How to read assembly instruction symbols

• The assembly manual
• Pencil
• Sticky notes

Before you start, lay everything out on a soft surface (the flattened box works) and check it against the parts list in your manual.

• Parts list page with numbered panels
• Hardware page with actual-size drawings
• Step pages with arrows and callouts

1. 1

   Step 1: Start at the first pages: find the tool icons, which show the only tools the maker expects, and any warning pages about wall fixing.

2. 2

   Step 2: Read the hardware page, where screws and bolts are drawn at actual size with a letter or code and a quantity such as 8x.

3. 3

   Step 3: Match the panel numbers on the parts page to the stickers or pencil marks on each panel, and note which face is the finished side.

4. 4

   Step 4: Learn the figure symbols: two figures means a two-person step, a person with a phone means call the maker, and a crossed-out figure means do not do it that way.

5. 5

   Step 5: Treat a circled close-up as a zoom into a detail, often showing which way a cam lock, hinge or runner must face.

6. 6

   Step 6: Follow arrows for direction and rotation: a curved arrow on a cam usually means turn to lock, and a tick versus a cross compares right and wrong.

7. 7

   Step 7: Mark each step with a pencil tick as you finish it so you can pick up where you left off.

• Skipping the close-up circles, which often hold the one detail that matters.
• Guessing a screw by eye instead of laying it on the actual-size drawing.
• Ignoring the two-person symbol on a lifting step.