Arrived with a box within a box within a box protection. Think they had to use a full roll of packing tape like it was a challenge. Took more time to remove the outer 2 boxes than to assemble this thing.
Put it together last night, so while it is fresh, Ill add some comments about the instructions.
Had all the pages of the assembly instructions. I suppose that is better than missing the last page. The following instructions were performed by 1 person. 4 harnds would have made this a little easier, I suppose.
Dont touch the glass with any part of your body. Use line gloves or the paper used to keep the glass apart during shipping.
There are 3 sizes to the tall glass. The shelves are easy, so well ignore those. All the glass has tempered glass stickers on them. I didnt remove any and placed those on the bottom, outside for easy removal later with a razor.
Compare the 4 larger, heavier glass pieces.
* 2 smaller ones are for the sides - set those aside.
* widest 1 is for the back (387mm) - yes that is the size
* 2nd widest is for the front door (just 5mm smaller) - set is aside
2 wood planks
* Bottom has 4 small screw holes for the feet - thats how to tell them apart. Mine had a big white sticker with info on it.
* other one is the top.
Put the bottom wood and 2 wooden sides together. This is easy. Tighten the bottom as far as possible (but dont strip the wood). I dont think there is a top/bottom/in/out for the sides. Put the top on, but only get it started with the screws. It needs to be loose. Put the cheap-o plastic feet on the bottom. This must be done after the wood sides are screwed in. Youll see why.
Take the 2 plastic corner pieces and follow the instructions putting those into each side of the largest glass piece. There is a nice image to show which way to do that in the instructions. The only trick to his is to leave about 2-3mm from the glass end where you start the plastic insert. This is important so the glass fits into the back groves of both the top and bottom wood panels. I had to redo both plastic parts because I made the plastic flush with the end of the glass. Inserting the plastic into the groves on both sides is pretty easy.
Stand up the wood like it will be finished. Place the back glass into the bottom groove of the bottom wood panel and tighten the top wood panel to hold it in place, just barely. Do not tighten the top fully at this point.
Pick one of the side panels and slip it into the plastic groove for that side while standing up. Start from the bottom and use both the wood panel groove and the plastic as the guide. I checked how far the glass was inserted using finger nails. Most of the time, it would connect easily halfway up, then I had to coax it with pressure and slight taps to get it in all the way. Once the side glass was in all the way, tighten that side of the top wooden panel as tight as possible, without stripping the screws. I found it helpful to shake the entire cabinet to get the glass seating into the top/bottom wood panels correct.
Do the same with the other side panel. 3 sides done. Tighten all the top screws a much as possible, but do not strip them. Again, I found it helpful to shake the entire cabinet to get the 3 glass sheets to seat correctly into the groves.
Shelves
12 soft plastic tabs are provided for the glass shelves to sit on. Place 2 of these onto each wooden shelf holder, so the shelves sit on the soft plastic, not on the wood. The instructions called this suction cups ... whatever. I placed each in the center of the wood and about 1/3rd from the front/back of the cabinet. Next, carefully place each shelf into the cabinet. I fulled them all the way to the front, since my collectables work best that way.
The door. This is tricky. Do this away from the cabinet:
* Insert all the hardware into the 4 corners of the case - 2 magnets, 2 hinge pieces.
* With the glass, attach the 2 thin metal stays, horizontally to the top and bottom corners by pulling off the adhesive paper. You want these to be flush with the top and bottom side corners. The metal is there to protect the glass from screws being tightened. Screw in the bottom hinge flush with the corner of the glass.
* On the opposite side of the glass, attach the bottom chrome using the foam and peal-off adhesive. This is placed on the bottom corner, horizontally.
* On the top of the glass, attach the top chrome handle using the foam and peal-off adhesive. This is placed on the top corner, horizontally.
* Now take the bottom hinge and carefully place it onto the glass with the thin metal stay flush with the corner. Screw in 2 screws tightly - so they wont move, ever.
At this point, 3 corners have metal hardware attached with adhesive and 1 of those corners has 2 screws holding the hinge hardware tightly. The 4th corner just has a metal stay barely attached with adhesive.
Time to move this glass to the cabinet.
Because the top hinge is floating, it cannot be attached before placing the glass in-place for the bottom hinge. Insert the 2 screws into the top hinge and screw them in far enough to stay. Test this on the glass before moving it to the cabinet. There needs to be plenty of room, so the metal stay isnt moved during the insertion later.
Pick up the glass sheet and carefully place the bottom hinge into the already inserted plastic hinge-holder in the bottom wood panel. Then take the top hinge and insert it into the top hinge-holder (already inserted into the top wood panel) and slide the glass carefully into the hinge. This will hold the top hinge into the hinge-holder. Align the top hinge with the top corner of the glass sheet and verify the metal stay is still located flush to the corner. Quickly tighten the 2 screws that hold the top hinge to the glass.
Using the top handle and bottom chrome protector, close the door. This will be difficult because the magnetic stops probably didnt fully seat into the top and bottom wood panels. Open and close the door completely a few times. Notice how far the door will open and if anything could scratch or break the door.
That completes the assembly. I hope someone finds these helpful.
Why only 4 stars? Poor instructions. Also, I chipped the glass door (2/3 up, left side) trying to install everything on-the-cabinet, when most of the door hardware should have been attached away from the cabinet and only the final step of door placement (final hinge connection) should have been done near the cabinet.
