How to Tighten the Straight Bolts on IKEA Furniture

We bought our teenage daughter a couch from IKEA, and she wanted to help put it together. Everything assembled nicely, but she did not have the finger strength for the straight bolts. After they went in a 1/4 inch, she could not turn them any further. I showed her how to use the wing-nuts included in the hardware package to get the bolts in.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• No extra tools or materials required
• The wing-nuts you need to tighten the bolts come with the couch hardware package

1. 
    

   If you can't tighten the bolts by hand, do not use pliers. You can easliy damage the threads and make it difficult to put the nuts on later.

2. 
    

   Put a wing-nut on the bolt in the upside down position. Turn it so about 1/4 inch of the bolt sticks out.

3. 
    

   Put a second wing-nut on the bolt in the upright position. Turn this until it is snug against the other nut. This doesn't need to be really tight, just firm.

4. 
    

   These two nuts together will grab the threads and act like a small wrench. You will be able to turn the bolt, just using your fingers.
   
   Once you have turned the bolt in about half an inch, remove the top nut, then the bottom one.

Tips & Warnings

• If the bolt does not turn in using this method, it is likely cross-treaded. Remove the bolt, check the threads and try again. Don't force it.
• Adding a little wax (I use Carmex) will also help you insert the bolt easier.