General hardware techniques used throughout TroveBlade (TB) assembly and installation — the kind of thing you'll reference more than once, not just read in order. If you're following the step-by-step Installation guide and land here from a link, that's exactly how this page is meant to be used.
Sliding T-nuts go in through the open edge of the 2020 profile — harder to work with than drop-ins, but they are stronger and can't accidentally unlock during repositioning, so we use them for most connections.
We provide Drop-In T-Nuts for cases where sliding T-nuts can't reach — a semi-complete structure, or non-structural spots.
Prepare the bracket with all bolts and T-nuts assembled. Align T-nuts with the targeted slot of the 2020 profile and finger-tighten. Then back each bolt out about two full turns — if the bolt head isn't flush with the bracket, the nut didn't drop into the slot. Push the bolts in, confirm the heads are flush, then hand-tighten everything down.
Tighten with a cushion — past snug risks stripping the bolt or nut.
When it's time for final tightening, make sure there's no gap between the bracket and the extrusion. A gap means the T-nut isn't seated — loosen, reposition, and retighten. If a bracket has multiple bolts, tighten in a cross pattern — diagonal pairs, not side to side. Once the system is complete, check every bolt. If you're not sure it's locked, unscrew it and re-tighten.
Do not pass ¼ turn. If you feel substantial resistance before that, stop.
To assemble a TB, you need a board to attach it to. In our installation example, we use a metal pegboard.
You'll use two cantilever arms per board — one top, one bottom. Calculate both positions carefully before drilling or bolting anything down. Planning a taller board or mixing TB heights? See Going Taller & Matching Heights first.
Bottom connection. Mount as low as possible, but leave room for a future bottom shelf connection — even if you're starting with an open TB, you may want to upgrade to a Cache later.
Top connection. Mount as high as possible. The only limit is the supporting cantilever arm itself — 1 meter (39.37") long, which covers most board sizes. The greater the distance between the two cantilevers, the stronger the system.
Advantage: consistent, parallel rows of ¼" holes. Disadvantage: those holes don't usually align with the slide's mounting holes.
Our solution: we provide a 2020 profile adapter cut to the slide's length minus 2" and attached to the slider, so that any metal pegboard can be attached to its back side.
Before attaching anything, you first need to establish the distance between a TB's cantilevers using the guidance above — this sets how long the cantilever arms need to be cut, and it always comes from the board. How precisely you can estimate it, and which attachment method makes sense, depends on your board type:
Metal pegboards (WallControl, OmniWall, generic) — use the board as a template. Hole spacing is fixed and standard, so attach the 2020 profile adapters directly through the pegboard's own holes to set the exact cantilever distance (M5×8mm bolts and T-nuts included for metal pegboard attachment). Mark and cut all cantilever arms to that length, then assemble — every pegboard will fit with at most minor adjustment.
Plywood (French cleat) and IKEA-style boards — estimate roughly, attach directly to the slide. Plywood has no fixed holes to align to, and IKEA-style boards have enough scattered, elongated holes that hitting one is easy regardless of position. The adapter works on any board technically, but it doesn't add any value here and can be removed — there's nothing precise to align it to. Estimate the distance, mark and cut all cantilever arms to that length, and assemble — both cantilevers on each TB should be parallel. Then attach the board: place against the board, mark, drill, bolt in.
Mixing board heights? That's fine. Board height itself doesn't need to match across TBs — cantilever spacing does. Since you choose where on the board each cantilever mounts, boards of different heights can still share the same spacing, keeping every TB tied into one continuous top and bottom rail. For pegboards, hole row spacing stays the same across boards regardless of height. Always use your smallest board to set the distance for the whole system.
Going higher. Need more height than the cantilever's range allows? Use a stronger board and increase spacing, up to the cantilever arm's max — 1 meter.
At your own peril. Higher means more force if something falls. Secure everything carefully — and seriously, consider a helmet up there.
If your TB has a wall on one side, decide your Side-Safe configuration before attaching cantilevers to your board (see Installation 1.1) — it determines which side you'll choose, though it can still be changed later. Not sure whether this applies to you? See FAQ — What is Side-Safe?