Ill try to add some closeup photos later.
Better Assembly Instructions ...
Arrived with a box within a box within a box protection. Think they had to use a full roll of packing tape like it was a challenge. Took more time to remove the outer 2 boxes than to assemble this thing. Put it together last night, so while it is fresh, Ill add some comments about the instructions. Had all the pages of the assembly instructions. I suppose that is better than missing the last page. The following instructions were performed by 1 person. 4 harnds would have made this a little easier, I suppose. Dont touch the glass with any part of your body. Use line gloves or the paper used to keep the glass apart during shipping. There are 3 sizes to the tall glass. The shelves are easy, so well ignore those. All the glass has tempered glass stickers on them. I didnt remove any and placed those on the bottom, outside for easy removal later with a razor. Compare the 4 larger, heavier glass pieces. * 2 smaller ones are for the sides - set those aside. * widest 1 is for the back (387mm) - yes that is the size * 2nd widest is for the front door (just 5mm smaller) - set is aside 2 wood planks * Bottom has 4 small screw holes for the feet - thats how to tell them apart. Mine had a big white sticker with info on it. * other one is the top. Put the bottom wood and 2 wooden sides together. This is easy. Tighten the bottom as far as possible (but dont strip the wood). I dont think there is a top/bottom/in/out for the sides. Put the top on, but only get it started with the screws. It needs to be loose. Put the cheap-o plastic feet on the bottom. This must be done after the wood sides are screwed in. Youll see why. Take the 2 plastic corner pieces and follow the instructions putting those into each side of the largest glass piece. There is a nice image to show which way to do that in the instructions. The only trick to his is to leave about 2-3mm from the glass end where you start the plastic insert. This is important so the glass fits into the back groves of both the top and bottom wood panels. I had to redo both plastic parts because I made the plastic flush with the end of the glass. Inserting the plastic into the groves on both sides is pretty easy. Stand up the wood like it will be finished. Place the back glass into the bottom groove of the bottom wood panel and tighten the top wood panel to hold it in place, just barely. Do not tighten the top fully at this point. Pick one of the side panels and slip it into the plastic groove for that side while standing up. Start from the bottom and use both the wood panel groove and the plastic as the guide. I checked how far the glass was inserted using finger nails. Most of the time, it would connect easily halfway up, then I had to coax it with pressure and slight taps to get it in all the way. Once the side glass was in all the way, tighten that side of the top wooden panel as tight as possible, without stripping the screws. I found it helpful to shake the entire cabinet to get the glass seating into the top/bottom wood panels correct. Do the same with the other side panel. 3 sides done. Tighten all the top screws a much as possible, but do not strip them. Again, I found it helpful to shake the entire cabinet to get the 3 glass sheets to seat correctly into the groves. Shelves 12 soft plastic tabs are provided for the glass shelves to sit on. Place 2 of these onto each wooden shelf holder, so the shelves sit on the soft plastic, not on the wood. The instructions called this suction cups ... whatever. I placed each in the center of the wood and about 1/3rd from the front/back of the cabinet. Next, carefully place each shelf into the cabinet. I fulled them all the way to the front, since my collectables work best that way. The door. This is tricky. Do this away from the cabinet: * Insert all the hardware into the 4 corners of the case - 2 magnets, 2 hinge pieces. * With the glass, attach the 2 thin metal stays, horizontally to the top and bottom corners by pulling off the adhesive paper. You want these to be flush with the top and bottom side corners. The metal is there to protect the glass from screws being tightened. Screw in the bottom hinge flush with the corner of the glass. * On the opposite side of the glass, attach the bottom chrome using the foam and peal-off adhesive. This is placed on the bottom corner, horizontally. * On the top of the glass, attach the top chrome handle using the foam and peal-off adhesive. This is placed on the top corner, horizontally. * Now take the bottom hinge and carefully place it onto the glass with the thin metal stay flush with the corner. Screw in 2 screws tightly - so they wont move, ever. At this point, 3 corners have metal hardware attached with adhesive and 1 of those corners has 2 screws holding the hinge hardware tightly. The 4th corner just has a metal stay barely attached with adhesive. Time to move this glass to the cabinet. Because the top hinge is floating, it cannot be attached before placing the glass in-place for the bottom hinge. Insert the 2 screws into the top hinge and screw them in far enough to stay. Test this on the glass before moving it to the cabinet. There needs to be plenty of room, so the metal stay isnt moved during the insertion later. Pick up the glass sheet and carefully place the bottom hinge into the already inserted plastic hinge-holder in the bottom wood panel. Then take the top hinge and insert it into the top hinge-holder (already inserted into the top wood panel) and slide the glass carefully into the hinge. This will hold the top hinge into the hinge-holder. Align the top hinge with the top corner of the glass sheet and verify the metal stay is still located flush to the corner. Quickly tighten the 2 screws that hold the top hinge to the glass. Using the top handle and bottom chrome protector, close the door. This will be difficult because the magnetic stops probably didnt fully seat into the top and bottom wood panels. Open and close the door completely a few times. Notice how far the door will open and if anything could scratch or break the door. That completes the assembly. I hope someone finds these helpful. Why only 4 stars? Poor instructions. Also, I chipped the glass door (2/3 up, left side) trying to install everything on-the-cabinet, when most of the door hardware should have been attached away from the cabinet and only the final step of door placement (final hinge connection) should have been done near the cabinet. Ill try to add some closeup photos later.