Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikelff
Dutchman, you need to anchor that top trim piece to your slide.....
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OK, now that I found the correct terminology, let me correct my statement.
The header is not exactly hanging like a picture hanger. It's a modified "Cleat" hanger. I've been hanging cabinets and frames with this method for the last 50 years and never had a cabinet fail. Here's a link to Home Depot showing what the store bought version looks like. I have always made my own. It's easy to do with a table saw or a radial arm saw.
Home Depot, Cleat.
However, in my case, I modified the idea of the "Cleat" and made it more like an "U" shaped hanger instead of two "V" shaped pieces coming together.
The trick to doing this was running a 2x4 through my table saw to get the thickness of the existing header frame on the slide. My first attempt, was too tight. I had to re-do it and make it a fraction wider. I suppose I did not take into account wood warping, or the slide build being not perfect either.
That first board had to be positioned high enough on the header so it would catch and actually rest on the slide frame. To low, and the header would have a gap between the upright trim and to low, it would overlap. I then pre-drilled a lot of holes with my counter sink drill bit and used 1 and 1/4 inch length screws after cutting to the appropriate thickness. I had to be careful to ensure the length of the screw did not come through the front face of the header board. That middle trim section is beveled, thicker in the middle, so I aimed to attach the screws as close to the middle as possible. The main flat plywood used on that header, looks like it was very thin, so I counted on the screws catching into the thickest part of the decorative beveled face too, from the back.
After that, it was easy attaching the catch piece to that.
Once it's hung back up, it's near impossible to simply "jump" off the hanger. The actual catch is between 1/2 and 3/4 of an inch and it runs the entire length of the header, between the vertical sides. I also gave very little tolerance between the left and right. I didn't want the header sliding side to side either. I think, I have about a 1/4 inch of movement (side to side).
I really cannot imagine it jumping off when in travel.
I'm seriously thinking about doing the same to the opposite slide in the front living room, but I think I'll wait until a cable needs replaced on that side first. Hopefully, now that I have a couple extra cables on hand, I'll never have to use them!
I hope this helps a little better explaining how I hung that header back up there. I just couldn't see using my air gun and running a bazillion brads into it again. By the way, I had to remove all those brads too as they all pulled through the board was was left in the slide. What was surprising was how easy the header originally pulled off. Makes me think, a good bounce on the road, and it probably would have fallen eventually from it's factory install. .... How cheap and shoddy!