Comment by oriolid
3 years ago
> Where are you finding pot metal bolts?
Self-assembled furniture seems to have terrible bolts more often than not. Instrument stands and drum kits also come with softest imaginable bolts except the most expensive gear. I'm sure there are other products like this.
Are you stripping hex bolts? If so, the solution may be to buy some good hex bits (and a bit extender) which make it much easier to avoid slipping and stripping the bolt compared to a plain hex key.
Good advice but some are so soft they may've aswell been made out of butter, you have to be very careful even with proper tools.
Even worse, the hex sockets are often just a bit too large so that even proper tools won't fit. Ikea also has some special screws that are not really Phillips, Pozidrive or any other standard so there just isn't a driver that would fit.
The last thing I bought from IKEA had plastic screws. To be fair, I've not had any problems with them but I as a bit taken aback to see them.
I recently moved and needed some new furniture. I purchased a bed previously with storage boxes underneath in the past and I was dreading the same experience again.
I did buy a different model[0] this time around and it's been over 5 years since my last purchase, but the quality on this bed is much better. All of the holes were pre drilled/tapped correctly and they've vastly improved the way the mattress slats are secured.
For the drawers underneath, the joining method was much simpler than before and while I still wouldn't look forward to taking it apart if/when I move, I can at least see a viable path for disassembly and re-assembly at my future house. The previous drawers were junk and got stuck or broke within a month.
I'm currently assembling a TV stand[1] and so far it's been great except for the top shelf. It's a veneered wood product and I guess they want you to pick the "best" side and you have to tap the holes yourself. I would have preferred pre-drilled holes since a TV is going to cover 90% of the top anyway, but it's not a huge problem. It's also possible they use the same part number in some other product that doesn't require holes so this way is better for their logistics.
0: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/gladstad-upholstered-bed-2-stor...
1: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/fjaellbo-tv-unit-black-90339290...