Here are a few pictures to show how I built my rails. The design is supposed to allow for smooth sliding over the heat tape and ideally the bins will never touch the bottom OR top shelf. However, with all the imperfections in the wood (tried my best to screen for those) and a few minor human errors here and there, a few slots aren't "perfect".... but they still work just fine.
It just so happens that using an upside-down Rubbermaid lid, from the smallest size bin, works perfectly as a spacer and allows for JUST enough space for the bins to slide smoothly. I used two lids side by side to get a bit better accuracy.
After I set up a rail assembly, I would pre-drill a pilot hole on each side.
Then I screw the pieces together. Just make sure you don't burry the head of the screw too much and crack the rail. The screw heads don't need to be flush anyway. There is plenty of room.
You need 20 of the single rail assemblies for the rack and 20 of the double rail assemblies. For the double rail assemblies, I just flip the whole thing over and repeat the steps for the single rail assembly. Just make sure you space the screws from each side enough.
This step takes a while because you want each one to be EXACTLY right. So take your time.
And THIS is how it will be setup when you are ready to fasten the shelves...
I used a "Craftsman Speed-Lok" set which allowed me to switch from my counter-sinking drill bit to my screwdriver bit without having to "undo" (not sure of the proper term
chuck?) my cordless drill. This saved me a LOT of time and annoyance.
So those are the rail assemblies. Next post, I will go over the wiring up of the heat tape...
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