mel miller
equine art
STAND CARE AND ASSEMBLY
Stands can be cleaned with a microfiber cloth for quick cleanup, or washed with soapy water and set out to air dry. Lens wipes are also ok to use since they are formulated for plastic, but not other cleaners. Paper towels or other cloths may scratch the plexiglass.
All stands ship with an extra set of clasps in case those fragile parts break in shipping. Hopefully all of the clasps survive (they usually do) and you have an extra set, just in case!
To assemble your stand, follow the directions below. These directions are for one of the most complex stands (three unique support legs rather than the typical two, and multiple clasps that attach from opposite sides). Easier stands to assemble, like simple squares, follow the same directions but with fewer steps.
First, set up your stand pieces for assembly in the correct order. Make sure the face of your stand back is facing down. Set it on a table, and then set the legs flat right next to the stand back so the sides are easy to keep track of.
Many stands have identical legs - these are easy, just put one leg on each side and lay them down so that the insertion tabs point towards the stand back as shown. Some stands are more complex like Cyclone's. In this case, identify which leg pieces have tabs that align with the slots in the stand back. If a leg piece is open at the notch in the back, it is the middle leg. You can set this one in the same place shown in the graphic so it's out of the way but easy to reach.
Before assembling the easel back, identify which setting you want to use for display. The upright setting shown in green is great for shelf display, and the reclined setting shown in pink is better if the medallion will be viewed primarily from above.
Here is where the setup in the first step helps out. Imagine the legs turning up so that the tabs point towards the table/the stand back and the flat back edge points towards you. Turning up one leg at a time, slide the easel back into whichever display slot you have chosen, making sure to use the same angle for both legs.
Keep a finger on the ends of the tabs so the legs don't fall off and...
...set the leg tabs into the slots in the stand back. Don't push the pieces together yet, first, check that they are aligned. If you have a middle leg, you can either set it in its slots first, or slide it between the top and bottom layers. Be very gentle with the middle leg at this point as the thin plexiglass by the display setting slots is fragile.
Once all pieces are aligned, pick up the stand while keeping the pieces in place as much as possible, and click all of the tabs fully into their slots.
Take care not to force pieces together, twist, or pull too hard if taking the stand apart. I test fit all stands before shipping, so they are guaranteed to fit, but sometimes the fit is a little tight. If you have checked that all pieces are properly aligned and they don't slip into place, applying pressure as evenly as possible (so that the pieces don't twist relative to each other too much) should do the trick!
Finally, with the legs and easel back attached to the front, the clasps can slide on, locking all of the pieces together. Until at least one clasp is on, maintain a gentle pinch on the front and back so it doesn't fall apart.
Many stands assemble with just one clasp, and some assemble with multiple identical clasps. If a clasp needs to fit in a certain spot, it will be marked on the clap itself. All clasps have a little barb on one side - this is the side that goes on the back side of the stand and slides through the slots in the legs.
Find the notch in the face of the stand, pick the correct clasp (or any clasp if yours are all the same), make sure the barb is on the back side, and slide it through! Take care not to force it; clasps often need a little nudging or re-aiming to hit the slots. If the clasp will not go through, check that the leg it's stuck on is fully pressed into the back of the stand. If it's still being sticky, you can use any sort of tool that will fit in between the front and back (or even your fingers if there's enough space) and try to wiggle or poke it until it finds its slot.
When viewed from the front, clasps should not stick out from the cutout stand back. In other words, the clasps should fit into the pattern cut for the medallion. If they stick out, double check that they were inserted on the correct left or right side of the stand that has the clasp notch in it and that the clasp passes fully through all of the legs.