How To Fix Damaged IKEA Furniture 

As someone who used to install ikea kitchens for a living, I'm impressed by the little tricks that you demonstrated here.

👍 Yours is the only video I could find to give me some guidance as to how to repair a cam screw hole that was too close to the edge and the particle board broke off - making it impossible to screw in the cam screw! Thank you !

My girlfriend had this exact problem on her Wayfair dresser. You made me look like an absolute hero.

Perfect timing! I've been procrastinating fixing a blown out connector in Scandinavian teak veneer over particle board bed frame for years. Just about to start and the algorithm feeds me your video.

This is one of those videos that people are going to visit for years! Great job!

Instead of the JB Weld product, I prefer Minwax brand wood filler. Like the JB, it’s a two-part mix that hardens within 1/2 hour. But it’s easier to flow into tight spaces, and flattens easily with a putty knife. Once dry, it sands and drills just like wood. So in your situation, I’d restore a solid surface with the wood filler, then drill a new hole for the fastener. Be careful NOT to get the kind of wood filler that simply fills surface scratches (like Borden or DAP). What you want is by Minwax, and it needs the separate hardener (comes in the package) to activate it. You’ll have a LOT left for future projects, and it stores indefinitely.

I've had to assemble MANY of these particle-board wonders in an educational setting; students are hard on even the best furniture, and most of what I worked with was much cheaper than IKEA. I'd assemble with a power driver (hundreds of screws in a day destroys your wrist!) but always did the last half turn or so by hand. Some other things I did (since I was not interested in ever dis-assembling the units): 1- Put wood glue in all the holes before screwing into them. The pressure of the screw going in forces the glue into the fibers, reinforcing the hole. 2- Lightly sand and glue all the mating surfaces. 3- Squirt glue into the cam mechanism to keep it in the locked position.

good diy fyi video ! ... back in the day and starting out, i had a lot of experience with boxed furniture and always wondered why they don't reinforce the joints on it.... then i realized that people would buy less of it if they did reinforce the joints...

I've used the toothpick trick but I have never seen the dowel or quick wood hack. Could be real useful someday. Thanks.

Loved this video!!! In the past I have used golf tees. That works too but so many are plastic now.☹️

I have a much better way to deal with blowouts. I mix regular sticky epoxy with sawdust and put that in the blowout. It fills the crevices and sticks to the sides much better because of the more liquidy epoxy material. Then I put saran wrap over it and clamp a piece of wood to the piece to make it flat and even with the rest of the piece. No need to sand because it's already shaped right. You can drill a pilot hole and screw screws into it like wood.

The back end of a drill bit will work exactly and ensure complete filling. Your videos are excellent.

Thank you for this great video! I had one of the screws pull out of the MDF, and I thought we’d end up having to bin the whole piece! I followed your method 2, and ended up with a fix that felt stronger than all of the other joints! 😎

You need to use those specific dowel types - with grooves. Or if using solid dowels, slice off some wood along the side to allow air/glue to escape.

Thank you for keeping up the diverse comments. I enjoy reading about multiple ways to approach a project

When assembling ikea type furniture I always glue it as I go because it reduces the strain on those fasteners and I never take it back apart anyway

Love it, so useful! Little humble idea: 14:50, may spray some water on the epoxy to set it, so that it wouldn't "stick on skin/finger". Love the 2nd method, it seems a little stronger than the other 2 methods 😁

THANK YOU!!! I was looking for this exact thing. Thanks for showing such detailed instructions.

Perfect man.. thank you for being the type of people who articulate english and being thorough

2:45. Dip the slivers in glue before inserting into the hole. Much stronger!

On repair #2 a coping saw would cut the dowel and I bought mine for under $6, and using a small piece of sand paper without a power tool would be more cost effective. For those looking for a way that is even cheaper.

Thanks Scott! Great video and advice 👍

Great info - perhaps use wax paper to press down and smooth the JB Weld

Good ideas and always a good idea to have things on hand especially these days since all furniture is cheaply made especially Ikea.

Great video. Just what to know what you do to touch up the repair with matching paint when the piece is going to be exposed?

Fascinating! Many thanks ❤❤

Eu costumo usar serradura e cola de madeira misturada para tapar buracos, funciona muito bem.

This was so helpful!! Thank you so much🙂

Thanks for this, very useful

If that blowout hole isn't too deep, I think I'd use the dowel method from issue 2, then backfill with the JBWeld.

Excellent, this helped me extremely with a cabinet. Great program!

Many thanks for sharing! Very useful tips.

Thankyou. You covered all the options clearly and concisely. Options 2 and 3 worked in my case.

Thanks for the video. Will try out tomorrow. My bed drawer has either situation 1 or 2 luckily not problem 3 🙏

Great tips, thank you!

