MOTM

Hey Larry,

> When butting the rails end to end, there is zero gap.  They are a
> full 6U wide.

good to know!

> In theory, the rails should be flush or up to
> 0.0075 higher (top) or lower (bottom) than the panels.

That's not much. Wood can't be tailored this accurate (as you say below).

> Therefore, you can
> adjust the flat rails somewhat as needed to compensate.

Adjusting the rails is a breeze - the measures are well thought out,
something I really do appreciate.
I did my first trials on a sloppy chipwood box. It's just a frame with
a bottom board. It's all open so it's convenient for testing etc.
But it's not done for mounting the rails, but I managed to fit two
pairs nevertheless.

> You can leave the screws loose so when you get
> your flat rails where you want them, the panel should still 
> "rattle around" on the loose screws so that you know the fit is 
> good for all panels.

"Loose" is the key. I was about to tighten the screws but quickly
found out this gets difficult.

> you will see you can still 
> get to all 4 of them with 1U panels in positions 2 and 5.  
> That was no accident.  :-)

well, see above ;-)

> Here are some photos of me installing flat rails in a dot com 
> cabinet.  Some of the issues with spacing and positioning are 
> discussed.
> http://www.wiseguysynth.com/larry/cabinet/dotcom/dotcom.htm

Yeah, could have thought of it before asking ;-)

Thanks for this comprehensive insight!

     cheerio, Michael.