Built an Ikea couch (Kivik 3 seater). The arm rests do not mate cleanly with the main frame; when I screwed in the nuts too far it looked like it was bowing the wood. The instructions don’t give any indication of how much to screw it in. Is it fine as is?https://files.catbox.moe/vk7pdj.jpeghttps://files.catbox.moe/pmoqo1.jpeghttps://files.catbox.moe/84ejfs.jpeghttps://files.catbox.moe/t8s6e2.jpeghttps://files.catbox.moe/sdcxxd.jpeghttps://files.catbox.moe/cvixe1.jpeg
>>2872408Did you ensure you were not using the wrong length screws? Often times, they'll include mutiple #10 screws of varying lengths, and they'll only be 1/4" off, but that 1/4 is all you need to ruin something.
>>2872414There were only 2 types of screws included. One type for the main frame, and another for the arm rests. The arm rest screws are split with a smaller end that goes into the arm rest itself, that then slots into the main frame. I definitely screwed the smaller end into each hole.So unless they included the wrong screws, they are correct.
>>2872416Can you move the screws by hand? Spin them around and such, wiggle em? If you can, it's not tight enough. If you can't, then it *might* be good enough. They don't usually include things such as how much they should be torqued or min N/m (ft/lbs).
>>2872420Yes, I checked them again today after assembling it yesterday. One was loose, and I did a check of the rest. They don’t move with my fingers.I’ve built a number of Ikea desks/tables, and in every case the parts mate cleanly. So it’s just a matter of tightening with a reasonable amount of force until it is snug. With this couch I was able to keep tightening it at a modest force if I went from screw to screw, resulting in bowing, which sparked the concern.
>>2872408The surfaces aren’t supposed to be mated flat because the sides of the cushioning stuff go between there. There’s always some gap, what’s important is that there are zero wrinkles in the fabric at the sides so that the gap is the same width all around. Also did you iron the fabric before installing it? Helps a tiny bit. You’d expect a spacer ring, but nah. Value engineering dept must have removed it because it’s a 4 point contact and works without one.
>>2872468It was ironed, could possibly have been ironed more though. It looked reasonably flat. I mostly considered it an aesthetic consideration, not functional.The idea they’d cheap out on a spacer for such an expensive item ($750-$900) is rather insane, but did cross my mind.If you look in the photos you can see the gap is narrower higher up and widens down towards the particle board.Do you think using a ruler to try and get it equal all along would work?
>>2872476To follow on that, my concern is just whether it is under force in such a way it gets damaged over time. Conversely, if the nuts aren’t screwed in far enough I worry when they loosen over time that increases the likelihood of a failure if they outright fall off.This seems easily fixed if they just had a clear cut off point for torquing the nuts. I’m hoping that “value department” did checks with varying degrees of tightness and tension on the wood. I haven’t seen anyone complain about this when looking around at reviews and such so I guess it isn’t a common failure despite this.
>>2872476If you put all the fabric correctly the gap should be same width everywhere is what I wanted to write.>>2872489> whether it is under force in such a way it gets damaged over timeNah, ikea cheaps out on material a lot but not on engineering/testing. Basically they let hired idiots assemble it and then put it through testing. If you’re really concerned then make your own spacer from a piece of ply or whatever
>>2872408I had this cheap walmart furniture where those exact style spinks broke like four different times. Mainly the screw fastening them in came out.
>>2872497I did a quick quarter turn loosening of the 4 nuts contacting the wood, which seemed to relieve a bit of flex in the wood. All still tight enough that my finger can’t move them. Particle board ones seem mostly fine. We want to get a 3D printer eventually so a project might be printing out spacers for this.
>>2872503I assume you mean the springs, which seem to be held by plastic bits here. I guess the weight is distributed evenly amongst them when sitting on the cushion, so they (hopefully) don’t break.