Well, the directions for this were very unclear.  I spent some time trying to figure it out and was struggling, and then realized it was because on one of the pieces the bolt and the part that slides into another were not spread apart enough to fit.  I was getting frustrated and decided to use a hammer and pliers to try and bend the piece back to force it to fit.  After a lot of labor it fixed.  Also - the paint chips with the slightest tough.  it gives new meaning to the "antique look" but i will probably eventually have to paint it.