ALVIN Portable Parallel Straightedge Board 24" x 36"

So, this isn't the most amazing piece of equipment on the market. I'd rather have a nice sturdy, glides super smooth, big drafting table with tons of surface area, but as an architectural design student, I lack the space and $$$. So,this is what I went with and I have to say it's pretty awesome. It fits perfectly on my round kitchen table and provides a nice solid surface to draw on. The parallel rule can be a little finicky from the box but a few minor adjustments and it works like a charm. Be patient. The angle isn't as steep as I would prefer but it's a minor "con". It actually forces me to stand up during my project which is better for my circulation anyways. The handle is great. I have to put it up each and every night since I have kids and they ruin everything. A nice sturdy handle to transport it from room to room is wonderful. I had a small issue with the wire coming off one of the roller tracks, but I tightened the screws attached to the rollers and haven't had an issue since. So, like I said before, a few minor adjustments out of the box and all is well. Overall, I'm very pleased. Before I got this I was using a drawing board I used in art school. It was very time consuming trying to get straight lines and not to mention my back hurt from hunching over the board. I bit the bullet and bought this and even with the small incline, it makes a world of difference when spending hours and hours on a drawing. The parallel bar saves a ton of time and frustration. No, it's not the greatest thing ever and I look forward to getting a real drafting table when I grow up, but this has definitely been worth the purchase.

A guy in my calligraphy class had one of these and after using so many portable versions of this type of angled board this is not only the best looking but it works SO well. I bought one the minute I saw it and never looked back. A perfect tool for any art project.

Well, it is a pretty good portable board for drawing. After adjusting the wire system, the parallel bar works flawlessly. I was able to improve it by adding some felt tape to the inside knobs so it does not slide plastic on plastic, which makes it move very smoothly. The angles are comfortable, and you can get it to tilt forward more by resting the edge over the table, which is a nice feature. Note that this only gives you a few more degrees... It is not as versetile as a drafting table or a wacom stand that can do any angle. It is plenty sturdy though. If you really want it steeper, you could just set some wood under the feet, or better yet, attach some folding shelf brackets to the back. I would stay away from the smaller models, as the wire system will prohibit you from using this in your lap, or in bed. This is really designed to be used on a table. The board came with some faint scratches on the surface, and one of the pulley wheels was off center. Alvin sent me a replacement pully quickly, which was nice and convenient. The scratches are not a big problem, they are barely visible, and I have a vynil cover over the board anyhow. Vyco covers work well. I got a transparent one and secured it to the top of the board with some 3M mounting tape. This allows me to put reference images underneath.

I was looking for a board to use with 18" x 24" sketching paper. This fits the bill perfectly. The board was well packaged, I was concerned at first because it was not secondarily packaged and there were some dents. But upon opening, it was obvious that the the generous perimeter padding had made sure there were no dings. As a former architect, I will testify this is no professional Mayline parallel rule, but it works perfectly fine and has an acceptable smooth action that stays parallel. It also has several adjustment options that work well. The drafting surface is smooth and well attached.

First of all, this drawing board was just what I wanted. Nice and big. Hence the 5 stars given to IT. BUT it has been rendered completely useless by the shoddy packaging. I've owned drawing boards like this before and it takes EFFORT to do this much damage. The packaging was in a shambles when it arrived. The cardboard was thin, flimsy and wholly inadequate to the task protecting a precision technical drawing surface. The only things holding the cardboard box together were plastic shipping straps. When I cut those, the box fell completely apart. ALL of the glued surfaces on the cardboard had come unglued. None of the protecting styrofoam for the corners of the board, the work surface, straightedge knobs, carrying handle was in place because there was NOTHING holding these bits in place. The drawing surface had gouges, the plastic finishing on the edges of the drawing board was broken off and bits were missing, two knobs for adjusting the straightedge were gone and the carrying handle had been completely stripped from the back with screws missing. Any protrusion (like the rubber feet) had poked through the cardboard. The box had disintegrated and provided ZERO protection to what would have been an absolutely stunning drawing board. I'd love to ship it back in the original packaging but it's not worth the effort. Perhaps I'll wrap it up in old newspaper to return it. That would just about equal the lack of quality protection given to the drawing board.

I have been drawing and drafting professionally for 40 years. This board was exactly as described. Which was a pleasant surprise for me. The parallel bar needed a bit of tweaking, but so do all boards when new.

really worked for what I needed. like the adjustable knobs to fine tune adjustments held true

Although a bit more expensive than some of the others out there, don’t bother with anything other than this drafting table! It is excellent!! My only reservations are that the rubberized bumper on the levered ruler wasn’t glued on well and I’ve since had to remove it. But this is a totally minor issue. One thing I would have liked was a ruled surface, but thankfully an old cutting board for quilting fits perfectly underneath. Overall, don’t bother with other products — this is what you want to have!

Very happy with product and delivery service

J'ai bien apprécier le souci à laquelle le vendeur a pris soin de procéder à l'emballage du coli.

Product was as good as it was advertized. Met my expectations for my requirements. I wpould recommmend this product to anyone looking for a drafting board.

J'ai beaucoup utilisée cette table à dessin 24x36 pouces pour l'université en architecture: la règle reste fixe lorsque vissée sur les côtés, il a aussi des appuis ouvrables pour l'accoter sur une table, ce qui est très pratique. Toutefois, la règle glisse moins bien et cela reste cher pour une règle parallèle.