Saunders easel

Curt · Jun 15, 2009

I have two Saunders easels, one is the 11x14 model with a lever on the left which locks the blades up and a 16x20 model which has a gas strut on the left.

The gas is gone and the strut is along for a free ride on the that easel. Does anyone know where I can get another strut for it?

I also had the cork fall off so I removed it and got some cork strips that are used in model railroading and put them on. They work great and are cheap.

Thanks,
Curt

Steve_7x · Jun 15, 2009

It was several years ago when I replaced mine. At that time I contacted Saunders and they have a replacement kit for the 16x20's gas filled strut system. This involves removing the strut assembly and instaling a system with a mechanical lever that keeps the blade assembly up. Easy to do and recommended.

Steve

eclarke · Jun 15, 2009

The strut went bad on my 16x20 so I took it off and hold the blades up with my chin while I load the paper..works great..Evan Clarke

Sirius Glass · Jun 15, 2009

I scraped off the remains of the old cork and cut cork strips from floor insulation cork and glued them on the easel base.

Stee

Dave Swinnard · Jun 15, 2009

chin... I lean over and use the top of my head to hold it up while I'm inserting paper in the 16x20. Fortunately my 11x14 still has a functioning arm. The head thing is just habit after all these years.

Dave

Kilgallb · Jun 15, 2009

Try an auto parts store. They stock generic gas struts.

bdial · Jun 15, 2009

Most automotive gas springs are meant for holding way more weight than an easel.
Looks like you could likely find one at McMaster-Carr though; http://www.mcmaster.com/#gas-springs/=2bzwal

Curt · Jun 15, 2009

It was several years ago when I replaced mine. At that time I contacted Saunders and they have a replacement kit for the 16x20's gas filled strut system. This involves removing the strut assembly and instaling a system with a mechanical lever that keeps the blade assembly up. Easy to do and recommended.

Thanks, that's a good idea, skip the strut and put in a mechanical lever, I like the on on my 11x14 so it should be easy to make one for the 16x. I couldn't find the "Saunders Group" on the net, they probably got bought out by someone else or whatever. I'll skip the McMaster Carr, I checked them this morning, $60.00 is toooo much.

Thanks for the suggestions.

naeroscatu · Jun 23, 2009

It appears that Saunders easels are now available through Tiffen.

http://www.tiffen.com/Saunders_Easels_Intro.htm

This link appears to be on the Tiffen website however it doesn't provide any further info on price and availability. Moreover you cannot reach this page from within the Tiffen.com website so I emailed Tiffen and asked them to confirm and provide more details. Will report back.

naeroscatu · Jun 24, 2009

silveror0, please see below answer from Tiffen:

The Saunders easels have been discontinued for several years, we no longer make them.

Harold E. (Harry) Hofmann
Senior Technical & Customer Service Rep.
Tiffen Acquistion LLC
hhofmann@tiffen.com
631-273-2500 ext. 1405

how old is the info you posted? and next question would be if any one knows if Saunders easels are still produced and by whom. thank you

MattKing · Jun 24, 2009

Glazer's Cameras (an APUG advertiser) in Seattle have some stock of apparently new Saunders easels.

Matt

naeroscatu · Jun 25, 2009

Thanks, Matt. Great info.

Curt · Jun 25, 2009

Curt, the Saunders Group discontinued using those cylinder years ago. Now 10 years after the Tiffen Co. acquired the Saunders Group, we discontinued all the easels. This was about 4 years ago. I am sorry we have no parts left.

Harold E. (Harry) Hofmann

Senior Technical & Customer Service Rep.

Tiffen Acquisition LLC

hhofmann@tiffen.com

631-273-2500 ext. 1405

This is the definitive answer to my question. I'll fab. up a lever similar to my 11x14 model.

br549 · May 5, 2010

I managed to find an exact replacement gas spring for my Saunders 16x20 easel. It was a bit over $15.00 plus shipping. I'm going to try to include a link.

http://mooreindhardware.thomasnet.com/item/door-checks-gas-springs/gas-spring/sl-4-20?&seo=110

lajolla · May 8, 2010

Truly astonishing that so few quality 4-blade easels are still being manufactured. The only pneumatic 4-blade manufactured anywhere is the Kaiser Pro 4-Blade 12x16 inch (30 x 40cm) Adjustable Enlarging Easel. In the meantime, I plan on buying as many 4-blade Saunders easels as I can find on ebay for parts, simply to back up my current Saunders workhorses.

