Solidly built, Great value, Requires a Mallet and thicker screws.
Overall:
These chairs are solidly built, with very thick, solid wood pieces. They fit together well and snugly. The antique black means that some of the edges are distressed and dark reddish in color. This isnt a very noticeable feature, though, and looking at it from across the room, they look straight up black. Im a 200+ lbs man and I have no concerns about these stools handling my weight.
Assembly:
First, make sure you have a rubber mallet on hand, as youll need to pounding the pieces together, as they are a tight fit and most folks wont be able to push the pieces together. The screws provided are fine, but some of the pilot holes were pre-drilled too large, so the thin screws (look like longer drywall screws) cant grab the wood. I bought some slightly thicker steel screws of the same length and those worked better. (Dont get screws that are too thick, though, or you can crack the wood. I appreciated that each chair kit included its own wood glue. It took me about half an hour apiece to assemble these. The result is a very solid stool, though 2 of 3 had a slight wobble to them (legs not perfectly cut). Im hoping I can adjust that with some pads on the bottom.
Overall, great value for the price and solidly designed outside of the screws and slight un-evenness of the legs. These are easily 25% of the cost of others Ive seen and I cant imagine the more expensive ones are substantially different. I recommend them.
Solidly built, Great value, Requires a Mallet and thicker screws.
Overall: These chairs are solidly built, with very thick, solid wood pieces. They fit together well and snugly. The antique black means that some of the edges are distressed and dark reddish in color. This isnt a very noticeable feature, though, and looking at it from across the room, they look straight up black. Im a 200+ lbs man and I have no concerns about these stools handling my weight. Assembly: First, make sure you have a rubber mallet on hand, as youll need to pounding the pieces together, as they are a tight fit and most folks wont be able to push the pieces together. The screws provided are fine, but some of the pilot holes were pre-drilled too large, so the thin screws (look like longer drywall screws) cant grab the wood. I bought some slightly thicker steel screws of the same length and those worked better. (Dont get screws that are too thick, though, or you can crack the wood. I appreciated that each chair kit included its own wood glue. It took me about half an hour apiece to assemble these. The result is a very solid stool, though 2 of 3 had a slight wobble to them (legs not perfectly cut). Im hoping I can adjust that with some pads on the bottom. Overall, great value for the price and solidly designed outside of the screws and slight un-evenness of the legs. These are easily 25% of the cost of others Ive seen and I cant imagine the more expensive ones are substantially different. I recommend them.