| Intro |
| Building the Cabinet |
| Cutout |
| Wood |
| Legs |
| Beams |
| Slate Support |
| Trim |
| Rails |
Pocket Holes  |
| Cutting Rails |
| Fitting Rails |
| Bumpers |
| Leveling Slate |
| Cloth |
| Blinds |
Pocket Holes
We drill the pocket holes into the side of the rail to hold the Pocket Irons, which come with the standard #6 Pockets. Each pocket has two iron ears poking out from the sides, and also have a female threaded hole for a 5/16" X 1" Hex bolt to attach the pocket to the rail. So we must drill two holes in each end of the rails; one on the end of the rail to insert the iron into, and one under the rail to insert the bolt.
In the pictures on this page, you will notice that I have already cut the angles of the rail. I want you to ignore that, because although not a BIG mistake, there is a better way to go about this. The reason will be discussed in the next section.
Before you drill
You will now need to cut your rails to length. Leave them each about 1/8" long because the final cut at the end of the rails will have a 5-degree slope from top to bottom. The angle is cut because it will allow room for the pockets to snug up to the rails. You don't want to cut these angles now, because we will be drilling into the sides of the rails, and as a WISE man, almost godly man, once said, "I don't want to be drilling into an angle...NO SPANKYOU!", or something similar to that. THIS IS WHAT I DID NOT DO.
I didn't cut the angle at all, which I now regret...a little. It's not a huge flaw, but I can see a slight
gap between the pockets and the rails. So be smarter than me.
Drilling the holes
I used a 3/4" spade bit to drill the side holes which will fit the #6 pocket ears (it's very important that you buy #6 Irons for these measurements.) To find your center spot, measure back exactly 2-1/2" from point on the sub rail (the nose, where the bumper will be.) Then measure from the top of the hardwood, down 3/4". This is your spot. Drill the hole about 2" deep - just deep enough to hold the entire ear. Make sure you take your time on these holes, and try to drill in at a 90-degree angle. Do this to each end of each rail.
Remember when I said that I went through three drill bits because of the nails? This was that moment!
We can't yet cut the holes for the pocket bolts, because our rails aren't yet cut to their exact length, and we wouldn't know where to put them.
So let's cut the rail angles...
We drill the pocket holes into the side of the rail to hold the Pocket Irons, which come with the standard #6 Pockets. Each pocket has two iron ears poking out from the sides, and also have a female threaded hole for a 5/16" X 1" Hex bolt to attach the pocket to the rail. So we must drill two holes in each end of the rails; one on the end of the rail to insert the iron into, and one under the rail to insert the bolt.
In the pictures on this page, you will notice that I have already cut the angles of the rail. I want you to ignore that, because although not a BIG mistake, there is a better way to go about this. The reason will be discussed in the next section.
Before you drill
You will now need to cut your rails to length. Leave them each about 1/8" long because the final cut at the end of the rails will have a 5-degree slope from top to bottom. The angle is cut because it will allow room for the pockets to snug up to the rails. You don't want to cut these angles now, because we will be drilling into the sides of the rails, and as a WISE man, almost godly man, once said, "I don't want to be drilling into an angle...NO SPANKYOU!", or something similar to that. THIS IS WHAT I DID NOT DO.
I didn't cut the angle at all, which I now regret...a little. It's not a huge flaw, but I can see a slight
gap between the pockets and the rails. So be smarter than me.
Drilling the holes
I used a 3/4" spade bit to drill the side holes which will fit the #6 pocket ears (it's very important that you buy #6 Irons for these measurements.) To find your center spot, measure back exactly 2-1/2" from point on the sub rail (the nose, where the bumper will be.) Then measure from the top of the hardwood, down 3/4". This is your spot. Drill the hole about 2" deep - just deep enough to hold the entire ear. Make sure you take your time on these holes, and try to drill in at a 90-degree angle. Do this to each end of each rail.
Remember when I said that I went through three drill bits because of the nails? This was that moment!
We can't yet cut the holes for the pocket bolts, because our rails aren't yet cut to their exact length, and we wouldn't know where to put them.
So let's cut the rail angles...
