Unboxing Folger FT-5 R2

definitely do a complete inventory of parts - make sure you have EVERYTHING you are supposed to have.
If you don't, be sure to let them know right away.

Construction got sidelined briefly by a trip to the hospital, but I'm back and on the job. Those fiddly little t-nuts are a hassle until you get the hang of it. Btw, parts inventory checked out 100%.

LOL - yeah, the "instructions" as they are kind of take for granted that you know some things - such as how the t-nuts work... if you have never worked with them before, however, yes, they can be quite frustrating. Not hard once you understand them, tho.

There is another type that do not work on the same principles, however... the other type has to be slid in from the end before any assembly happens - they do not drop in & twist like these do. Those are a bigger pain in the backside, because if you don't put in enough or have one that does not thread correctly, then you have to take things apart enough to remedy the problem.

They work as long as the screws they supply are long enough to secure the part you need to the extrusion.

Please tell me if I'm becoming tiresome, but here's a new update on the unboxing/assembly of the Folger FT-5 R2.

As you can see from the pic below, the outer frame is now complete. The new addition to the project was the lower set of the top two rails. Before adding them, though, I ran through the entire assembly and checked everything for being square and tight. That involved a fair amount of 'tuning', a bit more than expected. (Being a farm boy I'm skeptical of anything made of aluminum. You should be able to hit a boulder with any equipment and be able to fix it with acetylene, a welder, and a hammer.)

The lower set of the top two rails are supposed to set 170mm below the top set. Problem was, my calipers don't open that far, and the calipers that came with the Folger kit don't open that far, either. Folger had a stroke of genius by making the filament spool holder 170mm so you can use it as a template. Not so genius is that the thing is only vaguely rectangular. You can see it in the pic, resting on the instruction manual. A bit fiddly, and the design might generate more post-production waste for Folger than actually necessary.

I really like the angles made of aluminum composite for holding the rails together. The precision is awesome-- this thing is turning out far more solid than its light weight suggests. But do not drop any rails or fittings! You'll need to do some work with a file to fix the dimensions.

We like to see progress with pictures.