Great info and some genius! Thanks!

If that JB Weld Epoxy is anything like Miliput or greenstuff, if you wet your hands/gloves it makes it easier to work , as it will stick less to your gloves/toothpick then putting it in place.

My IKEA draw metal dowel bits come right out of the sides of the draw & won't hold. Not this exact problem, but I'm sure this will help me understand what to do. I'll see if there are any vids where my particular problem is the focus. (I don't know whether wood-glue will hold the metal dowel bit to the particle board? I don't think it would.) Anyway, thanks for an articulate, well thought-out and clearly filmed 'how-to'.

Good tips, thanks!

Great tips. Why not just use the quick wood for all types of repairs?

I have 4 holes on my euro door handles bracket that came off. Would kwikwood be better to reuse with new wood screws or bondo. I would need to apply and then screw in the bracket. I can't put the screws with the material in place as I can't be there holding it forever to dry. Would bondo be drillable or kwikwood be drillable?

Very good content. Thanks

Once I put glue down the holes before joining a finish side to a cabinet - the hydraulic pressure of the glue as I rubber hammered the pieces together blew out the finish surface!!! Lesson learned - luckily I learned this on the side that was against a wall! Less glue is better with dowels!

Great tips!!

Thanks for your video !

As stated in other comments I can't stress enough the importance of using hand tools for these types od assembly. Also I wouod recommend using a quick setting epoxy. I do furniture repair professionally and waiting 24 hours for glue to set sucks even if you have time to wait. Both have equivalent hold and sheer strength so why wait?

If you want an instantaneous cement like way to full tree hole just fill with baking soda….. and then Either stick your screw in now or after but if you drip super glue on top of the baking soda it turns into cement basically. You can definitely drill through it but it gets really hard instantaneously

Thank you Scott, this is exactly what I was looking for.

Love it, thank you so very very much! Highly useful!

what paint would you suggest to use for number 3? i have something that has 2 huge marks like that that are visible so I would need to paint.

Wow! Great techniques!

I used sawdust and titebond mix - worked well, only downside is you have to wait long for it to solidify

i will try this with my closet door at my front entrance . the knob is loose / fell out from excessive use over 11 years. thanks

I used 2 part epoxy and it worked but I like the jb weld idea better.

Terrific tips

Thank you very helpful

Wouldn't a putty knife work well to smooth out the surface?

Well explained Sir.

Good video. Hopefully this saves people some headaches.

Thanks !!!

I was putting a cabinet together from Wayfair and the holes just crumbled!! I needed a solution and quick because I was hosting a holiday that weekend and I have all of these cabinet pieces laying around and there was no way I was packing all that up and shipping it back, just NO! 😂 THIS was sooooo helpful!! I ordered tge kwikwood and filled the holes and set the cam screws. Crossing my fingers for great results!!

I use wooden match sticks and wood glue for projects like this. Works greaff!

excellent video amigo

thank you

For the blowout I would probably go with wood rot filler instead plus maybe put in a dowel in the position where the screw should be. Otherwise if you put the screw in with the wood rot filler there is no way it would ever let go of it.

So my nails came out and broke the wood so I can't screw on the nail back will wood glue help

Thank you very much ,I was about to buy a new desk becauseI ruined the screw holes

What paint should I buy

I always use disposable nitrile gloves when working with any of those 2-part putties. You still have feel, without having a mess to clean up. Also, I find plastic putty knives will get a decently smooth and level surface with the putty, and if you act quickly, clean up with a paper towel. (And, if you forget, you don't mind tossing those plastic putty knives.) Also, if you don't have 2-part putty on hand, mixing half wood-glue and half-water with things like Fixall makes them somewhat more flexible and stickier, and they can stand in for the putty, though that stuff takes 24 hours to properly cure, and it's tougher to sand than the putty.

thanks for sharing!

Nice. Subscribed!

Funny. I just learn hoe to use the J-B Weld properly. All your methods are fantastic. Thank you for sharing

I should of waited till the end to comment. Why on #3 did you not work to level the wood filler...it is so much easier to try and level it while it is pliable instead of later being like ok now bust out your Dremel to level this out once it has set up? I don't mean to rent but it made so much more work...

Hello What sanding tool did you 7se 5hx

Great for Mobile Homes too.👍

Brilliant thanks 😊

For the 3rd case, does it work if I first apply the epoxy, let it dry, and then drill the hole for screw?

I’m going to try this , I’m having this same problem right now. Will be back with my review.

Great lesson! Even though it’s a pain, I try to only use hand tools on assembly furniture.

