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Regarding Ikea and similar self-assemble furniture - even though the assembly instruction manual does not call for it - use wood glue when assembling. It will m

Regarding Ikea and similar self-assemble furniture - even though the assembly instruction manual does not call for it - use wood glue when assembling. It will make it A LOT stronger and it will even survive moves. One thing that didn’t make sense to me in the article is a claim that particle board or MDF is lighter than solid wood. I don’t think it’s necessarily true - I have wood furniture made of pine and cherry that is a lot lighter than Ikea pieces. MDF which is commonly used in Ikea is especially heavy, so much so that Ikea inserts a lot of hollow spaces concealed underneath laminate exterior to reduce weight.

no_wizard 3y ago
Use wood glue where, though? Its advice that isn't "obvious". I'm not a big furniture person, and I'm inferring you mean to do things like add some additional bind to assembled spots, e.g. when I screw in the backing for the chair I could use wood glue on the seam to give it more strength, but its not always obvious how I'm suppose to apply these Ikea "hacks" as it were.
- BizarreByte 3y ago
  On any interlocking joints. On ikea stuff that's typically dowels, dados, and mortise and tenons. I also like to glue those weird locking screw inserts.
- VincentEvans 3y ago
  Most of Ikea pieces I’ve assembled utilize wooden dowels in addition to their special locking bolts. Definitely use glue in all holes that are meant for wooden dowels. If you wish to go an extra mile - use a thin bead of wood glue anywhere two wood surfaces meet, tighten the screws and then wipe off the excess that gets squeezed out of the seam. Wood glue is water soluble so clean up is easy before it dries.
  - hot_gril 3y ago
    Yes, the dowels are usually the weak points in Ikea furniture. They'll slip out a little, then the leverage will tear apart the wood around it when you're carrying the furniture.
nemo44x 3y ago
Isn’t the issue the screws tearing through the soft wood and/or engineered wood?
- VincentEvans 3y ago
  Furniture made of soft wood is certainly more susceptible to damage and denting than if made from hardwood, sure. Personally I find the trade off acceptable - I have a narrow six foot book shelf that I can lift with one arm and a much smaller Ikea one that needs two people to move, but preferences are subjective. Regarding screws however, furniture made from wood using approaches traditional for wood-made furniture - don’t rely on screws all that much, but rather mortises, dados, and various other joints held by glue, dowels, and sometimes staples or furniture nails that assist holding joints together until glue dries. Once dried - glue is often stronger than the wood it holds together and attempting to separate the bonded pieces results in splitting the wood rather than breaking the bond.
- evan_ 3y ago
  Ikea furniture usually uses these funky cam lock nuts and bolts in particle board pieces, rather than screws: https://www.furnitureparts.com/products/cam-lock-nuts-ikea-part-102509?variant=31586981256 https://www.furnitureparts.com/products/cam-lock-nuts-ikea-p... These turn the force into compression over a larger diameter so it's less likely to cause a problem. I've actually had pretty good experiences with Ikea stuff holding up over time, even across multiple moves.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - Gigachad 3y ago
    I had one of those plastic locks snap during a move. And found out Ikea will mail or provide one at the store for free. Repaired my item and it's as good as new.
    - neuronerdgirl 3y ago
fallinghawks 3y ago
Almost everything from IKEA is particle board or MDF. If it's solid wood it will be priced higher - even pine. I have a couple of particle board items from them and they are definitely heavier compared to actual wood.
- arh68 3y ago
  > If it's solid wood it will be priced higher - even pine. The cheapest nightstand they sell is solid pine. https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/rast-3-drawer-chest-pine-10484790/ https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/rast-3-drawer-chest-pine-104847... The cheapest full bed is solid pine, too. https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/neiden-bed-frame-pine-80395248/ https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/neiden-bed-frame-pine-80395248/ I could go on...
  - graftak 3y ago
    Likely because pine is lighter, more malleable, and probably simpler to create boards from than MDF.
piuantiderp 3y ago
The MDF is pretty weighty and has big concerns regarding VOCs. All that glue and binders can't be good for air quality/health
beezlewax 3y ago
Then you'll have trouble taking it apart if you move.

no_wizard 3y ago

Use wood glue where, though? Its advice that isn't "obvious". I'm not a big furniture person, and I'm inferring you mean to do things like add some additional bind to assembled spots, e.g. when I screw in the backing for the chair I could use wood glue on the seam to give it more strength, but its not always obvious how I'm suppose to apply these Ikea "hacks" as it were.

BizarreByte 3y ago
On any interlocking joints. On ikea stuff that's typically dowels, dados, and mortise and tenons. I also like to glue those weird locking screw inserts.
VincentEvans 3y ago
Most of Ikea pieces I’ve assembled utilize wooden dowels in addition to their special locking bolts. Definitely use glue in all holes that are meant for wooden dowels. If you wish to go an extra mile - use a thin bead of wood glue anywhere two wood surfaces meet, tighten the screws and then wipe off the excess that gets squeezed out of the seam. Wood glue is water soluble so clean up is easy before it dries.
- hot_gril 3y ago
  Yes, the dowels are usually the weak points in Ikea furniture. They'll slip out a little, then the leverage will tear apart the wood around it when you're carrying the furniture.

nemo44x 3y ago

Isn’t the issue the screws tearing through the soft wood and/or engineered wood?

VincentEvans 3y ago
Furniture made of soft wood is certainly more susceptible to damage and denting than if made from hardwood, sure. Personally I find the trade off acceptable - I have a narrow six foot book shelf that I can lift with one arm and a much smaller Ikea one that needs two people to move, but preferences are subjective. Regarding screws however, furniture made from wood using approaches traditional for wood-made furniture - don’t rely on screws all that much, but rather mortises, dados, and various other joints held by glue, dowels, and sometimes staples or furniture nails that assist holding joints together until glue dries. Once dried - glue is often stronger than the wood it holds together and attempting to separate the bonded pieces results in splitting the wood rather than breaking the bond.
evan_ 3y ago
Ikea furniture usually uses these funky cam lock nuts and bolts in particle board pieces, rather than screws: https://www.furnitureparts.com/products/cam-lock-nuts-ikea-part-102509?variant=31586981256 https://www.furnitureparts.com/products/cam-lock-nuts-ikea-p... These turn the force into compression over a larger diameter so it's less likely to cause a problem. I've actually had pretty good experiences with Ikea stuff holding up over time, even across multiple moves.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- Gigachad 3y ago
  I had one of those plastic locks snap during a move. And found out Ikea will mail or provide one at the store for free. Repaired my item and it's as good as new.
  - neuronerdgirl 3y ago

fallinghawks 3y ago

Almost everything from IKEA is particle board or MDF. If it's solid wood it will be priced higher - even pine. I have a couple of particle board items from them and they are definitely heavier compared to actual wood.

arh68 3y ago
> If it's solid wood it will be priced higher - even pine. The cheapest nightstand they sell is solid pine. https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/rast-3-drawer-chest-pine-10484790/ https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/rast-3-drawer-chest-pine-104847... The cheapest full bed is solid pine, too. https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/neiden-bed-frame-pine-80395248/ https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/neiden-bed-frame-pine-80395248/ I could go on...
- graftak 3y ago
  Likely because pine is lighter, more malleable, and probably simpler to create boards from than MDF.

piuantiderp 3y ago

The MDF is pretty weighty and has big concerns regarding VOCs. All that glue and binders can't be good for air quality/health

beezlewax 3y ago

Then you'll have trouble taking it apart if you move.