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- Verified Buyer
I wanted a simple stand of sorts to hold a network printer, but found many of the generic "printer stands" to be outlandishly priced, some of them no more than a piece of plastic which cost as much as the printer. Instead, I decided to get this because it was the exact size I wanted, and black would look good with the other office furniture. It also provides a shelf.I don't like "compressed wood shaving" furniture, such as this, but for the price and the simple purpose, I wasn't going to find something much better for less short of building it myself, and didn't have the time.PROS:* Value, it's a good balance between cost and what you get in return* Simple assembly, anyone can do this; the instructions come in English and Spanish* Good looking black laminate, better than some I've seen elsewhere* Shelf has lots of mounting height optionsCONS:* It's a soft wood material, don't abuse it, and don't crank down hard while assembling* Slight wobble on mine, not an "off balance" wobble, but a "loose wood fittings" wobble due to the soft wood* Imperfection from the factory, as seen in photoSHIPPING / ASSEMBLY:The table is shipped in the box it comes in from the factory, which has adequate protection. Upon opening you'll find the sections neatly packed together, with easy to follow instructions, and all of the pieces to assist you assemble. They actually included more plastic dowel pins (8) than the assembly or instructions called for (4). Assembly only took a few minutes, and the table looks good when assembled. Anyone who can use a screwdriver and a small hammer can assemble this.CONCERNS:Because of the nature of the material, compressed wood, it's not as sturdy as normal wood. Additionally, sometimes when these are manufactured and the holes are drilled, the holes end up a smidge larger than intended because the wood is more easily shaved away. When this happens, some of the fittings don't fit "tightly", they end up a little loose. Sometimes this doesn't cause issues, but sometimes it allows a little bit of wobble.In my case, there was just a smidge. They have you nail on the back piece which encloses the table, but also provides a modicum of "squaring" to keep wobble to a minimum, but be aware any good knocks to the side or any amount of use other than just sitting things on top, could cause the wobble to increase over time.Another problem is that during manufacture or assembly, the wood can easily split or cause surface imperfections in the laminate. When I opened my package, I found one of the pieces in the middle of the package had been damaged at the factory. This wasn't a shipping issue since the piece was sandwiched safely between other pieces. It appears that one of the holes, while being drilled, caused a rift in the wood. This contributes slightly to the wobble, and also causes the aesthetic appeal to drop a little bit.For me, neither is a big issue since it will hold something in the corner of an office next to a table, but I might have returned it if I was concerned about folks seeing it.SUGGESTION:It includes some soft pads for "feet" so the table doesn't scratch up any soft flooring (which would actually be impossible), or to prevent it from sliding around. Because this is a soft compressed wood material, my concern would be that over time with any decent amount of weight on it (more than just a lamp), the feet might cause pressure points which bulge the wood out. You could safely not use the padded feet, without fear of it scratching anything or sliding around.If you absolutely have to have some sort of padding, go to your local hardware store and get the thin strips of stick on rubber which are used for padding or to prevent things from sliding around, and make sure you cover the whole area of the bottom of the table evenly, so weight is dispersed evenly.OVERALL:I'm pleased with the product so far, I'll know more over the next few weeks as it settles in with the weight of the printer on it, while the printer gets some use. It includes a shelf, and plenty of pre-drilled spots to set the shelf. As I said in my title, I'd be much happier if the product I received cost about ten bucks less. Because of the factory imperfection and the wobble, I drop an otherwise 5 star rating to 4.