Hi, I have a table made of the same material from Ikea. I accidentally got a hole in it that doesn't go all the way through. 😅I'm not sure how to fix it. Does anyone have a suggestion?

oh thank you man

Depending on the damage to the piece, Ikea has a fairly liberal part replacement policy. Not so much for stripped thread areas, but damaged panels and such. As a person who has done a LOT of ikea assembly through Task Rabbit, I have had to go back to the store a couple of times for missing parts and damaged on arrival pieces and never really had a problem getting replacements. As to screwing up the pieces in the first place by over torquing....haven't particularly done it. A couple of tips though - Use a drill with a clutch on it in the lowest setting. Never use a plug in drill without a clutch - it won't stop turning in the screws when you pull off the trigger. Know your surface - the "solid wood" is actually solid wood. You'll find this in the Hemnes line for example. Just, it's SOFT wood - so it's easy to drive the cam posts past the stopping point at the surface. Hammer time - there are some parts that require hammering, such as the drawer back plates with the plastic "nails". More blows with less force is the better way to go - don't try to drive them home in one blow. Also, anywhere you are hammering, make sure to support the workpiece as that particle board doesn't like the abuse. And the biggest tip - get a bit holder / extension with a sleeve on it. Extend the sleeve over the cam posts when driving them to keep them from quickly popping sideways and destroying the hole.

I have a 2009 kia Spectra SD ,it is getting hot but it is not lisuesng no water!.what wrong with it

This is finesse

High torque impact drivers and particle/mdf boards are the worst couple. Light electric screwdriver or hand screwdrivers are the adecuate tool to assemble any hardware on predrilled holes in any kind of furniture made on mdf or particleboard panels. saludos Gerardo

Installed hundreds of furniture cam screws with a power drill on low torque settings without any problems. Just start from the lowest numbers, and increase if not enough. Easy.

With the epoxy try wax paper for working the epoxy putty down.

So on the last example why must you put the cam in the putty? Why can't you fill the hole and then drill in the middle after it cures and then screw in the cam?

I save saw dust collected in my miter saw and sander. Mix with glue.

The blowout potential is why IKEA instructions direct you to use manual rather than power tools. I've actually successfully modified IKEA wood cabinets to of lesser length and depth. It can be tricky to do but can be done with patience and the right tools using the same IKEA supplied screws and attachment hardware. The cutoffs can be used as templates to match spacing where applicable. If I ever need to do something like that in the future I'll make sure to do a video of the process. It would be great if EHR does a video doing sizing modifications on an IKEA type shelf unit.

I've used thin CA glue to strengthen the hole... just apply a few drops and it will soak into the sides. Wait for it to dry completely before putting the screw back in or it will not come back out easily later on (if needed). Make sure you have threaded the screw in and out at least once beforehand, so that the wood retains the thread pattern before you apply the CA.

My gardener put his tools on my drawing ikea table and make a large hole in the middle idk how to fix it

Very interesting tricks, I take note for the 3 of them. May I suggest you to stop using the Phillips screwdriver for IKEA screws and use a POZIDRIV #2 (or PZ2) screwdriver instead? Unfortunately, it's not documented anywhere but this PZ2 really is the screwdriver you need for this.

Saturate the blown out MDF with thin CA _first_ Then go back and chip off any extraneous veneer or flaking fiber.

Thank you for this information. You’re very knowledgeable and a good teacher. Your wife is a lucky gal to have you fix things around the house.

Hello I'm trapped in my walls after falling through a gap in my attic I have been here for 2 days 1 night, I've been pooping in the wall cavity and it's starting to fill up how do I get out

Particle board in the first place, is the worst bunch of material that could ever be used to make furniture - regardless of what manufacturer it comes from. I've experienced several damaged screw holes during the many years of putting this type of furniture together... My simple fix consists of two options; 1) make a small batch of sawdust+white (or furniture grade) glue up into a puddy-like form the size of a marble and attach it to the section of the screw that fits in the damaged hole... By doing this, you're making sure the puddy is moulded to the bolt or screw once it has dried...the puddy should naturally bond to the particle board if it's of the proper texture. Secondly; use a steel enforced 2 part epoxy (I usually use the 2 minute cure time stuff to save time. The epoxy works very well and can be painted to match the color of the board.

It wasn't even Ikea furniture, but a drawer anyhows which had particleboard middle part on the bottom with feet. Whole thing blew from the fixing holes because while I moved to another place, whoever was carrying it, supported the damn thing by the middle part. Cabinet weighs like 60 kilos so you can imagine what happened. It was just easier to remake that whole part out of oak stock and not even try to piece it back together. Aligning those holes was a bit tricky because original piece was so splintered.

Clutch!

Considering how relatively dry the JBweld is compared to glue, I am very suspicious if its ability to bind to the wood. Im sure it gets hard, but I would wager that whole plug will just pop out easily.