Start by using a sharp knife or saw to cut through the top of the dowel flush with the surface of the wood. It all started when Anders Eriksson created a trestle with milled grooves. It was extremely sturdy, and it got him thinking. Once you have scored the surface of the dowel pin, try prying it out with a screwdriver or another tool. You may also be able to grip the end of the dowel pin with pliers and pull it out.

IKEA Museum A clever tool for assembling furniture - IKEA Museum

He and Göran Sjöstedt started testing and trying, using the CNC machine, a Computer Numeric Control machine where you program your pattern, and it delivers a wood model of the drawing. Next, use a drill or power drill fitted with a bit slightly smaller than the diameter of the dowel to create a hole in the center of the dowel.

Simpler and more attractive

The wedge dowel that Anders and Göran invented together is a solution that may not blow your mind visually, but from an innovation perspective it’s rather fantastic. Firstly, this tiny part cuts the assembly time of IKEA furniture by half. Secondly, all the fittings on machine-made furniture become invisible. Beauty and brains! Start by lightly tapping the end of the dowel with a mallet or hammer. This will loosen it up and make it easier to remove. Instead of a knob for the drawer we wanted a keyhole. My god how we fought for that!” Knut Hagberg remembers.

Spare parts - IKEA - IKEA

However, if you’re moving or simply need to take your IKEA furniture apart for some reason, removing the wooden dowels is possible with a little effort. Here’s what you’ll need to do: The cleverness of the wedge dowel took a further leap thanks to Knut and Marianne. They were challenged by the idea of creating a craftsmanship feature that would fit in with IKEA mass production. A series of tables was designed where they used ash veneer on the table top and solid birch for the legs. Initially they called the collection ‘Gasell’, a name that reflected their idea about a light, graceful table on long legs. The notion of non-visible fittings enhanced the elegant gazelle, and the wedge dowel was a given in the collection. It was also a given how the details in the design would look. You will need to use a sharp chisel and be very careful not to damage the surrounding wood. First, make a small pilot hole in the center of the dowel with the tip of the chisel. Next, insert the chisel into the pilot hole and start prying up on the dowel. I chose 84″ because I wanted a longer overhang, you can choose to go with 83 or 82 inches if space is a constraint.

With the wedge dowel, you don’t need fittings at all. The clever wooden piece replaces all metal fittings in the construction. Ikea dowels come in a range of sizes. Below is a list of common dowel sizes and part numbers made by Ikea: It was great when our idea got patented, although that was never the motivation,” Göran and Anders agree. “It just felt so good that we had done something that made it easier for the customer. With the wedge dowel you can assemble much faster, but it’s also easier due to the fact that the dowel is fixed to one of the two sides that are going to be assembled. Pretty fail-proof.” If you have ever wondered how to remove glued wooden dowels, then this blog post is for you! We will go over the different methods that you can use to remove glued wooden dowels, as well as what tools and materials you will need. We always draw by hand on big white paper. Eye, brain, paper. Always in 1:1 scale, and when we’re done drawing we walk over to the prototype shop and build a first prototype.”

Everything you will ever need to know about Ikea wooden

If you’re looking to remove a wooden dowel from IKEA furniture, there are a few things you’ll need to know. First, it’s important to understand that IKEA furniture is not designed to be disassembled and reassembled multiple times. This means that the wooden dowels holding the furniture together are meant to be permanent fixtures. I was thinking a lot about its construction and wondered if you could apply this principle on furniture other than trestles. See, the milled grooves provide tremendous stability,” says Anders. No, glue won't get the dowels out :-) But not using glue can help a lot. Many assemble it yourself pieces of furniture recommend gluing the dowels in place and some even include a little bottle of glue. The glue is usually not necessary for basic functionality (cams, screws, etc. do that) but does help make the furniture a little bit more stable and secure. The glue doesn't just lie between the surfaces (as some adhesives on some surfaces will do) because wood is porous and the glue soaks in (I am sure there is a technical term for that), and I think the dowels, which are often tight-fitting to begin with (by design) may even swell just a little bit from the water in the glue. Which is all great for keeping things together but makes it really hard to cleanly take things apart.

🍪 Privacy & Transparency

Simultaneously, the Easy Assembling project started, where the aim was to see how IKEA could make it easier for customers to assemble IKEA furniture. Project leader Christer Collin and innovator Benny Andersson at IKEA also saw the potential, and the wedge dowel solution became an important part of the project. Read Also: Problems With Valspar PaintFirst, try using a screwdriver or other pointed tool to loosen the dowel from the furniture piece. If that doesn’t work, you may need to use a saw to cut through the dowel. Yes, we refused to use a knob and the manufacturer refused to accept the keyhole. But we solved it with a long, drawn-out, heated argument,” Marianne laughs. First, I assembled both the cabinets as per instructions. For the last part instead of putting the top shelf individually on both units, I got a larger wooden plank cut to size from Lowes (84″ length and 8.5″ wide). Storage & organisation Furniture Textiles Kitchenware & tableware Kitchens Lighting Decoration Rugs, mats & flooring Beds & mattresses Baby & children Smart home Bathroom products Laundry & cleaning Plants & plant pots Home electronics Home improvement Outdoor living Food & beverages Christmas Shop Shop by room