In the last post on the topic, I concluded it would be necessary to drill holes in the lower racks to accommodate the stop bolts. The thought of this makes me pause because while the current piece into which they are being fit is a prototype, the racks and gears are not. The thinking goes that once the prototype is properly operating, the mechanisms will be transferred to the final oak piece, and the poplar prototype will remain for pedagogical purposes. At some point though, you just have to cut metal…

The procedure:

1. Drill & tap the hole in the lower rack.
2. Once this is done, use this new hole to determine where to locate the hole in the side of the main box.
3. Finally, install the bolt, and use it to mark the extents of the groove in the apron.

Simple. Right?

With the aprons modified, reassemble the carcass, reinstall the mechanisms, and test (anxiously holding breath…).

$#@!

Unfortunately, I neglected the thickness of the guides when locating the bolt hole. After a brief walk to consider options, it’ll probably be best to reduce the diameter of the stop bolts to clear the guides. This won’t necessitate drilling another hole in the lower rack, and the 1/4 x 20 bolts being used for this are readily obtainable. It is a bit tedious, however, to file them down and still get them to thread into the racks.

A final point. A careful inspection of the lower racks on the Getty original reveals that drilling the stop bolt hole in the incorrect location is not a unique problem. Apparently, I am in good company.

Many thanks to George Hamilton for his assistance tapping the bolt holes.