dvornik · Sep 7, 2016

br549 said:
I managed to find an exact replacement gas spring for my Saunders 16x20 easel. It was a bit over $15.00 plus shipping. I'm going to try to include a link.

http://mooreindhardware.thomasnet.com/item/door-checks-gas-springs/gas-spring/sl-4-20?&seo=110

That's exactly the right size, thank you so much. The only issue is that on some of the easels the spacer / reducer bushing thingie on the body side is captive. Kind of stuck in the spring and you can't get it out. It was the case with one of our easels and we are probably going to use a bunch of washers as a spacer and just live without the reducer. Not exactly perfect, but it will work. On another one the spacer comes off so the replacement spring worked great.

Mark77 · Apr 6, 2018

br549 said:
I managed to find an exact replacement gas spring for my Saunders 16x20 easel. It was a bit over $15.00 plus shipping. I'm going to try to include a link.

http://mooreindhardware.thomasnet.com/item/door-checks-gas-springs/gas-spring/sl-4-20?&seo=110

2018 update: This is still a brilliant solution and an ideal replacement. My easel now works like new for a very modest price. I did some research on the original spring lift, made by Stabilus in Germany, and it seems they no longer make a spring that will properly fit the 16x20 Saunders easel. So the Moore Hardware solution is the way to go and fyi is painted black (despite the picture on the website), so it looks exactly like the original spring.

br549 · Apr 8, 2018

I'm glad the Moore Hardware struts are still available.

msage · Apr 9, 2018

Saunders made a retrofit replacement part for the 16x20 easel that replaced the gas cylinder with the type lift on the 11x14 easel. I replaced mine a number of years ago with the retro fit part and I like that better then the orginal gas cylinder arrangement. Alas I see that parts are not available any more. I have a friend looking for the gas cylinder and will point him to the link, thanks.

Mark77 · Jun 19, 2022

Mark77 said:
2018 update: This is still a brilliant solution and an ideal replacement. My easel now works like new for a very modest price. I did some research on the original spring lift, made by Stabilus in Germany, and it seems they no longer make a spring that will properly fit the 16x20 Saunders easel. So the Moore Hardware solution is the way to go and fyi is painted black (despite the picture on the website), so it looks exactly like the original spring.

2022 update: The Moore gas spring struts have died after four years of only occasional use. Thankfully, they aren't too expensive to replace.

bobocamera · Jul 25, 2022

I have the same Saunders 16x20 easel, and mine is dead too. The link to the replacement gas strut seems to be dead. I Googled and found this one (guessed from the sl-4-20 in the old URL):

6 x 15 mm 20 PSI .242 Blade Diameter Gas Spring | MRO Hardware

Springlift nitrogen filled gas springs provide an excellent solution for opening hinged panels and various other products. Doors, lids and windows can be raised and kept open without assistance, yet can be smoothly and easily closed. Our various mounting brackets and fastening devices make...

www.mooreindhardware.com

@Mark77 can you confirm this is the correct one?

bobocamera · Jul 25, 2022

I also found a different website with a gas strut with measurements that are much closer to the one on the actual easel but it's more than double the price:

I picked 50N since that's what the original gas strut said on the side label.

Mark77 · Jul 29, 2022

bobocamera said:
I have the same Saunders 16x20 easel, and mine is dead too. The link to the replacement gas strut seems to be dead. I Googled and found this one (guessed from the sl-4-20 in the old URL):

6 x 15 mm 20 PSI .242 Blade Diameter Gas Spring | MRO Hardware

Springlift nitrogen filled gas springs provide an excellent solution for opening hinged panels and various other products. Doors, lids and windows can be raised and kept open without assistance, yet can be smoothly and easily closed. Our various mounting brackets and fastening devices make...

www.mooreindhardware.com

@Mark77 can you confirm this is the correct one?

Hi, yep that's the correct one.

bobocamera · Jul 30, 2022

Mark77 said:
Hi, yep that's the correct one.

Thank you, I just ordered it!

Saunders easel

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