SOAP THE SCREWS

Yesterday, as I was assembling some new shelving from IKEA, I ran into what seems to be a common problem with IKEA assembly: too tight fit for the screws. I’m talking about the predrilled holes in wood (or wood product) items being just a wee tad too small.

This really is a problem as the IKEA screws tend to be cheap and soft, so it is really easy to strip out the screwdriver slot (or phillips-style slot) in the screw head even if you have the properly sized screwdriver.

So, before you try to drive the screw, apply soap to the screw threads. You can use either liquid or bar soap. I think the bar soap works best—scrape the screw on the bar.

This will make the driving MUCH easier.

I’ve been surprised in the past by how many folks don’t know this little trick. Hope this helps.