> and if you're using an assembly driver or not

Not a good idea on modern Ikea furniture that's basically engineered wood and cardboard. Way too easy to strip out the threads.

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jasode 8 hours ago | parent | next [-]

>assembly driver

>Way too easy to strip out the threads.

An "assembly driver" or "installation driver" is meant to describe low-torque powered screwdrivers. They don't strip threads especially when used on the lowest torque settings that can barely turn a screw before the clutch-release mechanism clicks. On the other hand, the high-torque powered screwdrivers that can turn drywall and deck screws and the impact drivers that can spin the lugs on car wheels are a different beast.

The bigger risk with IKEA furniture is hammering in the metal dowel pins (that interlock with the rotating cams) at a perpendicular angle to the flat board. You have to gently tap them with a hammer because it's too easy to puncture through the particle board.

Actually, the majority of "screws" to turn in a lot of IKEA furniture (e.g. bookshelves) are the cams instead of typical threaded screws. The cams only rotate 180 degrees so there's no time savings in trying to use a powered screwdriver.

	▲	abanana 6 hours ago \| parent [-]
		> hammering in the metal dowel pins (that interlock with the rotating cams) Are there many hammer-in versions around then? I've assembled a fair amount of IKEA bookcases, wardrobes, kitchen cupboards etc (in the UK), and those cam dowel pins have always been screw-in.

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xxs 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Any drill nowadays would have a clutch. Use it, so it limits the torque. It applies for pretty much any kind of work (e.g. including mounting intake manifold on a lawn-mower, but then it's likely to use a torque wrench too)

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mschuster91 2 hours ago | parent [-]

> Any drill nowadays would have a clutch. Use it, so it limits the torque.

The problem is, unless it's an actual torque wrench these clutches are allll over the place. There's a reason they give only some arbitrary scale, and often enough they're so unreliable that the same electric screwdriver / drill will produce different torques for the same setting depending on the battery SoC, the power setting and the cleanliness of the thread in the wood.

I've found the most reliable way for IKEA furniture is to use an electric screwdriver for the bulk of the work and use a manual screwdriver for the final 1-2 turns. Everything else is just asking for trouble, especially the screw "overshooting" because the particle density at one hole is randomly (markedly) less than at the hole you calibrated the screwdriver with.

	▲	xxs 16 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		While not-precise settings 1-3 usually don't do much and after 4-5 screws you'd know which setting feels right (incl. tightening by hand to climb the scale). Most folks won't have sub 5Nm torque wrenches in general to calibrate or finish, so it'd be wrist tight feeling, I suppose. >depending on the battery SoC, The clutch is mechanical, so it should not matter and for brushless motors, the battery charge (voltage) should not matter at low torque, either. Just to be clear - I'd not advise to copy someone else's drill clutch settings. Worst case if you end up stripping the chipboard - fill with putty of epoxy and wood shavings, wait for 5-6mins, re-drill, so on. It's annoying if it happens but overall it's quite easy to recover from.

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tclancy 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I feel like this shouldn’t be down-voted. I insist on grabbing The Gun for anything more than a few screws, but have definitely overtightened or cracked boards when I don’t keep the torque low.

Always remember the rule: a half-turn before breaking is how tight you want it to be

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mawadev 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Very true, I do it with regular screwdrivers but I watched people in the past ruthlessly overscrew and hammer stuff in, its not supposed to be done with force. My furniture so far survived 2 moves and 14 years with full disassembly and assembly in between..

These days I wouldn't recommend Ikea to anybody with the prices and build quality, Jysk is a good and cheap alternative in germany.