Mount the brackets close to the wall, board's prettier side facing you. The TB's mounting brackets and the wall anchors are fighting for the same ~40mm (1.57") of space near the wall, which makes this a bit harder to install — but it's worth it:
There may be cases where the top L Corner Bracket Joining Plate completely covers the stud, leaving no room to add a top stud anchor separately. This can happen with any TB, but it's almost guaranteed with a Side-Safe setup (see above), where the Joining Plate and a stud anchor are both fighting for the same tight space near the wall. In this case, attach a top anchor to one of the Joining Plate's bolts, as shown.
This is why the frame installation instructions start with the lower anchors — they're also easier to reposition if they end up in the TB's way.
Use the provided or your own shims to move the bottom rail away from the wall. This serves three purposes: correcting for wall unevenness, stabilizing the board when pulled out, and making sure it returns cleanly to the closed position.
If you need fatter shims for the Side-Safe, break them to make the thicker ends shorter.
Shimming can be adjusted later, once you're more familiar with how your TB behaves.
For a non-Side-Safe TB, this is also where the Corner Bracket Gusset gets attached for the first time — it's easier to add it now, with the TB already hanging on the frame, than during frame prep. If you haven't already, attach 2 drop-in T-nuts to one side of the gusset with M5×10mm bolts, position it under the L Corner Bracket Joining Plate, and bolt it to the top cantilever with 2 more M5×10mm bolts, drop-in nuts facing outside — same as Installation 2.2.4 describes for Side-Safe. Then insert its 2 dangling drop-in T-nuts into the front of the top rail before continuing below.
Your TB is finalized.
Adding a front panel and a bottom shelf isn't exactly in the scope of this installation guide — it can vary a lot based on your preferences. We do, however, provide a T-shaped Connector Bracket 120×120 per TB to support the back side of the bottom shelf.
For a metal pegboard, 2 bolts are enough to connect the front panel to the front of the main board, 2 bolts to connect the bottom shelf to the bottom of the main board, 2 bolts to connect the T-shaped Connector Bracket 120×120 to the back of the main board, and 2 bolts to connect the T-shaped Connector Bracket 120×120 to the back of the bottom shelf.
For a Side-Safe TB, you might find an L-shaped connector similar to the provided T-shaped one, or cut one leg off. You might also need a corner connector like the Corner Bracket Gusset to keep the upper part of the front panel straight.
Once two neighboring TB Caches are set, check that their front panels are parallel to each other — a ¼" gap between them is usually enough. Move both out together to confirm the setting is correct and they don't hit each other. Check this both before and after the TBs are set.
Make sure the board is disengaged from the TB — it makes installation much easier.
Align the 3 sliding T-nuts you prepared earlier with the L Corner Bracket Joining Plate holes. Slide the top of the TB over the top rail to align the L Corner Bracket Joining Plate with the T-nuts. Finger-tighten the L Corner Bracket Joining Plate with 3 M5×10mm bolts.
If this is a Side-Safe TB, its Corner Bracket Gusset is already attached from Installation 2.2.4. The two drop-in T-nuts dangling from it (see picture) should be inserted into the front of the top rail now. Do not lock them yet. Non-Side-Safe TBs don't have a gusset attached yet — skip this and see Finalize the TB instead.
In case the Corner Bracket Gusset's dangling T-nuts meet the Straight Line Connector, reposition the Straight Line Connector to a lower slot of the top rail, or reposition the top rail itself, so the Straight Line Connector is moved out of the TB area.
If the Straight Line Connector, now repositioned to a lower slot, then meets the lower stud anchor, don't worry — use one of the threaded holes in the Straight Line Connector as a sliding T-nut for the M5×8mm anchor bolt, and adjust the Straight Line Connector so the anchor still meets a stud. Easy.
Named hardware referenced throughout the Installation and Techniques pages.
Adjustable Right Angle Bracket
Corner Bracket Gusset
L-shaped Connector Brackets
Straight Line Connector
T-Shaped Mending Plate
U-Bracket
