How to Assemble Entertainment Stands

"Knock down" furniture that comes in disassembled kit form has become very common in home interior design today. The affordability and choices in styles and finishes make these furniture kits attractive. Assembling the furniture takes planning and patience in order to make the piece stable and functional. Not all kit designs are the same, but basic design concepts are similar.

Things You'll Need

• Phillips head screw driver
• Power driver with Phillips head bit
• Small hammer
• Hey key, optional

Instructions

1. Prepare a suitable work area, preferably on the floor in the room where the furniture piece is destined for placement. Take the finished size of the piece times a factor of four; this is the minimum amount of open floor room required for assembly. Smaller work areas will create confusion and difficulties.

2. Open the kit boxes and remove all the parts. Remove any packing materials from the work area. Lay pieces "face up" on the floor with any part of the identification labels showing. Open the hardware bag and sort the pieces. Carefully compare all these parts to the quantities shown in the printed directions. If you are lacking any piece or part, stop and contact the manufacturer, not the retail store. The retail store will not have spare parts available and will not be willing to break into other kits to provide you with missing parts. Remember that kit parts are not optional and almost no parts are substitute-friendly.

3. Read the assembly instructions. As you read about a part, identify it from among the parts laid out on the floor. Most boards have a finished side and an unfinished side. Notice that most of the pre-determined hardware connections appear on the unfinished sides. Unfinished parts always face towards the back or the floor. All screw connections will feature pre-drilled pilot holes; look for them.

4. Insert any modular connector into the boards, per the instructions. The most common type of connector is a counter-sunk cam part that accepts a hidden threaded screw-type fastener. Insert these cams in the hole properly so the open side of the cam faces out. Tap cams into place very gently;do not accidentally crush or break off board material.

5. Drive any threaded fasteners into the proper holes using a power driver or screwdriver. Check twice to make sure that it is the proper hole for the screw. If the fastener seems to be too hard to screw into place, it is probably in the wrong hole! Do not exert force on these fasteners as you screw them in.If they break off or crack the board, the component is ruined.

6. Connect the components as shown on the printed instructions and absolutely in the order the instructions command. The steps exist in this order to prevent sabatoge of the assembly process.This haste can cause a disaster.Most furniture kits are made from particle board that, once a disaster.Most furniture kit support any weight. For most kits, you will have to replace the entire ruined board before you can continue. Starting over is often not an option.

Tips & Warnings

• A helper is useful for handling of larger, heavier kits.

• Always install any stabilizer straps and screws provided for taller furniture pieces.

References

• Assembling Kit Furniture
• "No Fear Home Improvement" by Fran Donnigan, 2007

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Complete Line of Sauder Kit Furniture
• Kits Available At Office Max
• Kits Available At Target