Before we can proceed to shape the carcass, the mechanisms must be completely installed and operating properly. With the mechanisms in place, the challenge becomes mounting the main box and tabletop to them. The tabletop is relatively straightforward: center it on the carcass, then mark the top racks. The main box, however, isn’t so simple. Not only does it have to be located left/right, front/back within its opening, but it also needs to be situated in height above the carcass floor. If it’s too high, the bolt on the latch won’t catch; too low, and the bolt will drag on the main box as it opens. To complicate matters, it is impossible to directly mark any of these components. They’re buried deep in the carcass interior!
Being the case, I’ve devised the following plan…
- With the tabletop removed, center the main box between the lower racks in the carcass. This dictates the thickness of the shims that will be needed.
- Remove the top racks such that the main box can be lifted out versus slid through the front.
- Coat the latch bolt with graphite.
- Retract the latch bolt by turning the key, and place the main box into the carcass. Align it appropriately, then release the latch bolt. This should imprint a line on the underside of the main box where the latch makes contact.
- Align the back of the hole in the metal latch plate with this line.
While I’m certain some level of adjustment will be necessary, this methodology provides a plan to move forward. Such is the nature of product development or, to put it another way, if we knew what we were doing, it wouldn’t be called research!