Help! Fix my French Easel

Everyone has a weakness, handicap, or something you are not good at, no matter how much you try. Whatever you want to call it... my arch-nemesis is hardware and cord setup.
Even with my disadvantages, it is a true miracle I was able to fix my french easel by
myself the other day.
Yes! Hallelujah!
(In my defense I'm good with electronics, some repair, and quickly figuring out how to use programs I have never used before to make up the gap in lack of hardware sense.)

One of my longest running jokes is that if left to my own devices I'll mess up the basics of building a table...

Somehow things would get messed up and the end result would probably be one of the table legs sticking up. In the name of art I'll call it an abstract art installation. Just don't question its function or purpose.

I have a portable french easel, and it somehow always falls apart. The current one I use is less than 2 years old. Unfortunately these have a reputation of not being well made. The other week my easel leg gave out and if I didn't catch it and have assistance in studying the leg everything would of fallen: The paints, painting, palette, coffee, glass jars of turp and everything else.

This whole easel situation has been an ongoing few month process. Sometime last month or two ago I was missing screws and washers from my easel. I was offered assistance from Alex to look for missing parts. we went out to my car to do some CSI investigating: missing screws and washers edition. In the past I have found missing parts, but the investigation and search was inconclusive. The car was clean, there was no solid leads, no spare parts were not found in the empty trunk.

Well the good folks and my artist friends at the drawing group gave me pointers and helped me with how to fix my french easel. This may sound dumb but Alex had this genius idea to finally get my easel fixed once in for all. She mentioned, "You just said you have 3 of these messed up easels. Why don't you take the parts from the other two to make one good one." This was mind blowing life changing advice. This also saved me a trip to the hardware store...which is like a huge art store to an artist.

I finally got to work this week to fix my one of the easels. The back leg reinforcement, middle bar to hold paintings, and other misc. missing screws and washers.

I'm pretty proud of myself for doing this. When I lived at home I would shamelessly get my dad or sister to build my hardware equipment for me. I'd bribe my sister with free lunch or with my dad lay out the pieces separately the way he would like it and a snack. My dad has ADHD...and he can't sit still and focus for long periods of time, so he would build one part, walk away and then build more and then walk away. Even if he wanted to ignore it, he couldn't. Sometimes it would take all day or more but it was worth the wait to get my stuff built. The only thing I've built in my studio by myself and has nothing wrong with it is my computer chair. I got it with art scholarship money. I was excited and impatient to wait for anyone else to come home and build it for me that I actually built it myself!

While I was at it I finally added the wheels that came with the easel.

This time I have wheely done it!
My easel didn't fall apart at the drawing group today!