it’s an ok table for the price. I needed this size so I kept it, but buyer beware. It is NOT easy to put together if, like in my case, there’s no instructions in the package.Just got an answer the same day with all the instructions leaflet.So it deserves to be mentioned and appreciated.My table will still stay without its drawer for the time being but I’m happy to know that if I want to add it, I now know how to do it.I add an extra star for this fast and useful answer.Good height, wide enough shelf to hold extra toilet paper rolls. I use it to push up and steady me when getting up from toilet. I do not want a handicap bar in my bathroom. The corners are sharp when I push up so I added HOIHOO Corner Protector, Safety Baby Proofing Table Corner Guards, Tasteless Corner Covers Safety Furniture Corner Protector for Baby (12 Pack ) feels much better on my hand. Looks good as corners are clear.The value is great. Couple of years ago we bought one like this from a furniture company near us and paid alittle more. This saved us some money to get a very close match to our other tv stand.Assembly was not too bad, until the time to insert the drawer. Very challenging. Once my husband got it in (some how), it is a great little table.Great piece for my terrace, but almost didn’t survive assembly. I had to start over numerous times over several days. It should be noted that I don’t have much experience and I eventually figured it out.
